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Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Sandy Lodge GC New
« on: December 02, 2013, 05:15:42 PM »
Sandy Lodge was borne of frustration with golfing in muddy conditions; a sentiment close to my heart. Hoping to recreate a links-like experience, Mr James Francis Markes leased Sandy Lodge Farm (owned by Lord Ebury of Moor Park Mansion) in Hertfordshire, near what was to become Moor Park, a very upscale housing estate perhaps 25 miles north of London proper. The story is that while searching for suitable land, Mr Markes came upon a rabbit burrow and additional investigation proved the land to be sandy.  Being close to the Metropolitan Railway’s Sandy Lodge Station, meant the site was not only suitable for golf, but perfect for attracting London’s burgeoning middle class.   





With Harry Vardon at his side, Markes designed five holes by 1909. Carting some 20,000 loads of sand from two locations on the course, the design was finished in 1910 and an exhibition match between Braid and Vardon on July 16th formally opened the course.   Originally, several sandy waste areas and large bent grass mounds were strewn about the property, however, two world wars largely put paid to these links like ideals.  Eventually, many sandy areas were overgrown and after WWII, labour costs necessitated down-sizing the areas and eliminating many bent covered mounds; trees too eventually took hold.  Ken Cotton was called in during the 50s to edit the course, presumably to make it more maintenance friendly.  The gradual erosion of the links qualities continued in ensuing years to the point where one can barely envision the glory that was once Sandy Lodge. 

Long a course I have wanted to see, but had no idea Sandy Lodge sported quite so many par 3s, six in total.  Usually that many short holes would signal a course playing much longer than its yardage suggests. There are five long holes to boot; at least two of which are reachable in two.  As it is, the 6113 yards actually feels a bit short.  This perception is likely bolstered by only two par 4s listed at more the 400 yards, but they come in succesion at 5 & 6.   

After spying some wonderful memorabilia in the hallway leading to the lockeroom, first impressions of the course are not encouraging.  The practice ground created from a discontinued relief course is mainly on view from the house.  But, first impressions aren’t everything.  Sandy Lodge actually starts out very well with the opening seven holes being the cream of the crop. 

A 1930 aerial dug up by Mark Rowlinson shows what looks to be a dog shape bunker covering the entire 5th fairway!


The opening drive steers between bunkers left and right.  For the very long, there is a turbo boost which will propel drives down toward the 150 marker.  Below is the approach.


An old photo of a fairway bunker.


The second seems to be the hole everyone holds out for praise.  This is mainly due to the large centreline bunker which must be carried.


An old photo of the Cardinal Bunker.


A solid short hole, #3 holds no special fear.  Another par 5, the fourth's green leaks left.  Despite being dead straight (a noticeable issue with the design), I think the 5th is perhaps the best of holes over 400 yards.  Notice the width, one of Sandy Lodge's best attributes. 


The bunker below offers a flavour of what used to be. Look closely, there is a huge pimple in the green which marks the fifth as something a bit special.


An old picture of Sandy Lodge during its sandy days.


The 6th is a very long par 4 played to a plateau green.  An excellent short hole, #7 runs downhill with dead ground just shy of the green.


An old photo of the hole with sand more prevalent.  Notice the size of the crew on this one bunker.  In the end, I think the indulgent use of sand was the undoing of the original design.


The 8th is curious.  The golfer walks uphill to a tee to play a hole which is shorter than the walk!  I would like to know why Markes didn't design an uphill par 3 toward the 9th tee.  Not that I have anything against short shorts, but this is not a stellar example.  The 9th too is largely forgetable.  However, the 10th is perhaps Sandy Lodge's finest moment.  Sensibly named The Table, this diabolical par 3 must be near on impossible to hold in the summer.


The cross bunkers some 60 yards short of the 11th green are interesting.


An old photo of a cross bunker on 11.


