Humble HARTLEPOOL GC:

[Sean_A]

While Hartlepool GC is older than 1907, it wasn’t until this year that a new course was built on Hart Warren. The course is accessed via a tunnel through a substantial railroad embankment which cuts it off from the hub bub of town. W Park Jr finished off an 18-hole course around 1911. James Braid made some significant changes in the late 1920s. It is clear modern alterations were made when a new clubhouse was built in the early 1960s. I suspect the land to the south where the old house was located had a few holes on the high ground. Which would mean some of the holes on the agricultural half of the course north of the house must be newish. The end result is about an equal split of holes in the dunes and the flat. It is the holes in the dunes which bring us to Hartlepool.

I will get to it from the get go, I am not impressed with 1-3, Hartlepool's flat, agricultural holes on heavier soil. Although the opener is mildly interesting as a 254 yarder with OoB left. The green is built up with a tongue jutting toward the tee. 


Skipping to the 4th, the terrain is so flat that I didn't see this burn short of the green.


We now transition to the dunes on the short 5th.


The hole is acceptable, but it is the setting overlooking Crimdon Beach which impresses.




The blind 6th gets the show going.  The hole is straight though it may pay to give the dunes on the left some extra leeway. Once cresting the dune we can see the green beyond a great crevasse sitting high on a sandbank.


While a short two-shotter, going for the green in one may prove fool-hearty.


Looking at the green from the 8th tee.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Ally Mcintosh]

Thanks for this one, Sean - I know nothing of Hartlepool and that 6th hole looks like a beauty!

[Sean_A]

Yer welcome Ally

Hartlepool Tour Cont

The course continues in the dunes for the short 7th over another crevasse...a theme for the short holes in the dunes. One of the issues with the routing is most of the dune holes run northwest to to southeast.




While only a bit more substantive than the 5th, yet just as beautiful.




The meaty 8th descends diagonally from the dunes to the flat....its a good if expected hole.  Nine turns back toward the house. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the rig and furrow fairway.


As is the case with the 9th, I think 10 is a Braid hole. Quite different from the other dune holes, the 10th plunges straight toward the sea.


A straight drive at the cut has every chance of paying dividends. There isn't much joy in cutting blindly across a dune. Hartlepool doesn't benefit from polished shaping, but it does have an aura which is appealing.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Sean_A]

HARTLEPOOL TOUR CONT

We face a formidable big one-shotter at the 11th. When into a stiff breeze, the uphill nature of the hole can cause concern regarding the carry.


The green has a bit more to it than the other short holes in the dunes.


Looking back toward the tee.


The funneling effect to the false front makes the carry element of the tee shot that much more meaningful.




Another short hole taking us to the inward side of the dunes in style. This is some memorial! H'Angus the Monkey makes another appearance.


Downhill, but designed as a bounce in hole, the 12th is a keeper.


Looking back to the tee.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Sean_A]

HARTLEPOOL TOUR CONT

The run of fine holes continues on 13, a short two-shotter. The hole hugs the inward side of the dunes and features a blind tee shot and two greens. Lord knows why the two greens aren't combined and extended to the full pad of the complex...it would make for one of the most famous greens in England. We played to the upper green.


The full view. #14 is in the background left and the 15th comes back.


Riding the top of the dune, the 14th is a formidable 400+ yarder.




A look at the green from near 15 tee.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Sean_A]

HARTLEPOOL TOUR CONT

Similar to the 8th, the 15th plays diagonally off the dune. Unlike the 8th, 15 is on links turf....the last proper links hole. I am also reminded of Goswick's 3rd and 4th holes.


The hole is littered with bunkers.


16 runs on the flat back toward 15 tee. The green sits at the base of a sharp rise of about 20 feet. I suspect this embankment has soemthing to do with the railway line. I think a few holes used to be on that high ground back in the day. It is now a fairly new housing estate. This is an alright hole.


Hard along the railway embankment on the left, the 17th isn't special, but the fairway does button-hook right near the end which can be disorienting due to a load of bunkers. Dead straight along the car park and house, the 18th is pressured by OoB left...the fairway and green lean that way as well.

Its a shame Hartlepool finishes on a tame note after the terrific run of 10-15. Perhaps more upsetting is the start. This leaves us with a healthy handful of holes which bookend what is at Hartlepool's core a fine course. The tranquil setting away from the less than salubrious town aids this positive impression.  I will go out on a limb and say I prefer Hartlepool to Cleveland because its has more highs despite having more lows. Yet each are worth a stop if one is looking for a reasonably priced trip filler. Although, I will say Hartlepool is worth a significant day trip to play. I don't need enticement return.  2024

Cleveland
https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,67482.msg1758767.html#msg1758767

Seaton Carew
https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,71054.msg1708744.html#msg1708744

Ciao