500+ GB&I courses, part 5 (England V to Z, plus WAL, IRL & FRA

[David_Tepper]

We finish England off and then take briefs tours of Wales, Ireland and France.

Verulam - St. Albans  C+

Wallasey  B+
Walton Heath - Old  A
Walton Heath - New B+
Wanstead  C+
Wareham   B-
Warley Park  B-
Waterhall  C+
Wellingborough  B
Welwyn Garden  B
Wentworth - West  A+
Wentworth East  B+
West Byfleet  B+
West Essex  B
West Herts  B
West Hill  B+
West Hove  C+
West Kent  B
West Lancashire  B+
West Middlesex  C
West Surrey  B
West Sussex  (aka Pulborough)  B+
Weston-super-Mare  B
Whipsnade Park  C+ (Now there is a great name for a golf club!)  
Whitewebb's Park  C+
Whittingdon Barracks  B+
Wildernesse  B
Willesley Park  B+
Wimbledon Common  C+
Windmill Hil  B
Woburn - Dukes  B+
Woburn - Duchess  B+
Woking  B+
Wollaton Park  B+
Woodbridge  B+
Woodcote Park  B
Woodhall Spa  A
Worcestershire  B+
Worplesdon  B+
Worthing Upper  C+
Worthing Lower  C+
Wyke Green  B-
 
York  B+

WALES

Nefyn  C+
Royal Porthcawl  A
Royal  St. Davids  A
St. Pierre  B+

IRELAND
I know this gentleman did not get to Ireland until the late 1980's, when he was into his 70's.

Ballybunion - New/Cashen  "Horrible! Dig it up!" (His words, not mine.  I am guessing that the day he got to Ballybunion, the old course was probably busy with a tournament or outing and he wound up playing the New/Cashen course, probably a year or two after it opened.)
Killarney - Mahoney's Point  B
Portmarnock  A
Royal Dublin  B
Waterville  B+

FRANCE

Le Touquet  B+
St. Cyprien  B

I sense my audience for these postings is shrinking.  I will cover Scotland in two installments over the weekend.  I hope you can all stay awake until then.

Philip Gawith - As a man who has covered the breadth of GB&I, I have been waiting for your comments.   DT
 

[Tom_Doak]

That's pretty funny, for a man who could not bring himself to rate ANY other course below a C+, to revert to "Horrible!  Dig it up!"

However, if he has Wentworth West an A+, his opinion is not entirely above suspicion.

[Jonathan Davison]

What is the Cashen really like?

[Neil Regan]

re: Cashen
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"Horrible! Dig it up!"

Sometimes first opinions are spectacularly wrong.

Bobby Jones[/color]

I shall never forget how I cursed Hoylake, and St.Andrews.

[David_Tepper]

Tom Doak-

As I mentioned above, this gentleman was 70+ years old when he visited Ireland. At that point he was not a strong player (handicap 18-20). My guess is the physical terrain of the Cashen course overwhelmed him, especially if he caught it on a real windy day.

With regards to his opinion of Wentworth West, I said at the beginning that these ratings were not solely a GCA evaluation.  If a pleasant game, an enjoyable lunch or nice conditions were experienced on any course, I am sure that impacted a course's grade positively.

DT    

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I'm surprised Nefyn fared so badly.  Maybe he went on a busy day when the public footpath across the course is a perishing nuisance, but it is one of our most spectacular courses and it's a hard man who is not uplifted by the site.