Unfortunately, the remainder of the course does not live up to the highlights of the opening eleven holes.  There are some good shots here and there, but by and large, the course surely fizzles.  #13, a short par 4 which has has danger in the guise of gorse down the right is a fine example of temptation.  This 1912 photo of the 16th tee hints of greatness past.


The two-tier 17th green (Named Mount Vardon?) is extremely sly.  Another old photo, I believe from a 1910 match between Vardon and Braid.


The par 3 home hole is also very good. An old photo showing the daring nature nature of the hole.


However, these end of round meagre pickings are not enough to sustain my interest.  Sandy Lodge suffers in that there are not enough very good or very interesting holes.  This is a great pity given the dreams of Markes. At the end of the day, I fear the removal of the sandy characteristcs of the course essentially eliminated the raison d'être of Sandy Lodge and may perhaps explain why Markes sold Sandy Lodge shortly after WWII.  2013

Previous stops on the 2013/14 Winter Tour

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,26579.0.html Tadmarton Heath

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51321.0.html Sutton Coldfield

Nex scheduled stop; Worplesdon

Ciao   
« Last Edit: January 10, 2024, 05:46:40 AM by Sean_A »
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Peter Pallotta

Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2013, 10:48:06 PM »
Sean - interesting.I like the looks of Sandy Lodge,but your description of it -- including the width, and the relative shortness, and the involvement of a top pro in the design, and its proximity to the swells of the day, and the earth/sand moving, and the high profile opening day -- made me think that it might've been the 1910 version of our modern-day resort course. I don't know if such an idea/concept even existed back then, and if so in what form and by what name, but your response to playing it does seem akin to what some here have experienced with today's equivalents.

Peter

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC New
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2013, 01:58:15 AM »
Pietro

I spose one could look at Sandy Lodge as a flash in the pan for the design didn't last all that long (same for the original Princes).  Even so, photos usually don't deceive me.  I thought SL looked quite good in pix, but the course is just okay, no better than some of the courses up my way which get no fanfare - see http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49086.0.html

I know the course was stripped of its sand, but I can't help wondering what a Fowler, Colt or Park Jr would have made of this property.  Given the decent turf, its a bit of a waste.

Ciao
« Last Edit: January 15, 2023, 04:41:38 AM by Sean_A »
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Thomas Dai

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2013, 11:50:58 AM »
Thanks Sean.

Would Sandy Lodge be one of those courses/clubs, and there are a few around, that would now make a splendid 9-holer, ie where 18-holes for some reason is not now really appropriate, or do you reckon the remaining holes could be brought into the style/charactor of the first half of the course with some willpower, some good thinking and a bit time and effort?

Nice to see bunkers with sleeper faces. Very unusual these days, especially on an inland course, so a nice change to the norm.

ATB

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2013, 11:28:15 AM »
Thanks Sean.

Would Sandy Lodge be one of those courses/clubs, and there are a few around, that would now make a splendid 9-holer, ie where 18-holes for some reason is not now really appropriate, or do you reckon the remaining holes could be brought into the style/charactor of the first half of the course with some willpower, some good thinking and a bit time and effort?

Nice to see bunkers with sleeper faces. Very unusual these days, especially on an inland course, so a nice change to the norm.

ATB

Thomas

I am not sure.  It seems to me the course could do with an archie doing what Markes did - throw loads of sand about the place.  To me, the course is quite unremarkable as is with all the sand stripped away.

Ciao
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Tony_Muldoon

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2013, 12:36:46 PM »
Whilst admitting this ain’t no Sunningdale I’ve enjoyed several rounds at Sandy Lodge.   Always in the company of a well travelled Category 1, ex Captain who has been a member there since he was just a lad.  We once worked out he must have played over 3500 rounds there and no he doesn’t get bored!  Perhaps his enthusiasm blinds me, but I do think there’s more there than you got out of it.

