Sam Krume and I played our match at the beautiful Knole Park, in Sevenoaks yesterday. It was a ding-dong match for the first two-thirds, until I toe ended a drive OOB on the 14th, which gave Sam the daylight to complete a 4&2 win. Watch out for Sam, he's a solid player, with a very tidy short game that denied me on several occasions.
As for Knole Park, I found it to be a total delight. Upon arrival, I was greeted with the charming sight of several dozen Sika deer grazing nonchalantly between the putting green and the 1st tee. The deer were to be found throughout the golf course and are very tame.
Deer by the clubhouse
The course is the work of Abercromby, Coombe and Simpson and bears comparison with Abercromby's work at The Addington. Like the Addington, there are six par 3's, all of which are quite long, though the downhill 7th played much shorter due to a following wind and firm ground. You are often hitting down into valleys and back up to shelf greens. It's a bit like Hindhead in this respect.
After one lap of the course it was the 6th hole which struck me as the best strategic hole. The best driving line is over the blind hill to the left, beyond which acres of fairway can be discovered, but the sight line entices you to the right, where hidden bunkers, hollows and ridges lie in wait. Approaches into the green are closed off from the right, but open from the left.
The 6th hole.
The aerial better illustrates the strategy. Signs of old bunkers set into the left hillside are evident and can be seen as they were by going back in time on the Google Earth timeline. A classic and imaginative design strategy perfectly suited to the terrain.
The best green is found on the long par 3 12th, playing across a valley to an elevated green. A ridge bisects the green, creating a fabulous pocket in the back left corner. With the pin cut below the ridge and my ball above it and just off the green, I had no hope of getting close.
Hole 12 with the diagonal whaleback ridge going from left to right, creating a handkerchief sized hole location in the back left corner. (Sam's photo)
And here I am discovering forlornly that my tee shot has surmounted the ridge and nestles just off the green whilst Sam's ball sits proudly 20 feet from the pin. I holed out in four, Sam in three, but was pleased to find out I got a shot...on a par 3! (Sam's photo)
If the course has one problem, it is the invasive encroachment of bracken. In places it is getting very close to the playing corridors. Management of bracken is very difficult as the chemical used to eradicate it has been banned, except in exceptional circumstances. Bracken is also a haven for the ticks that can give you Lyme's Disease, so you don't really want to go wading in there in your shorts. There must be a ripe harvest of golf balls in the winter, including my Pro V which is just a yard into the gunch to the right of the 4th green. It's got a red dot if you find it!
Knole Park is a prime example of the kind of charming and rustic golf courses that you only find in the UK. It sits gently upon the terrain and winds its way around the expansive 1000 acre park, revealing great vista upon great vista. In the distance you may hear the gentle sounds of a cricket match, or live brass band music emanating from the grounds of nearby Knole House. On a beautiful, sunny and warm Sunday afternoon in July, being there made me feel extremely grateful to live in England.
Here are a few more captioned photos from our day. Good luck to Sam in the rest of the competition.
View from the 3rd tee to the distant pulpit green. Plenty of fairway hidden down below.
Par 3 5th hole. A cruel right kick off of Abercromby's greenside mounding cost me the hole! Note the bracken.
Downhill par 3 7th. 180 yards on the card, but I was thirty yards long with a 7-iron! The Beatles Strawberry Fields was filmed to the left of this hole.
A panoramic view towards the 9th hole from the 13th fairway, revealing the typical parkland landscape of the upper plateau.
Shortish par 4 13th. Lay up short of the curious hillside pond and flip on a wedge.
Down into the valley and back up again to the green on the par 5 15th. The deer sheltering in the trees to the left about to have their peaceful afternoon shattered by another RH pull hook!
Approach to the skyline par 5 17th green, with one of Abercromby's pits in the foreground. The crowned approach and firm fairways made for exacting iron play. (Sam's photo)