Britain's 100 Extraordinary Golf Holes

[Lloyd_Cole]

Here's a book I found while in London. I recall no mention of it here.
Here's a link to Amazon.co.uk where it is on sale
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Britains-100-Extraordinary-Golf-Holes/dp/1904328121

This is no highbrow offering and indeed a good few of the holes are in representing the longest, shortest etc, but I found it ocupied the train journey from London to Glasgow admirably. The photography is certainly not of the highest calibre and one suspects that the whole project may have been assembled on a shoestring. More power to the authors. I won't go into great detail but I'll mention several courses of which I was unaware or only vaguely aware and I will now certainly attempt to visit. Yes, the Painswick and Shishkine and the like are represented, but you all have heard mention of them often enough here.
Baildon, W. Yorks.

Bridport and West Dorset

Durness

Erewash Valley

[Evan_Green]

Lloyd - I own a copy of that book and it is quite entertaining -particularly so because I have never seen any pictures of many of the holes included anywhere else. It's a good find.

[Lloyd_Cole]

More images

Hopeman Golf Club, Moray


Long Ashton


Royal Tarlair


There are plenty of other fun looking courses, but none with images I could link to online.

[Neil Regan]

A few more.
Is that first picture Painswick ?

[Randy Van Sickle]

Lloyd -

I purchased this book as a result of reading a thread here several years ago about Painswick.  You may be able to find it in a search using Painswick.  (The first picture in Neils reply is in fact Painswick.)

It is a fun book with some real examples of quirk.

Randy

[Tony_Muldoon]

It’s fun – was a present last year but it does show freakish holes above all else.  But any book that namechecks Arbory Brae, even in passing, get’s my vote. As I mentioned earlier today I’m going to play Sutton Bridge soon and I’d never heard of it until I saw the book.

[Bill_McBride]

A few more.
Is that first picture Painswick ?

No, the first picture is labelled "Baildon, West Yorks."

But the photo you posted at the top of your post is either #5 or #10 at Painswick, I think #5, up over the ramparts to a TINY little green in a bowl.  Just a nine-iron but don't miss!

[James Bennett]

Bill

that is 5.  You can see 11 green (the short par 4 through the fort) just behind it.

James B

[Alfie]

Tony,

I'm beginning to suspect something is going on here between us ? Outer Limits kind of thing ?

When Lloyd posted this thread it immediately struck a chord as I remembered the author (Vanessa Strowger) had approached me about a more detailed entry in the book. When Arbory went belly up, I advised her and she said she would still like to give the place a mention. I never heard from her again.

So I was curious as to whether Arbory did in fact get a mention (as I'm too bloody miserable to buy the book   ) but felt it would be vain to ask Lloyd if Arbory had made it in the listings.

Thanks Tony. Another little loose thread tidied up.

Alfie.

[RJ_Daley]

Lloyd, as the intrepid troubadour, do you find that such discovery of hidden gems of golf courses and books to lead you there are something that allows you to stay in focus on tours?  You obviously have the work-lifestyle that requires wide spread travels.  Do you favor the dicey chances of the off-the-beaten-path discovery, or are you more likely to play at a well established and well known venue when you are on a schedule that reaches the point where you must have the golf fix?

[Brian_Ewen]

One of the few books to give Stonehavens quirky Gully holes a mention .

See you next time , you play Aberdeen Mr Cole  

[Bill_McBride]

Bill

that is 5.  You can see 11 green (the short par 4 through the fort) just behind it.

James B

I too thought it was #5 because of the woods behind the tee.

I had no idea you were such an aficianado of Painswick.  

Is that a cool place, or what?  

[Lloyd_Cole]

Tony,

I'm beginning to suspect something is going on here between us ? Outer Limits kind of thing ?

When Lloyd posted this thread it immediately struck a chord as I remembered the author (Vanessa Strowger) had approached me about a more detailed entry in the book. When Arbory went belly up, I advised her and she said she would still like to give the place a mention. I never heard from her again.

So I was curious as to whether Arbory did in fact get a mention (as I'm too bloody miserable to buy the book   ) but felt it would be vain to ask Lloyd if Arbory had made it in the listings.

Alfie,
No, it is not in the 100.

[Lloyd_Cole]

Lloyd, as the intrepid troubadour, do you find that such discovery of hidden gems of golf courses and books to lead you there are something that allows you to stay in focus on tours?  You obviously have the work-lifestyle that requires wide spread travels.  Do you favor the dicey chances of the off-the-beaten-path discovery, or are you more likely to play at a well established and well known venue when you are on a schedule that reaches the point where you must have the golf fix?

RJ
I'm afraid I'm way too OCD for that. If I know I'll have free time I'll plan way ahead to try to make the most of it. That doesn't mean I'll play any particular type of course, but I'll certainly try to get to the ones that interest me.
I think that it does help me on longer tours to have something aside from my work driving the process along. On the other hand, trying to play a competition at Kinston Heath the morning of your Melbourne show is not maybe the smartest tactic to advance so called career.
I am the same with food, which doesn't take so much time, and is necessary. If I can eat a good lunch (no dinner when singing), my day always has a better chance of being a good one.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Alfie/Lloyd page 216 is entitled "Nearlies, Maybes and Has-beens"

"...one of our featured clubs went out of business, so, for the time being, it's RIP Arbory Brae... Laid out on 25 acres of ground, the holes were a faithful recreation of the original 9 hole course that lay dormant for over 40 years; the idea being that, by playing the course with old-style hickory clubs, players could get a genuine taste of the Victorian golfing experience."  




She did you proud Alfie. Preserved in the British Library in posterity.

For anyone reading who want's to know more of this wonderful but sad tale see Ran's interview with Alfie.


Prophesy?  “so for the time being..."

[Andrew Mitchell]

I've played two of the holes pictured on this thread. I drive past the 2nd at Baildon every day on my way to & from work.  A 177 yards par 3, generally into a strong breeze/gale blowing across the top of the Pennines!  As can be seen from the photo there is nothing for being short or right, and the road is OOB on the left. Baildon were claiming at one stage that statistically this was the hardest par 3 in the county.

I think that the second picture on Neil Regan's reply is the (in)famous Spion Kop hole at Clayton, near Bradford. A good drive takes you to the bottom of the hill where you play an approach as indicated on the photo.  Leave the approach short and you will either be left with a nasty lie partway up the hill or worse the ball will come back to your feet.  What the photo does not show is that there is an OOB fence immediately behins the small green.  To make matters worse Clayton is a 9 hole course and you have to go through this torture again on the back nine!

[Alfie]

Tony,

You da' man !   And yes - she certainly has done Arbory (and Harry and I) very proud ! Brings a wee tear tae the ee'.
The pic shows the 6th tee (Ravengill) with the green 130 yards in the distance to the right. Mid iron for most players, or a mashie for the boomers ! The green to the left is (was) the 8th (Priestgill, 186 yards) and was approached from the centre of the line of the trees in the distance. A blind uphill hole reachable by the moderate to big hitter. All carry and heavily penalised for the erring shot ?


Lloyd,

You need glasses mate   And I can tell you that had you looked to your right (about 30 minutes from Glasgow) you would have seen Arbory in all her glory as you passed by. Excepting an overnight journey, that is  

A "must buy" book for the intellectual golfing enthusiast !

Alfie.

[Tommy Williamsen]

This is one of the most enjoyable books on golf courses I own.  When I first looked at it I thought it was a joke.  When I discovered these were real holes I was astounded.  It shows some of the most unusual holes in the world.  I'd like to see a similar book showing US courses.  I'll bet in our 15,000 courses very few can match the "oddness" of the British top 100.