Former home of the Earls of Clarendon, The Grove is a high end resort with a well respected course on the grounds. Most famous for hosting the 2006 American Express Championship, the scene of yet another dominant performance by Tiger Woods, The Grove was opened for play in 2003. The high profile architect, Kyle Phillips, is the designer of record. Philips designed three UK courses in quick succession in the early noughts, the most famous of which is Kingsbarns. The third, Dundonald Links, is a low key design originally conceived as a links outpost for members of Loch Lomond.
I don’t tend to gravitate toward modern resort golf, but The Grove is somewhat alluring because of the reputation Kingsbarns enjoys and the work Phillips carried out at California Club. I was expecting a well designed course and that is exactly what The Grove is. Everything works just like it says on the tin, yet The Grove lacks a sense of bewilderment and wonder. Ultimately the course is a series of met expectations. One can’t exactly complain, but it is equally difficult to praise The Grove.
The first is a fairly straight forward short 4 opener, but I did like the dead ground shy of the green. The reader may also just make out the swale back right of the green. Both of these elements were intermettently strung through the design and generally to great effect.
The second wasn't terribly impressive, quite a wide fairway and generous green, two trademarks of The Grove. #3 is a bit tighter slipping between sand and water. The approach too is more exacting. One aspect of the design I found quite intriguing is the use of sand or shaping to draw one's eye away from the green; creating visual width which is superfluous. In this case, there is an odd swale right of the green. I thought it might be better to include this as part of the green, adding a wow factor that The Grove sadly lacks.
Not a looker, but #4 is a good par 3 among a set which could be argued is the highlight of the design.
For mine, the best hole on the front nine, the 5th features an attractive dome green. The drawback of the hole is ever-present road map bunkering. The property does have interest and the shaping generally adds to the interest, however, the bunkering is painfully predictable.
The double dogleg three-shot 6th isn't of particular interest. The 7th though has an unusual green. The plateau green is very shallow and the centre section runs away from play. There are very difficult to access hole locations on either wing. This was the one hole which really made me take notice.
Another example of visual width on the 8th.
The side ends with an uphill par 5. On the second shot, the player must choose which side of the curious mound best suits his strategy. In reality, the decision is more likely dependant on the position of the drive. The back nine starts in interesting fashion between two lovely trees, from memory, the only time trees should come into play. There is a run-out around the 250 mark after which the hole turns abruptly left.
Another par five follows, swinging well left, the green is heavily fortified by shag and sand.
The 12th didn't do much for me, but I did like the scalloped shaping shy of the green.
The straight forward one-shot 13th does offer a chance to hook a runner around the sand.
Another slight surprise, #14 is far tighter than it looks from the tee, or perhaps I had been lulled a bit by the previous amount of space. I did notice the low cops, but couldn't be bothered to look at the guide book
The 15th moves left over sand to a slightly raised green. I am not sure why the the front right part of the platform isn't part of the green, it could potentially create interesting angles. Below is a typical green. While well manicured, I thought the greens could have been a bit more adventurous.
#16, another good short hole.
The back nine is better than the front, but the par 5s are generally not holes which deserve much discussion. Onto 18, another perfectly solid hole which just about sums up The Grove.
Well, The Grove, it lacks pizzaz and features no All England candidates. I think the next time I head north up the M25, I want it to be for Denham. Don't get me wrong. The Grove is good golf. The service is genuinely friendly. The conditioning, especially given the torrential rain recently, is excellent. I liked the whispy grass the club maintains. However, like the many wierd trees planted in recent years, it all seems a bit superficial and lacking in character or spirit - even. By all means, if you have a surplus of money laying about, give The Grove a go, but don't expect to see anything exciting, new or different. 2014
Ciao