My previous visit to Hunstanton was for 2 days of golf during their Spring Foursomes tournament a few years ago, so a last minute trip to the Norfolk coast brought the prospect of reacquainting myself with the course, using my own ball for a full round (don't get me wrong, I love foursomes!) However, the visit would be over a weekend, and with winter meaning limited daylight I thought I might be struggling? I called the secretary a few days before and after being put through to the professional was told that a member was looking for a game just before 9am on the Saturday morning so I could join him. I had read about the warm welcome at Hunstanton but was still pleasantly surprised. I was even more surprised that morning when I was asked if I wanted to join in the stableford competition they had on that day. In the end, despite some poor weather, I thoroughly enjoyed the course and especially the warm welcome from everyone at the club where I was made to feel like a member for the day, of one of England's finest old clubs, that has a very challenging links to play over.
Due to the weather, I won't post much in the way of a photo tour (I really just wanted to reiterate what a warm welcome I received at the club anyway), but check out these previous threads...
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49714.0.htmlhttp://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,32961.0.htmlhttp://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,46362.0.htmlThe morning started out promising though, until the cold, wind and rain really set in. Here is the great setting of the 1st tee and 18 green just outside the clubhouse!
A few points of interest, firstly a couple of old plans hanging in the clubhouse.
January 1905
The Ladies Golf Championship of 1914
These show the old 9, 10 and 11 as well as the old 18th which runs on what is now the practice area and practice green. Checking through several publications I can find record of:
- George Fernie of Troon, laid out the original 9 holes in 1891
- James Braid added some "cunning bunkering".
- James Sherlock, the clubs professional, added the current 9, 10 and 11 (changed from those shown on above plans) in the 1920s.
Who extended the course to 18 holes and was responsible for the current 18th isn't clear in any of my reading? Can anyone throw any more light onto the courses history?
Here is a current picture of the 7th , with its cavernous front bunker complete with railway sleepered face (better pics in the other tours above!):
But there is a photo in Donald Steel's
Classic Golf Links of GB & I (1999 paperback edition) which shows it without this sleepered face, just a slightly scruffy looking revetted face.
Lastly, Gordon Irvine is also consulting at the course and helping with the construction of new tees on 10 (suggested in a masterplan by Hawtree if I recall correctly from the member I was playing with?) and the reconstruction of several bunkers including this one on the left of 12 in a more rustic old fashioned appearance.
One last point, as I write this there is an extreme weather warning for the east coast of the UK for the next few days, with significant winds and high tides expected. There is a decent dune ridge between the course and sea at Hunstanton, but one has to worry for Brancaster down the road. Fingers crossed!
Cheers,
James