Ulverston GC (minor Colt)

[Paul_Turner]

Colt designed or redesigned about 120 courses; with his redesigns ranging from complete redos to much smaller work involving just a few holes.  He visited all of those courses-no paper jobs.

His best are world famous, but I'm currently more curious about some of the minor courses he built.

Ulverston (1910) is one of those and is in an extremely beautiful part of England: overlooking Morcambe Bay and situated below the foothills of the Lakeland Fells.

Here are some old photos.  The photos are very old and poor quality, but I like the rugged/ragged bunkers, the natural terrain and the big views.  

Also I've included a link to a modern review which is very positive, although I have no idea how discerning the reviewer is.  Apparently the sheep are no more, but the course hasn't been changed as far as I can tell. (Plus I think it's only about 10 quid a round).




Central strategic bunker that has to be carried to run the ball in from the right.







Some small modern photos, showing the unusual folly on the course.  It looks like it can get pretty windy up there!




And the modern review and hole-by-hole.  The reviewer did a good job-I think.  I like the sound of many of these holes he/she describes.

http://golferslink.co.uk/content/courses/ulve/rev.html

http://golferslink.co.uk/content/courses/ulve/hol.html

[Tom MacWood (Guest)]

Paul
It looks to be a lovely course and pretty sophisticated for 1910. What part of England is this?

[Paul_Turner]

Tom

It's in Cumbria which is north of Lancashire.  Just keep heading up the coast from Lytham.  It's not exactly a hot spot for golf but it's very beautiful, the nearby Lake District is England's most popular national park (and rightly so!).

If you keep going up the coast then the best stop for golf is Silloth.  Seascale is nearby too which might be a fairly decent links if in a horrible setting next to Sellafield Nuclear power station!
There's also a basic links on Walney Island called Furness which I'm curious about; but it's probably nothing special.

There is actually lots of links land nearby on this coast, but I doubt it will ever be developed for golf.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Paul, are you sure that this isn't a course that Gil Hanse, Geoff Shackelford, and Jim Wagner had something to do with?

[GeoffreyC]

Paul

Great stuff. - One refreshing sight in the more recent photos is the (mostly) absence of trees.  Somehow I think a similar comparison of a US course would show a forest with a few patches left for golf.

Cumbria is a nice spot to spend a bit of time on the way up the western Scotland.  I missed this course but I did play Seascale in a local tournament.  Seascale is certainly worth playing.  A very interesting links.  I actually played it in conditions FAR worse then the Saturday of this years Open at Muirfield.  Umbrellas were totally useless and the rain pouring down in sheets.  Rain gloves saved the day!

The best links in Cumbria, IMHO, is Siloth on Solway.

[Paul Turner]

Tommy

I'll have to visit Rustic Canyon one day.  

And also, I wonder if Gil Hanse visited any of these lesser known Colt courses during his research for Hawtree's bio on Colt?

[Paul Turner]

Geoffrey

Yes, I remember you saying you played Seascale.  Does the course get away from the power station?  There looks to be decent movement in the terrain.

Windermere is also another very short and quirky 18 in the Lake District.  Very lumpy, with lots of heather and rocks!

[GeoffreyC]

Paul

Seascale plays out directly to the wire fence surrounding the power plant and then back towards the clubhouse.  Its not strictly an out and back routing rather the holes change direction regularly.  The ground has quite a bit of movement.  The first hole is a short 4 directly up a hill while others wander in and out of some interesting sand dunes.  I have a couple of pictures at home (from just before the really bad weather came in).  They're not digital so I'll have to scan them.  Perhaps next week when we return from some dunes here in the US