Firstly there’s just enough elevation change to provide extra interest.  Interestingly at least 4 of the par 3’s play downhill, 3, 7, 8 and 15.  The cross bunkers on 11 that you mention also lie downhill, and laying up is terror. To play the 8th, one of 3 par 3’s in 4 holes, you walked past the original tees.  My friend loves to get visors on this hole in a match in summer, as he believes it’s the most underrated hole on the course.  I saw him pick the perfect landing spot and walk away with a 2, I hit the middle of the green and eventually picked my ball up without coming close to troubling the hole.

I’ve written on here about that 17th green before as I suggested it could be lifted and used elsewhere for a template. It’s a short par 5 playing uphill, but there’s a step down to the rear of the green which is very hard to find.   
Tom MacWood once did a bunker Quiz on here and he had a shot of the 18th as it originally was. The huge crater you play over was once all sand, bigger than any similar area I’ve ever played over on a links course. Overall I think the par three’s are a strong group and provide several highlights.


Do you have a picture of the practice area in front of the clubhouse?  The members stop by in summer, take a drink out from the bar and help themselves to free balls. One of the reasons why it deserves to be known as a friendly club.  I will happily go back.


Did you see the Centenary History?  Author was Mark Rowlinson.
Let's make GCA grate again!

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2013, 04:50:22 PM »
Spangles

No, I didn't read Mark's book.  I am sure it is excellent.

Bottom line, does Sandy Lodge pass the ultimate Gringo Recommendation Test?  Would you drive 5 hours round trip and pay full whack for a game at Sandy Lodge?  Any other way of playing is simply a matter of convenience or expediency and thats fine, but not terribly indicative of Sandy Lodge's quality.

Ciao
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Mark Chaplin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2013, 05:37:11 PM »
Harsh on Princes, it's destruction was more due to the ambitions of a little German bully than poor design.
Cave Nil Vino

Paul Gray

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2013, 05:59:46 PM »
Dare I suggest it looks a little samey?

Nonetheless, and at the risk of falling into the now apparently passe trap of actually complimenting somebody on their photo tour, excellent work as ever Sean.
In the places where golf cuts through pretension and elitism, it thrives and will continue to thrive because the simple virtues of the game and its attendant culture are allowed to be most apparent. - Tim Gavrich

John Mayhugh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2013, 09:53:57 PM »
Thanks for another interesting photo tour, Sean.  Even though this didn't turn out to be recommended, it's nice having you do the research. 

I do like the looks of that bunker on the second.

Mark_Rowlinson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #10 on: December 09, 2013, 11:45:56 AM »
The departure of Markes, who had been essentially owner, secretary, one-man chairman of the green, etc, was probably brought about as a result of the Second World War. He had kept the place going and the course running single-handedly. He was in his 80s. After the war the club was in serious financial difficulties and Markes had to be bought out by an Equity Trust for a very considerable sum of money. The thing he found most upsetting, however, was the proposal in 1948 to have a year's trial of a greens committee. Markes agreed to this knowing that it would fail and that he would assume his dictatorship on its failure. It didn't fail and Markes was very hurt.

The interesting thing about the sleepered bunker on the 2nd hole is that Markes supervised its construction with an inclinometer (which is still to be found in the clubhouse). Basically he wanted to ensure that a ball scuffed out of the sand could not escape in the direction of the green yet in bouncing back would fly over the player's head and not decapitate him!

The minutes don't really tell the story of the grassing over of the face of the steep hill on the 18th, but it seems that there was the likelihood of sand being washed down onto the Metropolitan Railway and also possible legal action should a player fall while trying to scale the sandy bank.

The number and scale of the bunkers and their maintenance had become a financial problem for the club and in the 1950s Ken Cotton was brought in to make adjustments. That may have been when the 18th had its makeover, but it is not certain. Several unhappy alterations to the course have had to be made because of unfriendly neighbours and the possibility of crippling legal costs if someone's property or their persons were to be hit.

