[Dan Boerger]

Business brought me to the UK this week and I played two rounds.

Walton Heath New Course - I've played it before, but what a treat to play again. Proves again that good things can come in small packages. Bit of a non-descript starting hole, but all uphill from there.

Betchworth Park - This Colt designed course likely gets overlooked given the pedigree of so many of its neighbors. Playable no matter what your skill level and some really nice holes (loved 17). - Dab

[Brent Hutto]

Dan,

I posted an inquiry here about Betchworth Park just a few weeks ago. I'm staying for a few days at a B&B just down the road a couple miles and the course interests me very much.

Did you notice that there's actually a railway tunnel that goes under the second-third-fourth holes?

Were you able to get a sense of where the Colt remnants were vs. the later additions? There is also a mention on their web site of some trees getting knocked down by a big storm in 1987 and raising the possibility that you could see the river (the Mole IIRC) from a certain point on the course now.

I am sooo glad you posted this. I was hoping to "discover" Betchworth Park myself but it's even better to hear from someone who's seen it. Tony Muldoon, Craig Disher and I are playing both courses at Walton Heath on June 15 which is why I'm going to be staying in that area briefly. Supposedly it's only a 5-10 drive from Betchworth/Brockham over to Walton Heath.

[Dan Boerger]

Brent - You're in for a treat.

Regarding Betchworth, I could not tell which Colt holes were original, but there are some really nice ones. Others pretty straighforward. Wait until you see the view from the 4th tee. A signature hole, but not the finest on the course, IMO. A member there (a Yank as they say and also a very close personal friend of mine, too) told me about some tree removal required by the local government, since the trees were not "native" to the area. In fact, if you're looking for or need an extra for golf that day, feel free to drop me a private email and I'll pass it along. (He lives minutes from the course.)

Walton Heath is really a great place. I'll be looking forward to reading what you think about it.

Hope the weather is good!

-Best

[Brent Hutto]

Wait until you see the view from the 4th tee. A signature hole, but not the finest on the course, IMO.

I cribbed that view from #4 Tee off the Betchworth Park web site a couple months ago! It is the background on my Windows desktop.

I definitely want to get in a round there, quite likely on the day I arrive at Gatwick (June 14). I can drop my luggage off at the B&B and stretch my legs with a quick round and go back to check in by mid-afternoonish. I'll get in touch regarding contacting your friend once I'm sure of that day's plans.

[Paul_Turner]

The history on the Betchworth Park website gives you some idea of how the course has been slightly modified,.  I've never played it, my friend RT heard some nice things about it a few years ago.

An old image lifted from their site:



It was originally the 12th but now I think it's Dan's favourite, the 17th.

I don't see any bunker complexes like that on the modern plan.

[Brent Hutto]

Paul,

The ninth hole in the current version of the course has a centerline bunker 50-60 yards short of the green, a bermed bunker front left and a smaller round bunker front right. Everything matches the photo of the old twelfth except the little front right bunker. Also, over in the weeds and trees to the right of the fairway is a sandy area that may or may not be a bunker that is no longer in the fairway.

I'm seeing this on the maps.google.com satellite imagery which is very high-resolution in Surrey. Unfortunately, I can't directly link to the image. You have to pan around and zoom in on Betchworth Park. However, I doubt that's the same hole as in the picture you posted. If that is Box Hill in the background then the picture is oriented wrong to be the hole I'm describing on the current course. I love maps.

[EDIT] Oops, never mind. I see where the current seventeenth is on the card of the course and that's definitely the old twelfth. And as it turns out, apparently I can link to a Google Maps image http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.23473,-0.29883&spn=0.003211,0.006341&t=k&om=1. This is centered on the current seventeenth green (old twelfth).

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