Aber's ADDINGTON GC Reborn

[Jud_T]

Sean,

Great pix and i'm very jealous...This is definitely on my short list for England....

[Sean_A]

I feel compelled to post a few thoughts after three rounds at said Addington:

1) I absolutely LOVE the 12th and 16th holes.  These two short par fives hold endless amounts of interest.  The 12th indeed has no set way to play it.  As a result, the player has endless amounts of options for how to play the hole.  Is it a driver off the tee?  This leads to any score between 3 and X.  How about a 5-iron off the tee?  You probably will not make four, but you will not make eight either.  My three club sequences: Driver...lost ball (who knows where that one went, it was my best drive of the day, too); driver-8iron-8iron; 2iron-6iron-wedge.  The last two resulted in pars.  The 12th is the ultimate demonstration of rub of the green.  The tee shot will take any number of bounces (even off a slow player's ankle?) and result in any number of outcomes.  As Sean says, the green is also first rate.  It is full of movement.  The green and the land collaborate to defend par well on this hole.  Finally, this hole is just gorgeous to look at, especially on the view back from the green.

The 16th?  It is almost as good as the 12th.  The tee shot is one you dream about: can I get the draw just right and leave myself an iron to the green?  The sweep of the fairway is beautiful, and it makes the hole very fun indeed.  The greensite is also first rate.  I just love how the green is benched into the hillside.  The canyon on the right guards the green effectively.  My only caveat about the hole is that it relies on trees for definition and defense.  This is a major weakness of several holes at the Addington.

2) Of the underrated holes, I am a big fan of 2, 6, and 14.  The sunken green at the 2nd is excellent.  I was within 100 yards three times here, and not once did I hit the green.  The green complex is a great defense to a par five that has been rendered short by modern equipment.  6 is a very fun hole as well.  Like the 16th, the hole sweeps beautifully from right to left.  The golfer can decide how much length and curve he wants on the tee shot.  Shots from the outside of the dogleg right are very uncomfortable.  The crater bunker is definitely in play, especially because the green slopes from front to back.  I can imagine this hole being very tricky in ultra-firm conditions.  14 rounds out the group, and it is another hole with great strategy.  The golfer must approach from the left side of the fairway to handle the front-to-back green.  Yet driving into the left side requires a very precise tee shot, especially with the wind moving from left to right. The one greenside bunker defines the play back to the tee.

3) I am with Sean on the 8th.  It is a hell of a hard golf hole.  It is very natural golf hole.  But it is a bad golf hole.  The golfer will either hit two perfect shots and make 4 OR (more likely) hit a bad shot and make 8.  The hole is penal golf at its most extreme.  This hole would be condemned if it were on any modern layout.  Somehow it gets a pass for being old-fashioned and quirky.  Of course, quirky implies that the golf hole is somehow fun.  I found no fun at the 8th.

4) Overall, I really liked the golf course.  I warm to it more as I think about it.  The set of par fives (2, 12, 16) may be my favorite of the trip.  Except for the first, the six par threes are very cool as a set.  The 17th might be favorite.  It is just as dramatic in appearance as the 13th but more subtle to play.  Another great front-to-back green.  My biggest complaint is the lack of a great short par four.  14 may qualify, but I would to see a great hole between 230 and 360 yards.  Maybe shorten the 8th to this length?  Either way, a great short four would vastly improve the course as a whole.

Is it my favorite course of the trip?  Probably not.  However, I am yearning to come back sometime and give the Addington another go!

John

Yes, I tend to agree that Addy could benefit from a drivable par 4.  The 10th seems like a prime candidate if it were tweeked and it would eliminate the walk to the back tee. I am thinking #6 could be a candidate as well if the trees down the left were taken out.  I spose #8 could be shortened and trees taken out down the left to create a more sweeping dogleg left.  However, I think the bones of a great hole are in place - all it needs is a far wider fairway corridor.  This is also a hole which may benefit from the dreaded saviour bunkers or perhaps re-grading the far edges of the corridor to help balls settle, but still leave a nasty approach for the wayward drive.

Ciao

[Scott Warren]

I agree 6 would make an even greater hole if it were played from about 330y and most of the trees left of the pine were removed (but not the pine) so you could thread one between the lone pine and the OOB fence and try to run it down onto the green, with the obvious threat of Wodehouse's bunker if you cut or pushed it.