I have ONE copy of the centenary book which has some fabulous old photos of the course under construction the depth and extent of the sand. I should be very happy to lend it to anyone wishing to study it (it looks better than it reads!). But it can only be a lend, I'm afraid, as I don't think there are any more copies remaining for sale at the club.

I did a photo tour of the course on GCA a few years ago. I found it very difficult to photograph because of its general flatness, several unsightly backgrounds. But at least I did get a photo of the oak tree which was raised from seed sent by Oak Hill, Rochester.

I'll see if I can get a link to work.

Mark_Rowlinson

  • Karma: +0/-0

Mark_Rowlinson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Sandy Lodge GC
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2013, 03:10:13 PM »
Through Bernard Darwin’s eyes

For many, Bernard Darwin was one of the great golf writers. His classic ‘The Golf Courses of the British Isles’ of 1910 mentions Sandy Lodge and there is a painting of ‘First green looking towards the clubhouse’ by Harry Rountree. But there is no description of the club or course. Darwin made amends in an article written in 1934, which remained unpublished until it was included in the 50th anniversary booklet of Sandy Lodge. This classic deserves to be reprinted in full.

No Golf Course better lives up to its name than does Sandy Lodge, for there is nothing sandier among inland courses. It takes it from the farm house which stands close to the 5th green and to that farm and its sand there belongs a romantic story.
   It was nearly twenty-five years ago that Mr Markes conceived the notion that a golf course on sandy soil was badly needed to the north of London. Through his mining experiences in Australia he was more than something of a geologist: so he got a geological map and began to take solitary walks of exploration in likely parts of the country. For some little time he drew blank. Then one day – a blazing August day in 1908 – having started from Northwood, he was walking along a roadway through a cornfield across what is now the course. In the bank of a hedgerow he saw a rabbit burrow: from it he took a handful of earth, put it in his handkerchief and hastened homeward with a wild hope surging in his breast. He went into his bathroom, washed his precious burden and behold it was sand! Like another Archimedes (who, if I remember rightly, also did it in his bathroom) he shouted “Eureka”; the sand course to the north of London had been found. A lease of the ground was obtained (it is now the club’s own freehold); Mr Markes took as his ally in laying out the course Harry Vardon, and on a snowy day in the following March work was begun on what it today the 6th green.
   That is in brief the story of the making of the course but it does no sort of justice to all the work that was done. Probably only two people, Mr Markes and the greenkeeper, Field, fully know how much was done. I pass over all the removal of hedges and trees and the sowing of nearly the whole area, and give just one example. The course possesses many noble bunkers on a seaside scale alike in sandiness and magnitude. Most of them were made in beds of sand and so no water lies in them; but in the case of those made not actually in sand there is not a single one without a drain beneath it.
   When the course was in the making Mr Markes used to come down from London late in the evening of a particularly wet day and look carefully to see if possible the moonlight might be shining on any puddles in the then rough meadow which is now the 14th hole. That was true enthusiasm and certainly there are no puddles at Sandy Lodge today. It is astonishingly dry:
   Let the rain pour as it will, let the Colne Valley next door be in flood, the course is as dry as can be.
   I mentioned the bunkers but they are not the only things on the course to remind us of the sea. The putting greens are of true seaside quality: nay, they have a quality which seaside greens once possessed but in many cases have lost. It is recorded of a famous golfer that having holed a long putt on the 3rd green he exclaimed in delight “This reminds me of Old Gullane”. It was a true word, for the Sandy Lodge greens have that fineness and delicacy and keenness which used to mark greens by the sea but which today they have too often exchanged for something richer, slower and duller. I am no expert in these matters and I cannot say exactly how this has been achieved, but the greens are there “to witness if I lie”. And this fineness is, generally speaking, a mark of the turf everywhere on the course. Even on those portions of it, where the subsoil is not so ideal as in the best parts, the constant use of sand has done great things and there is a truly magnificent sandpit which can provide an inexhaustible supply for continuing this good work. Finally