UK Knock-Out 2018

[Marty Bonnar]

Well played, Ian. Damn good match on a lovely May evening.
Agree with much of your Post. Pity about the greens which were a bit shaggy! Quite a lot of quirk for what is essentially a modern extension of a pretty old course. As to the original course, looking at the aerials, it appears they’ve lost a couple of holes on the ground between what is now 12 and 17.
Good luck with the next round match!
Food ended up as a Chip Steak Supper from Toby’s in Thornton!
Cheers,
M.

[Mark Pearce]

We had a glorious afternoon at Headingley.  It seems a lt of work has been done removing trees, so although the flyover on the club's website suggested it would be tight, the trees actually weren't that much of an intrusion, though I still think there's more that could be done here.  The other thing the flyover didn't reveal was hoe hilly the course was.


Like its near neighbours at Sand Moor and Moortown, there has been some rerouting, with the 7th, 8th and 9th being (relatively) new holes.  Whilst each good holes, they feel a little different to the rest and slightly interrupt the flow.  Overall, though, a very good course.  I may try to post some photos, if I can work out how to do that post Photo-Bucket.


As to the matches, Duncan was far too good for me, whilst Ben edged out Andy.

[Duncan Cheslett]

I really enjoyed Headingley, and it certainly wasn't the suburban parkland course I was expecting.


Fabulously undulating with attractive woodlands well out of play - particularly the areas of scots pine - it made for a lovely setting. The newer looking holes in the middle of the round felt out of character with the rest, but this was more than compensated by some excellent par 4s and a great set of short holes.


I'd love to go back when not in a competitive frame of mind and see more.


Well done Ben and commiserations to Andy and Mark. I can't help feeling that Mark lost more holes than I actually won! Suffice to say we shook hands on the 14th.


Is it within the rules to offer you best out of three, Mark?

[Ben Stephens]

I really enjoyed Headingley, and it certainly wasn't the suburban parkland course I was expecting.


Fabulously undulating with attractive woodlands well out of play - particularly the areas of scots pine - it made for a lovely setting. The newer looking holes in the middle of the round felt out of character with the rest, but this was more than compensated by some excellent par 4s and a great set of short holes.


I'd love to go back when not in a competitive frame of mind and see more.


Well done Ben and commiserations to Andy and Mark. I can't help feeling that Mark lost more holes than I actually won! Suffice to say we shook hands on the 14th.


Is it within the rules to offer you best out of three, Mark?

Headingley was better than I thought it would be - thanks to a large tree removal project which seems to breathe life back into the golf course having seen the drone fly throughs on the clubs website which made it more claustrophobic. The 16th has a rather delightful Mackenzie green which is sub divided by 2 ridges giving the green two separate sections.


I can't help feeling that the southern half is better than the northern half across the road. Holes 14 and 15 are outstanding long holes.
Holes 7 and 8 have the feel of newer golf holes which belong to a golf course which is 15-20 years old. I would bring the ditch further across to make 7 more of a thinking par 5 than a bombers runway. The green could have heather planted in the background with a few trees to make it blend better with the rest of the course.


Generally the bunkers look tired and could do with a facelift to further enhance the quality of the course.


Finally at £25 per person on a bank holiday Monday was a absolute bargain and thank you to Andy Levett for the closely fought game plus Duncan and Mark for the company.

[Mark Pearce]

Duncan is sadly right. the number of holes I lost or halved having had a significant advantage is longer than is consistent with winning!  I'd love to make it best of 3 but sadly I'm about to disappear for the rest of May (a conference, followed by BUDA).  Looking forward to games at Reddish, Manchester and Huddersfield over the Summer, though.

[Andy Levett]

Well played Ben. A very enjoyable day which left me wishing there was a Plate for first round losers.   No idea how much Mackenzie was actually there on a layout which existed before he was paid £50 to consult and has been changed since but a good course irrespective of that.

[Ben Stephens]

Well played Ben. A very enjoyable day which left me wishing there was a Plate for first round losers.   No idea how much Mackenzie was actually there on a layout which existed before he was paid £50 to consult and has been changed since but a good course irrespective of that.

Thank you Andy. £50 consulting fee    wow. The 14th-17th look very much like Mackenzie holes.


Great idea about a Plate event for 1st and possibly 2nd round losers - it will add more interest to this event and maybe have the Main event and Plate final at the same place/day.

[Duncan Cheslett]

Fifty quid in 1913 equates to well over five grand today!  This was very early in MacKenzie's career as a golf architect with only Alwoodley, Moortown and Reddish Vale as full designs on his C.V.


It is safe to assume that his work at Headingley was quite extensive if he managed to command such a fee.

[Michael Whitaker]

[James Boon]

I can report that a first and second round match took place at Berkhamsted GC today. In the morning Giles took on Robin, with Giles coming out the winner while I took the part of the golfing chaperone. In the afternoon it was Robin's turn to chaperone while I took on Giles. After pulling ahead on the front nine, Giles closed me down with some great play on the back 9, but I eventually manged to beat him 1 up.