It would make a nice break after three long, tough holes in a row from 3-5 and before 8-10. But I doubt it could happen because there is a house over that fence that would be exposed. I think it's Ronnie Corbett's, actually.

I couldn't agree with 10 as a driveable par four, partially because you'd then have a driveable par 4 and a 9i/W par 3 back-to-back followed by a par five that can be dr/7i if you place the tee shot correctly.

Re: the 8th, I disagree a bit with you, John.

Yes it demands two perfect strikes, the second with a long iron or at best a mid iron, but with the clearing that has gone on in the trees lately, you should still have a chance to pitch out and have a good possibility of being able to play that pitch onto the green. It really is a pretty big green. A golfer of your ability shouldn't make more than 6 there unless a ball goes AWOL.

It's extreme, yes, but to me it feels right for the course.

But Sean is right that were the drive a bit more sedate, the severety of the approach might be more palatable.

The hill on the left definitely looks like it has been built up to increase the visual intimidation from the tee. I wonder how the hole might play with that reduced or removed down to the level of the RHS.

I'd also love to see a carry bunker reminiscent of the one on #2 at Swinley cut into the hill. That would look great, but as it is the hole needs no more intimidation!

[JNC Lyon]

I agree 6 would make an even greater hole if it were played from about 330y and most of the trees left of the pine were removed (but not the pine) so you could thread one between the lone pine and the OOB fence and try to run it down onto the green, with the obvious threat of Wodehouse's bunker if you cut or pushed it.

It would make a nice break after three long, tough holes in a row from 3-5 and before 8-10. But I doubt it could happen because there is a house over that fence that would be exposed. I think it's Ronnie Corbett's, actually.

I couldn't agree with 10 as a driveable par four, partially because you'd then have a driveable par 4 and a 9i/W par 3 back-to-back followed by a par five that can be dr/7i if you place the tee shot correctly.

Re: the 8th, I disagree a bit with you, John.

Yes it demands two perfect strikes, the second with a long iron or at best a mid iron, but with the clearing that has gone on in the trees lately, you should still have a chance to pitch out and have a good possibility of being able to play that pitch onto the green. It really is a pretty big green. A golfer of your ability shouldn't make more than 6 there unless a ball goes AWOL.

It's extreme, yes, but to me it feels right for the course.

But Sean is right that were the drive a bit more sedate, the severety of the approach might be more palatable.

The hill on the left definitely looks like it has been built up to increase the visual intimidation from the tee. I wonder how the hole might play with that reduced or removed down to the level of the RHS.

I'd also love to see a carry bunker reminiscent of the one on #2 at Swinley cut into the hill. That would look great, but as it is the hole needs no more intimidation!

I think the clearing at the 8th might make it a bit worse.  Instead of being contained in a bad lie near the fairway, the ball will roll and roll until it bumps into a tree or a pile of leaves.  This is true more on the right side of the fairway than the left.  Once the golfer finds his ball, it will be well away from the fairway with many trees in the way.  Playing the hole in winter doesn't help, as the ground off the fairway covered with leaves and twigs that make matters very bad for a mis-hit shot.

I do wonder about the left hillside.  I think a bunker cut into the hill would make the tee shot a bit more comforting.  The golfer would get a sense of accomplishment by blasting the ball over the bunker.  The bunker on 2 at Swinley has this effect, no?  As it stands now, the hole is cold and uninviting.  I do enjoy blind tee shots, but not when the penalty for a miss is so steep.

I sure hope my judgment of the 8th is not obscured by how I played the hole.  I guess it is to a certain extent.  Nevertheless, how many holes at the Addington are better than the 8th?  A great majority, I would say.  It certainly stands as one of the lesser holes on the course.

[Scott Warren]

Perhaps, but love it or hate it, it's certainly among the most memorable!

[Sean_A]

I agree 6 would make an even greater hole if it were played from about 330y and most of the trees left of the pine were removed (but not the pine) so you could thread one between the lone pine and the OOB fence and try to run it down onto the green, with the obvious threat of Wodehouse's bunker if you cut or pushed it.

It would make a nice break after three long, tough holes in a row from 3-5 and before 8-10. But I doubt it could happen because there is a house over that fence that would be exposed. I think it's Ronnie Corbett's, actually.

I couldn't agree with 10 as a driveable par four, partially because you'd then have a driveable par 4 and a 9i/W par 3 back-to-back followed by a par five that can be dr/7i if you place the tee shot correctly.

