Crowborough Beacon
An old club (1895) located 800 feet up on the Sussex Downs. Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle (author of the Sherlock Holmes stories) was Captain in 1910. I do not know who designed the course. It's quite hilly and there is good use made of hilltops for green and tee sites, and there is clever use made of side slopes. It's only a few miles from Royal Ashdown Forest and it's not far behind in quality. These photos were taken in January (midwinter!) so they're not very bright, but they give something of a flavour. The views from many parts of the course are superb. There's some heather, gorse and bracken as well as trees - I don't feel there are too many trees, but I'm sure some of you will! It's quite modest in length - 6273 yards par 71 - but there are some sturdy long par 4s as well as drive and pitch holes.
1st, 388 yards par 4. A very welcoming downhill drive with a substantial carry over heather and heather lining the right side of the fairway all the way. The approach shot is made tricky by a public road just through the back of and to the left of the green.
2nd, 448 yards par 4. Described by Peter Allen as 'as fierce a par 4 as ever I saw.' The fairway leans insistently to the right as it curves that way and the approach is made over a yawning chasm to this pinnacle green with drop offs into trouble on the right and through the back.
3rd, 143 yards par 3. Three of the short holes measure in the 140s but they are varied enough to requite different tactics on each. This one involves a carry over two green-front bunkers to a two-level green with most of the serious trouble down the hill to the left.
5th, 357 yards par 4. Not quite so pretty in winter with the pale grass and leafless trees, but the tactics are plain enough. The drive must be aimed well right as the slope brings it in considerably, and the approach shot must also be aimed right of the target, up a steepish hill.
5th green. You can see just how steep that hill is.
6th, 190 yards par 3. A star hole. I'm afraid it's a pretty awful photo but it had to go in as it is such a corker of a hole. You tee off across this rocky abyss with awful trouble down the hill on the left all the way to the green. If you are running the ball in to the green you can aim reasonably wide to the right and the slope will do the rest. Too far to the right, however, and there's a grass bunker and the chip from the higher ground to the right of the green is very testing. No further photos until the 18th as we were called through by the players in front on the 6th and several other matches. We went round in 2 hrs and 5 minutes.
18th, 438 yards par 4. This plays much longer than its given yardage being uphill all the way. There's heather to clear from the tee and more heather to the right of the fairway. But the side to be is the left so that you can feed the ball past this bunker in to the green.
18th. This bunker, on the right, is much more of a threat following a drive to the centre or right of the fairway. Great views from the clubhouse, drink in hand, on a warm summer evening.