I believe we all really enjoyed Berkhamsted which could perhaps do better than just be known for being without bunkers? They certainly need to get a chainsaw out (appears to be a common theme amongst some of the courses played this year?) and they would probably benefit from switching the nines? The 18th and first are right next to each other, but the 18th is some way from the clubhouse, with 9, overlooked by the clubhouse... The current 10th is a par 3, but would make a decent opening hole though I can only imagine somebody (perhaps who isnt aware of Royal Lytham, S&A, The Berkshire or Huntercombe to name a few) doesnt think you should start with a par 3? Which is a shame as due to a busy first tee, we played it starting on 10 both rounds and thought it worked wonderfully that way around!


Matt, I'll be in touch!


Cheers,


James

[Jon Wiggett]

Congrats Mr. Boon

[Michael Whitaker]

[Robin_Hiseman]

Giles was much too good for me in the morning and ran away with it. His natural eagle on the Par 5 6th was the order of things.


Berkhamsted is a beautiful track, which we played off the yellow tees. On at least seven holes the driving length is restricted by rough ground splitting the fairways. On others, broken ground affects the second shots. There is a fair amount of hurdling involved and the gnarly, rough mounds more than compensate for the lack of sand. The back tee length is above 6,700 and it must be a formidable test from there, as there isn't an abundance of space to hit into to.


The par 4's and 5's are the strength of the layout. I thought the par 3's were largely forgettable. The greens present tricky targets and there is much interesting recovery play to enjoy from the green surrounds. The putting surfaces have some good and varied contouring, but were perhaps a tad slow for the slopes to be wholly influential on the day we played.


What James has noted is that we played both rounds starting on 10 and we all felt this was a more satisfying sequence of holes, building up to a strong finish with the home green (9th) in front of the clubhouse. The convenient link from 18 to 1 leads me to think this is a course that may have been switched around a bit in the past. Maybe they didn't like starting with a Par 3. Having learnt my golf on a course that started and finished with a 3, such judgements have never bothered me.


What cannot be denied is the beauty of the surroundings, which are a combination of Huntercombe and Woodhall Spa. It is a high quality course and it staggers me that Golf World cannot find a place for it in the top 200 courses of the UK and Ireland. I think this omission says more about the raters than it does the quality of the course. It is a glaring error.


James played well and deserves his progression to the next round. Matt's got a challenge to get past Boony.

[Niall C]

Well done James, and another thank you to Mike for keeping the drawsheet going.

Niall

[Mark Pearce]

Well done James, and another thank you to Mike for keeping the drawsheet going.

Niall

Indeed.  Many thanks to Mike.


Boon may be the best 4 or 5 handicapper I have seen.  Someone will play very well to stop him winning this.


And yes, Berko not being in the top 200 courses in the UK is an absurdity.

[Matt Dawson]

Well done James! Where shall we play?


The English side of the draw is going great guns...has it stopped snowing in Scotland yet?!? 

[Giles Payne]

I very much enjoyed myself on the day but James proved too steady for me - well played.


I agree with everything that has been noted a loud the course. It has a good atmosphere and was a lovely place to spend a bright sunny May Day. I felt quite at home as there were a large number of humps and hollows (like Huntercombe) and they had a real impact on play with Robin managing to find some particularly challenging stances.


It may not look long on the card but plays longer as we could only really hit driver on 5 or 6 holes - certainly not a course for the tee it up and rip it merchant.


I really enjoyed the course and all at a very sensible price (£60) for the day. It is also quite accessible from London or if you are heading north on the M1.

[James Boon]

Crikey you lot stop it. Boring maybe, but there's better than me out there! I was certainly worried when Giles made an eagle on 7 (16 as we played it) look easy in the morning!

[Robin_Hiseman]

...with Robin managing to find some particularly challenging stances.

That was just my regular address position Giles...

[Sam Krume]

Does anyone know when the second round matches are due to be played by?

[Duncan Cheslett]

Does anyone know when the second round matches are due to be played by?

My handicap has just gone up to 13 so I'd appreciate it if you and Ben could get your act together before it comes down again!    

[Rich Goodale]

To Mark


My plans have changed and I will not be back from Florida until June 8.  If that's too late, please chalk me off and let Clyde go through.


To Clyde


If it's not too late, can you set up a time and place for anytime on or after the 8th and anywhere.


Thanks


Rich

[Clyde Johnson]

The remaining first round tie is schedule for early this Friday afternoon at East Renfrewshire GC; a sporty looking moorland course attributed to Braid.


Josie Goodale and Niall Carlton complete the four-ball.

[Rich Goodale]

The remaining first round tie is schedule for early this Friday afternoon at East Renfrewshire GC; a sporty looking moorland course attributed to Braid.


Josie Goodale and Niall Carlton complete the four-ball.

Spectators and medical professionals will be appreciated, as I will be flying in from Florida tomorrow evening.


Rich

[Michael Graham]

The remaining first round tie is schedule for early this Friday afternoon at East Renfrewshire GC; a sporty looking moorland course attributed to Braid.


Josie Goodale and Niall Carlton complete the four-ball.

I look forward to reading thoughts on East Ren. It’s been on my list of courses I want to visit for some time. My aim is to definitely get there this summer.