one more word about the bunkers. Their maritime aspect and likewise that of the sandy hills has been greatly enhanced by the planting of bent grass which really does make them look like “the real thing”. These bents have come from different places, amongst others Deal, Le Touquet, North Berwick and Aberdovey. There is a sandy hill on the right of the 17th fairway which is called “Mount Vardon” and this is planted with bents that the great man brought back with him from Le Touquet. Those who are botanically inclined will be interested to know that they differ from the true blue British variety. My hopelessly unscientific eye sees no difference but anyone can see that the bents in general bring with them a real breath of the sea to inland Hertfordshire.
   The making of these bunkers and sandhills was essential to the course because nature, having provided the sand, did not provide a great deal in the way of natural hazards. There is some gorse, a solitary tree or two, such as that capital one at the 12th hole, and the sinister wood into which we are apt to hook at the 17th; there is also some imported heather , and since heather grows slowly it has not yet assumed the importance that it will some day. So for the most part the country lies rather open. There is rough of course, but the general aspect is one of stretches of fair green turf and bunkers in the grand manner. Consequently the course is, if I may so term it, a sociable one, on which we are not cut off from our friends but see how they are faring at neighbouring holes as we make our way round. And now that is enough of preliminaries and let us start at the first hole, close to the windows of the very comfortable club house.
   We begin with a long hole, and that is always a good plan as it gets the couples more easily and quickly away; but we are not going to be let off easily. Our first drive is not very alarming, neither is our second shot, but the third may shake our early morning nerve. Right across our path to the green is a cross bunker, very deep and horrible, and we have to pitch across it and stop reasonably quickly on the other side. Very eminent persons, such as Havers, can sometimes get home in two, but I am not talking about them for the hole is 495 yards long and ordinary mortals will have to face that short pitch and will be thoroughly well pleased if they start with a good steady five.
   With the 2nd hole we come back towards the club house and there is another formidable bunker to be carried, this time with our second shot. It is made the more formidable and also the more “seaside” in appearance by being shored up with black sleepers that remind one pleasantly of Prestwick or Sandwich. These sleepers are 304 yards from the back tee, and I believe that despite a standing offer of £5 reward no one has ever succeeded in hitting them with his tee shot. A good iron shot ought to get us home in two, but it must be straight as must be the drive, for there are flanking bunkers and altogether this is a good four-hole. So is the 3rd (150 yards) a good three, for not only are there bunkers to carry, but more of them lurking on either side. So if we begin with an average of fours (we probably shall not) we shall be very well on our way.
    It is still more improbable that we shall go on with three more fours because the 4th, 5th and 6th holes are all what I term, with senile envy, “modern fours”: the player must have plenty of length or fives will be his fate. These three holes run more or less parallel with one another, the 4th away from the farm, the 5th back to it and the 6th finally away again. They are a certain family likeness, but each has its separate and interesting features: the 4th severe bunkers for the hooker and a gently sloping green that demands a sure and delicate touch; the 5th a fine carry off the tee of 150 yards (and more from the back tee); the 6th an out-of-bounds hedge and road running all the way on the left and a plateau green.
   Having so far worked uncommonly hard and taken, unless I am a bad prophet, several fives, we are now given a little something to cheer us up: we might get a three at the 7th and we certainly ought to get one at the 8th. The 7th is 229 yards long but it is downhill and in summer, at any rate, strong players need only their irons. There is a really superb bunker in front of the tee eighty yards long and in it, by the way, is a tiny islet of grass having a sentimental interest. Mr Markes transplanted it from the sacred soil of Hoylake. No green-man must lay sacrilegious hand on it and in summer it is yellow with vetch. There is something else at the hole to remind us of the Cheshire links, since, if we hook, we shall get into a sandy ditch at the foot of a grass bank like one of the Hoylake “Cops”. Also, as at Hoylake, we may go over the bank and out of bounds. Having, I hope, got our three at the 7th, we walk