Re: the 8th, I disagree a bit with you, John.

Yes it demands two perfect strikes, the second with a long iron or at best a mid iron, but with the clearing that has gone on in the trees lately, you should still have a chance to pitch out and have a good possibility of being able to play that pitch onto the green. It really is a pretty big green. A golfer of your ability shouldn't make more than 6 there unless a ball goes AWOL.

It's extreme, yes, but to me it feels right for the course.

But Sean is right that were the drive a bit more sedate, the severety of the approach might be more palatable.

The hill on the left definitely looks like it has been built up to increase the visual intimidation from the tee. I wonder how the hole might play with that reduced or removed down to the level of the RHS.

I'd also love to see a carry bunker reminiscent of the one on #2 at Swinley cut into the hill. That would look great, but as it is the hole needs no more intimidation!

I think the clearing at the 8th might make it a bit worse.  Instead of being contained in a bad lie near the fairway, the ball will roll and roll until it bumps into a tree or a pile of leaves.  This is true more on the right side of the fairway than the left.  Once the golfer finds his ball, it will be well away from the fairway with many trees in the way.  Playing the hole in winter doesn't help, as the ground off the fairway covered with leaves and twigs that make matters very bad for a mis-hit shot.

I do wonder about the left hillside.  I think a bunker cut into the hill would make the tee shot a bit more comforting.  The golfer would get a sense of accomplishment by blasting the ball over the bunker.  The bunker on 2 at Swinley has this effect, no?  As it stands now, the hole is cold and uninviting.  I do enjoy blind tee shots, but not when the penalty for a miss is so steep.

I sure hope my judgment of the 8th is not obscured by how I played the hole.  I guess it is to a certain extent.  Nevertheless, how many holes at the Addington are better than the 8th?  A great majority, I would say.  It certainly stands as one of the lesser holes on the course.

John

Yes, I believe the edges of the newly widened corridor on #8 would have to have a shelf effect to contain balls.  

I do hope folks aren't put off by this conversation.  The great thing about Addy is how playable the course is despite the SEVERITY of the terrain and the quantity of trees.  The trees really do hide the steepness and quantity of up n' downs.  In truth, this site reminds me loads of Pennard and I believe the course would greatly benefit from eliminating a significant percentage of the trees to play more like Pennard does - wide open with the main penalty being terrible angles of approach.

Scott

I chose #10 to shorten because the hole isn't stellar - it may be the least appealing on the course.  Plus, I hate walking back to a tee especially if the reward is a hole like #10.  

Ciao

[Richard Phinney]

These winter tour reports have been fantastic, Sean. Thanks.

[Jud_T]

The sad fact is that this was one of the worst winters in memory in England and it still was 1000x better than virtually anything in the northern half of the U.S. in terms of golf.....

[Scott Warren]

Sean:

#10 the least appealing on the course?

I agree the drive is pretty plain aside from carrying the canyon, but it's a fun second shot, with the steep slope in front and the green surface not being visable.

Some widening down the right of the fairway with some fairway bunkers would be cool.

IMO it's a better hole than #1 and probably on par with #4.

Jud:

You're right. I can't quite believe it. I've been walking off after 18 holes without mud on my shoes, and getting some good roll in the fairways and bouncing shots into greens (that last one on the seaside at least!) which is pretty cool.

To be fair though, while our winter was very cold (coldest in 30yrs) and we got a decent amount of snow in London, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as what I was seeing on TV and in pictures of the USA from DC northwards.

[Sean_A]

Scott

In retrospect, you could be right about the 10th.  The awkwardness (for me anyway) of the approach is much to be admired.  What would be your choice for least appealing par 4?

See updated pix.

Ciao

[Scott Warren]

Sean,

Thanks for updating the pics. The course sure is green at the moment!

I'll say this for The Addington - more than most courses, pics of it always make me excited to play golf. Wish I could jump through my computer screen and be there in south London with my clubs and three mates!

I'm glad you're coming around to the 10th. The approach is a shot I recall really fondly.

Least appealing four on the course? With the caveat that it is about three years since I was there (sob), I remember the 4th hole with less enthusiasm than the others.

Certainly none on the back fits the bill - 10, 14, 15, 18 are all quality holes, 14 sneakily so - and on the front I think 6, 8, 9 are all top-drawer, leaving only 4 and 5 as the remaining candidates. 5 has a better green and the trees play less of a part blocking you out from within the fairway the way you see down the right-hand side of 4, so I guess 4 is it.

