The epitome of quirk: Painswick, England

[Mike_Cirba]

Paul;

More is definitely better here; especially where personal walnuts are at stake.

By the way...sorry...can't resist...but, would I be correct in assuming that "Catsbrain Quarry" would indicate a very, very small quarry?  

[Tommy_Naccarato]

By the looks of it, if you hit your ball into one of these nooks or crannys, you might encounter the Blair Witch.

Some of these spots look absolutely evil!

[ForkaB]

I have brought this classic thread back up to the top so that John Sheehan and other recent additions to this treehouse can see what we of the Painswick School hold so near and dear to our minds and hearts.

[D. Bradford]

Add me to the Painswick school!

[TEPaul]

Hadn't looked at this thread until now. Coolest little thing I ever saw! Looks like  shotmakers Heaven! If you go back there, Paul, whatever you do don't mention the word Fazio!

Must be near Castle Combe (in the Cotswold Mtes), probably the most enchanting village I ever saw in my life-and voted the most enchanting village in the hemisphere some decades ago-unfortunately it got the attention of Hollywood because of it and they moved the movie "Doctor Doolittle" over to it for the total shoot!

And you're right, Paul, if Painswick is not the epitome of quirk, I can't imagine what would be.

[John_Sheehan]

Rich-
Thanks for bringing this back up.  I am running out the door right now, but can't wait to get back to take a closer look. Got to say though, at first glance, this doesn't look anything like Fream's Windsor GC.

Thank god.  

[Paul Turner]

Painswick is actually very easy to get to, it's only about 15 mins off the M5 which is the main route between the south west/wales and the north.  

It's located in "Laurie Lee" country, (I'm not sure if his books made it across the pond)one of Britain's best loved authors.  And you can visit his old pub The Woolpack nearby in Slad.

There's another common land course nearby that does have some appeal too.  It's the old course at Minchinhampton.  Not as spectacular as Painswick but is set on a plain high above the villages and also has some of those ancient quarries to tackle.  The 16th is a wonderful hole across heaving terrain.

[Pete G.]

Gee, we're all suckers for voluptous mounding. No silicone here.

[TEPaul]

I bet they ain't got no soft-spike policy at Painswick! It looks like anything less than metal spikes and good new long ones at that might be a real hazard to your health.

[Freedman]

My reaction to those photos mimics my level of  fascinated enlightenment the first time I saw a Playboy centerfold.

Is this place for real? It's not a joke?
It's too good to be true? You funnin' us?

If this place were in the USA, do you think it would sell?

If they built this place in the USA and MARKETED it as an authentic golf experience, would that make a difference?

No, no, no. Better. How do you think it would play in.................................................................................................................................................................................. ...........LAS VEGAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nigel Torquemada]

Dear Mr. Freedman

Please do not ever again associate the words Las and Vegas with our fine establishment.  If you persist I shall be forced to send our Class A teaching professional, Miss Conception, over to California.  She will flay you with fasces of Scotch broom from Catsbrain Quarry until you promise not to do it again or die of ecstasy, depending on your persuasions.

Yours Truly

Nigel

[TEPaul]

Alrightee Nigel! That's telling him! You might want to rethink that ecstasy remark about Miss Conception flaying him with Scotch broom fasces though if you really never want him to mention Las Vegas in the same breath as Painswick! You know these weird, kinky Californians; they're into all kinds of life styles and alternative sexual thinking and stuff!

Paul or Nigel;

Do you have any idea the amount of land the golf course is on acreage-wise? Even if you have to ball-park it.

[Art_Dunkley]

Paul
Thanks for the great pictures.  
I was so impressed I went to the Royal and Ancient "Golfers Handbook" to look up Painswick.  The architect is listed as David Brown.
Still curious, I called the proshop to inquire about membership fees for those needing a reason to travel to England. Annual dues for a local resident are £331 plus £50/year (for five years as the joining fee) which is about $480 and $72 for a total of $552/year.  That's about the monthly tab, let alone the initiation fee, for lots of US clubs.  
But it gets better.  For members living more than 50 miles from the course (most of us qualify) a Country Membership is available for £176/year plus the £50/year for five years; about $327/year total.
If you feel the need to say to the wife, "I'm going to the club, I'll see you in three days.", here's the phone number from the States; 01144 1452 812180.
Keep in mind the membership costs for Painswick are typical for lots of courses in the UK and Scotland.  Courses with more visitors (paying outrageous green fees like $30-50) bring down the annual dues, locally called subs, even further.
Thanks again Paul for sharing.