back into a little clearing in a wood and play – I also hope – a high stopping shot with a mashie niblick (105 yards) to an island green. We must hit the green and must stop on it; otherwise sand will inevitably be our portion – and serve us right! The 9th is 353 yards long and that ought to mean a four, but the prevailing wind is against us, and a gentle rise of tussocky ground of a quite innocent aspect produces by some subtle terror a large number of bad tee shots from all classes of players. There are big cross bunkers for our second and there is gorse on the left, but that which I personally like best about the hole is the sandy, benty hill behind it. It does not actually affect the play but it supplies a capital golfing background and makes picturesque and interesting what might otherwise be a little prosaic.
   That brings us to the turn and we do turn back, more or less, in our tracks, to the neighbourhood of the 7th and 8th holes. Indeed, the 10th green was built up by the aid of a little matter of 500 cartloads excavated in making that big bunker at the 7th. This 10th is a one-shot hole – for tigers. It is 235 yards long with a plateau green. On the right of the green is a big bunker, crowned with more of those ominous sleepers, and the sides of the plateau run away pretty steeply to modified perdition. There is something to be said for being too short a driver to reach the green and so getting home with a drive and a little run up; but it is an interesting and exhilarating hole for players of all lengths and all classes.
   We have been getting, or we ought to have been getting, some threes. Now for a five, for the 11th is the long hole of the course – 543 yards. It runs a little downhill towards the finish and sometimes Havers will doubtless carry the cross bunkers (470 yards from the tee) with his second shot; but doubtless also we shall not. We shall, if all is well, avoid the big right and left hand bunkers from the tee, play a steady second and so home with a pitch to a closely guarded green. There are Saharas, bristling with North Berwick bents on either side of the green, and when there is a strong south-west wind and the third is consequently an iron shot this approach is really difficult. Indeed, Mr T.A. Torrance, who certainly ought to know, says it is one of the most terrifying he knows anywhere. The 12th, called Aberdovey from the birthplace of its bents, is a good dog-leg two-shotter, with big sand hills to carry from the tee and a lone tree to stymie us if we drive to the wrong place. It is a good four, whereas the 13th ought to be a reasonably simple four if we know how to play a running approach down a gentle slope and don’t play it too hard. The 14th, on the other hand, will be a five, for it is 520 yards long. It is a sort of distant cousin of the 11th, but with this difference, that there are sand hills to carry with the second shot and no cross bunker in front of the green.
   The 15th is 190 yards long and it looks every yard of it as we stand on the tee contemplating, with some trepidation, its sandy perils. It has a sand hill for background, a big bunker for a slice and another small one on the left – an ingenious little beast to catch us when we make too sure of not slicing. There is, I think, some more sand in the foreground. At any rate I know that I always feel particularly frightened and correspondingly pleased if I get a three. The 16th is a good honest hole of just under 400 yards, with a ditch threatening us on the left-hand edge of the fairway, and then comes the 17th, which, as befits a good 17th, may very easily ruin our score, if we have not ruined it already. It is 520 yards long and our object is to play two full shots, skirting and not too nearly skirting a long out-of-bounds wood of larch and pine trees on our left. Then, if all is well, we shall be past the corner of the wood and get our five with a pitch or a pitch and run to a pretty green a little below us. Even now our troubles are not over; we may come to the most absurd grief in our very last lap. The home hole is only 149 yards long, no more than a high mashie pitching shot; but the shot must be high, because we go down into the depths of a pit to play it, the pit has a sandy precipitous face and if we take our eye off the ball, goodness only knows what may happen. If we keep that eye from wandering, there is a nice green awaiting us and we ought to finish with a three.
    In the whole round we ought to have done a fair number of threes, but we shall also certainly have taken a fair number of fives (I say nothing of sixes and sevens) so that anything approaching the scratch score of the course, which is 75, is emphatically good. We shall carry away memories of gorgeous bunkers and beautiful greens, and also, unless we have been singularly immaculate in our play, a little sand in our shoes to remind us of Sandy Lodge.