Sunningdale New - with photos

[Thomas Dai]

According to the search engine there arn't that many photos of Sunningdale's New course herein although there is Ran's 2010 course profile - http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/england/sunningdale-new/


A recent playing opportunity allowed some additional photography although alas there was fog present at times. Never mind here are a few snaps to give an idea of what it's like to those who haven't had the opportunity to play this wonderful Harry Colt course.


By coincidence UK Sky TV was today showing an episode of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf featuring Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player playing Sunny New. Unfortunately I can't find a link to it on Youtube. Perhaps someone else could source a link as the course in the episode of SWWG has very different bunkering and there are many more trees?


Note that the little white spots visible on and around the greens are not golf balls but droplets from spraying nozzles.


Firstly, the iconic oak tree in front of the Clubhouse -



Left side of the 3rd green from the 15th fairway -



There are sometimes queries herein as to what heather actually looks like - well, this close-up looking towards the left side of the 3rd green from the 15th fairway shows what heather looks like. It also shows one of the surprising amount of ditches present at Sunningdale New.



Looking back from the rear of the green on the wonderful dogleg par-5 6th hole. The championship tee is positioned on the hill (above the top of the flagstick in the photo) -



Looking back towards the tee from the rear of the green on the delightful par-3 10th hole. There apparently used to be a tee somewhere on the ridge line. I'm not sure where is was. Could someone who knows please advise?



This is the 10th green from just short of the putting surface. The roof of the Halfway Hut famous for its sausage sandwiches is visible behind the green.



The 16th fairway doglegging right as photographed from the tee -



Rear of the 16th green photographed from the 3rd tee -



The 18th green as seen from the fairway -



A quite wonderful course. A 10 on the Doak Scale I believe. I reckon it would be an 11 on the Spinal Tap scale.


atb

[Ryan Coles]

Glad you made it to Sunningdale.


You don't think 1 & 18 on the new sees it fall short of a 9 or a 10?




Did you also see the Old?

[Thomas Dai]

Ryan,


Firstly many thanks to you, as it was you're very helpful tips and advice that encouraged our extremely enjoyable early Christmas presents visit.


It was fortunate, given the fog and consequential delayed start, that we had planned just to play the New on this occasion leaving the Old for next year so I'm not yet able to compare the 1st/18th on the respective courses.


Sunningdale New is the best inland course that I've played in GB - fair but challenging and thought provoking, appropriate width of fairways, rough and heather before reaching any trees. Angles, positioning, green complexes and putting surfaces to admire, open visual expanses. Lovely jubbly and all that. Really well organised too and very commonsensical to let some 2-balls off before the 4-balls after the fog delay.


I'm looking forward to playing the Old sometime next year.


A couple more photos of the New -


The par-3 14th looking back from the rear of the green towards the tee





The par-5 13th photographed from behind the green looking back down the fairway



atb

[Adam Lawrence]

Looking back towards the tee from the rear of the green on the delightful par-3 10th hole. There apparently used to be a tee somewhere on the ridge line. I'm not sure where is was. Could someone who knows please advise?

The tee was high on the ridge line in the cleared area to the far right of this photo. It was uncovered by then Sunningdale course manager Murray Long about five or six years ago. A few interesting snippets: firstly, when you look at the hole from up there on the ridge, you see very clearly that the green was designed to accept a shot from that angle; the current line of play is far from optimal. Secondly, when Murray took me up there, not only could you very clearly see the original tee pad shaping still in existence, but there was still fescue visible on the tee in among the long grass.

[Thomas Dai]

Adam,
Thanks for this insight.
It would be quite a long walk from the current 9th green to the former position of the 10th tee so it kind of begs the question as to whether the 9th green was located differently once-upon-time?
Atb


Later edit - Here are a couple of old B&W photo now coloured -

[Adam Lawrence]

Adam,
Thanks for this insight.
It would be quite a long walk from the current 9th green to the former position of the 10th tee so it kind of begs the question as to whether the 9th green was located differently once-upon-time?
Atb

Oh yeah. I can't get into it now as I'm sat in an airport waiting for a flight, but essentially holes 7-10 were completely different back in the day. They occupied entirely different land and were abandoned after some years because the members felt they were too hard walking. Tom Simpson built new holes, which Colt and Morrison then rebuilt before WW2. I will try to find the link, but it's all detailed in a GCA article about Sunningdale's lost holes from a few years back. Murray Long found them, cleared the trees and reopened the corridors, and I saw them when I went for a walk there with him. It was spooky; like walking in HSC's footsteps.

[BCrosby]

Adam -


So the tee you discovered was the old Simpson 10th tee?


Bob

[Thomas Dai]

Adam,
Thanks again.
I reckon this is the thread - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,43594.0.html - as there are some comments from yourself etc on this matter on p2. The thread has quite bit of other interesting info too.
Atb

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

Though the Old always seems to outrank the New, I have never agreed.  I had the great fortune to play there quite a bit in the summer of 1979, since my father oversaw some young bankers with memberships at the clubs that mattered, and I always played both, up to 54 holes some days.  And having revisited a few times since that summer, my take is that the Old makes a great immediate impression, while the New has brilliant angles and subtle greens that grow upon you the more times played. The New is my favorite Surrey course, though, Walton Heath and St, George's Hill are great, great!

[Adam Lawrence]

Adam -


So the tee you discovered was the old Simpson 10th tee?


Bob

No, it was the original Colt hole from 1923. I forget the exact history, I'll link to it when I get home.

[Dan Moore]

The full story of Colt and the lost holes is here.


http://golfclubatlas.com/best-of-golf/the_sunningdale_story/


I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Churchill for a trek through the forest along the path of the lost Colt holes a couple of years ago.

[John Ezekowitz]

The view of the 6th hole from the back tee at Sunningdale New is one of the most pleasing in all of inland golf.


I also really liked the 10th, but loved the halfway house even better! One of the best in the world.