[Paul Turner]

Art

Thanks for the research.  David Brown?  I can't find anything on him, perhaps he was just a local punter?

Tom Paul

I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to acres!  Tell me the acreage for a 300 yd x 40 yd wide par 4 and I'll come up with an estimate.

[Nigel Torquemada]

Mr. Tepaul

Thank you for your kind words.  I have Major de Coverley, Royal Ordnance Corps, Ret. working on your problem.  He asks if you Yanks calculate acreage in two-or three dimensions?  Here at Painswick, of course, with our many and often severe changes in elevation, this could alter his findings tremendously.  Also, he and I would ask if you could kindly explain to us what you mean by "ball-park it?"  We have no place to park our balls here at Painswick and cannot for the life of us imagine why we would want such a place or what we would do with it if we had it.

Yours Truly

Nigel

[Paul Turner]

OK, I looked up the dimensions of an acre and estimate that the (horizontal) acreage is only about 40-45.  Pretty small!

[TEPaul]

Nigel:

Thanks to you and Major Coverley, ROC-Ret. for looking up the dimensions of Painswick in an acreage context. I'm quite certain in a golf context acreage is two dimensional (no need to consider topography-which of course Painswick has an abundance of!). If you know the hectares, I could convert it!

Sorry about the "ball-park" remark. It's one of those odd American colloquialisms that means to do a rough estimate. Probably has some kind of American baseball (park) etymology to it.

On a more serious and literal note, though,  we all need a place to park our balls. Please don't ever take that necessity lightly!

[ForkaB]

Dear Mr. Tepaul

I showed your recent post to Major de Coverley, and upon seeing the word "hectare" he unfortunately was overcome by a mild apoplectic fit.  You should know that in addition to being our 1951 Club Champion and resident topographer, he is also Chairman of the Painswick Chapter of the Keep Britain British Movement and is in fact standing under that party's banner in the upcoming election.  Any mention of things Continental tend to inflame him and I would strongly suggest that in further posts you stick to Imperial units of measure.  You will be pleased to know, however, that the Major is on the mend, and the first thing he said after coming out of his brief coma was "young Turner's got it about right."

Yours Truly

Nigel

[TEPaul]

Nigel:

Sorry, I can't seem to get my word choice correct. I had a funny feeling that hectare might be the wrong one, even feeling, as you said, that it may be exclusively Continental. Apologies to the Major-Britannia forever and all that!!

I had a Dutch girlfriend for many years and spent a lot of time (too much) in the Netherlands, so we can just blame the whole thing on Holland!

Thanks for the acreage confirmation. The approximate size of Painswick is about half the size of the smallest golf course I've ever heard of in America. That would explain why the holes cross over one another and golfers may be playing at right angles to each other. I think that is extremely cool though, and would love to play Painswick someday. Should I bring my football helmet? Excuse me, American football helmet.

[John_Sheehan]

Rich-
Wow! One more course to add to my list of must plays. Now this looks fun.  I may have to join, just to have the honor of stating that my home course is Painswick!  Traitor's Gate, Gallow and Graveyard?!  Those aren't just names of golf holes; I think it's the law firm from hell. I just looked up the etymology of Painswick, and it is derived from a Druid ceremony and a Celtic word meaning "quirky... but fun!"

[ForkaB]

Yeah John

Those Druids would do anything for a laugh, and pretty tidy golfers too.!  Am I the only one to think that Stonehenge, Averbury, etc. were actually driving ranges?

[Paul Turner]

Tom Paul

No need for grid-iron hats, Painswick isn't crowded.  

The dog-walkers know their place and keep away from the druidic ceremony that's golf, except for on Sundays, when the holy turf is totally overrun by the heretics and there's no golf.

Hope some of you make it there one day.  Some of the shots required are as exciting as any I've played.  In particular the tee shot at the 16th (fourth photo), it gets the white knuckle grip award!

[TEPaul]

PaulT:

Tell Painswick that the King called off that edict banning golf on Sunday. I believe that was about 250 years ago.

[Curt Madson]

Paul Turner has created a page that won't die.  The pictures and history evoke too many questions and emotions about what  has occurred to create this course.

If it was in the United States you could charge to "tour the grounds" and take pictures.  Truly amazing.  Everyone is looking for that unique experience and Paul has given you a way to experience it.

Now if I could only find a piece of land in Florida to recreate..........?

[Paul Turner]

For the Painswick junkies:

A typical recovery shot:
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