[Thomas Dai]

From the splendid photos the terrain over which the course is laid out looks interesting. Although there are lots more trees and general shrubbery at The Addington some of the terrain landforms appear not too dissimilar, although maybe not as severe, as the fortification/quarrying works on courses like Painswick, Minchinhampton Old or holes 6-8 at Broadway. Was there once some kind of fortification or quarrying on the site?

All the best

[Greg Taylor]

I had the pleasure of playing The Addington last week...

Sean is right the course is tough... also adding to the difficulty are four holes where the dog legs are at 200 yards, basically taking the driver and three wood out of play and putting a mid iron in your hands for the second.

Plus the second on the 12th is very tight, and 13th that follows you all know about.

That all being said it's a must play... from the 7th onwards there are some fascinating holes and it's a true test of golf.

One more things the greens were fast and true, the course was in excellent condition.

Gourmet's choice for sure!

[Sean_A]

From the splendid photos the terrain over which the course is laid out looks interesting. Although there are lots more trees and general shrubbery at The Addington some of the terrain landforms appear not too dissimilar, although maybe not as severe, as the fortification/quarrying works on courses like Painswick, Minchinhampton Old or holes 6-8 at Broadway. Was there once some kind of fortification or quarrying on the site?

All the best

Thomas

I don't know the answer to your question, but I suspect the ravines are naturally occurring.  There doesn't seem to be any focal point for fortification. 

I don't know what they would be quarrying for near Croydon.

Ciao

[Ally Mcintosh]

Played with Sean & Tony on Friday - first visit and the course is obviously a class act.

However, maybe it was because I'd had my expectations built by the praise heaped upon it by Doak, Finnegan, Longhurst et al... Or maybe it was because I played so badly.... Or maybe it was because I couldn't see the genius of the design through the rather claustrophobic dense cover of vegetation... But I was just a little underwhelmed

[Ulrich Mayring]

I was too. For starters, the course really doesn't get going until P. G. Wodehouse's bunker at the sixth green. Anything before that is just tree-lined holes that could be on any parkland course. There is almost nothing left of the original heathland character, in fact the soil is quite loamy nowadays.

The stretch from #6 to #13 is really quirky and spectacular and #16 and #17 are fine holes as well. But that is not enough to put the course in its own category. It is one of the most historically significant courses, though, because I believe it might be the first course ever to be built over such wild terrain.

Ulrich

[Sean_A]

It's hard to believe this thread hasn't been hit in 7 years...has the rep of the place fallen so low? I have purposely stayed away from Addy because of frustratingly dubious course presentation. Having skimmed over a Clayton, Devries & Pont course proposal which essentially calls for tree removal and the expansion of fairways and greens, I am hopeful Addy can finally get on track. The design is far too good to be covered in a forest of trees and rough.

Ciao

[James Reader]

It's hard to believe this thread hasn't been hit in 7 years...has the rep of the place fallen so low? I have purposely stayed away from Addy because of frustratingly dubious course presentation. Having skimmed over a Clayton, Devries & Pont course proposal which essentially calls for tree removal and the expansion of fairways and greens, I am hopeful Addy can finally get on track. The design is far too good to be covered in a forest of trees and rough.

Ciao

Is the proposal available online somewhere Sean?  I’d be really interested to read it.

[Brent Carlson]

There was a nice article in Golf Course Architecture magazine.  I believe the restoration will start next year.  Perhaps one of the architects will chime in.


https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/digital/magazine/issue61/68/

[Sean_A]

It's hard to believe this thread hasn't been hit in 7 years...has the rep of the place fallen so low? I have purposely stayed away from Addy because of frustratingly dubious course presentation. Having skimmed over a Clayton, Devries & Pont course proposal which essentially calls for tree removal and the expansion of fairways and greens, I am hopeful Addy can finally get on track. The design is far too good to be covered in a forest of trees and rough.

Ciao

Is the proposal available online somewhere Sean?  I’d be really interested to read it.

James

Maybe the proposal is on the website. I was fortunate enough to get hold of a hard copy.

Ciao

[Sean_A]

I am happy to report that Addington is a completely altered course. Recent tree removal, green & fairway expansion has been a complete success and there is plenty of work to come. Addy shoots back into my Nifty 50!  The photos aren't great, but for those that know, the change will seem astonishing. See the updated tour.

Ciao