TADMARTON HEATH GC

[Sean_A]

Just before the outbreak of the Great War, CK Hutchison completed the Tadmarton Heath design. Although the course didn't officially open until 1922 with an exhibition match between Cyril Tolley and Roger Wethered, both members and Captains of the club at some point in their careers.  Tolley and Wethered are two of six Tadmarton Heath members who were also Captains of the R&A! 

Situated in a broad swath of lovely Oxfordshire countryside between Shipston on Stour and Banbury, Tadmarton Heath is the typical average English course that T Doak believes set the standard for quality world-wide.  Not one of the better known early British architects, CK Hutchison deserves more accolades.  While fighting in the Boer War, Hutchison became afflicted by typhoid fever.  During his recuperation back in England, he managed to become a golfer of some measure by winning several important club events as a member of Muirfield, the R&A and Sandwich.  Indeed, perhaps Hutchison’s greatest achievement on the course was a defeat in the final of 1909 British Amateur.  Not many years later, as his career in architecture took off, Hutchison would lose interest in competitive golf. Unfortunately, after taking up an officer’s commission to fight in the Great War, Hutchison was captured by Germans and spent four years in a prison camp.   

Once covering classic heathland, much of Tadmarton's character is now defined by gorse and mature trees.  That said, the course still drains well.  Not surprising for a course designed prior to WWI, the yardage is quite short, featuring several drive and pitch holes.  The front nine is mainly open golf while the more interesting back nine runs through stands of gorse which require much more accurate hitting.  The greens are generally tame, but a few are quite interesting.  In short, Tadmarton Heath is a decidedly mixed bag of quality.

The first gets the golfer away in quite a gentle manner.  Not much longer at 342 yards, the 2nd is one of the better holes.  Heading past the house, the hole legs a bit left to a well sited green.  The bunker renovation by K Moodie was recently completed.  It looks like the right bunker has been  moved closer to the deceptively narrow green. Before and after.




The charming clubhouse after only two holes; a serious boozer's loop.


3 & 4 are not memorable holes.  Without a doubt the cream of Taddy is 5-8.  The sole three-shotter 5th has very effective bunkering off the tee as seen below.  There are several well placed bunkers to inhibit those having a bash at the green in two.   


Tadmarton Heath is quite flat, however, the 6th is one of the few holes which offers a bit of slope.  The lone fairway bunker works in perfect harmony with the slope of the terrain.


As the right bunker indicates, Taddy has a bit of whimsy about it.  It looks like the wood slats have been reclined more toward the green.   


The front nine gets a much needed lift at the par 3, 7th.  This hole also takes us back to the house.  The several starting points of the first, third and eighth is one of the best aspects of a routing which isn't entirely intuitive.  It doesn't appear as if the bunkers have been reworked. 


Now then, #8.  This hole is one of the most deceiving holes I have ever come across.  The hole looks harmless from the tee, but once the golfer sees a drive jump right it should be a clue as to the approach and putting.  The front nine finishes with the first longish par 4 the player faces.  A 424 yard brute into the wind.  Despite appearances, the rear left of the green funnels out. 


The short 10th used to feature a sea of gorse between the tee and green which is no longer the case.  The golfer can now focus on the excellent right-left two-tier green.  The 10th & 11th holes act as "spoons" and really maximize the little land available. For those trying to hug the inside of the leg for extra distance, the green angle is askew; its best to stay left.  The 11th also signals a radical change in fairway width.  The back nine is much tighter and more difficult than the front nine.  The hole doglegs right around the 10th and the 9th green.  Below is a look at the false front green. 


12 & 13 are longish, very flat par 4s in need of some pizazz.  The moderate length two-shotters 14th bends around a treeline to the right.  There is a bunker out left about 235, some 40 or so yards shy of a fairway break. 


Despite its rather tight nature, I like the drivable 15th.  The further the drive, the narrower the landing zone. There is plenty of room to lay back and be left with a full wedge, but the green is very small and well protected on the right by a bunker.  Before and after.




The ideal approach angle is defended very well by the bunkers. 


The short 16th has also been cleared of gorse in front of the tee, but isn't special either way.  The course finishes with a few uninteresting holes and that in a nutshell is the main problem with Tadmarton Heath.  Signs of quite a good course are flashed here and there, but the lack of consistency with the design is telling on several holes.  All in all I think Tadmarton Heath has great potential not least because of its excellent, free draining soil.  This criticism aside, it is easy to understand why many enjoy Tadmarton Heath.  There is an element of stepping back in time greatly aided by the impossibly charming house with its fine ales, cakes and memorabilia on offer.  Yes, I did avail myself of the sponge cake and it was lovely jubbly.    2019

Happy Hockey

[Adrian_Stiff]

Ive heard mixed things re Tadmarton. Def a few nice looking holes there Sean.  Quite typical of a lot of inland courses your rating is probably about right.

[Troy Alderson]

Sean,

Any idea why the turf was not cut shorter?
How much of the golf course is irrigated?
Is the "through the green" mower broken?
Is the budget really low and this is what you get?
Does the golf course just allow the turf to grow for awhile after the dry summer and fall rains?

I like the golf course, simple with strategic hazards.

Troy

[Marc Haring]

I would imagine the course expenditure would be the typical low UK average. I think a good way of measuring course expenditure is as a percentage of golf income. On most UK courses this comes out at between 25% and 40%.

What is it in the States guys?

[Troy Alderson]

I would imagine the course expenditure would be the typical low UK average. I think a good way of measuring course expenditure is as a percentage of golf income. On most UK courses this comes out at between 25% and 40%.

What is it in the States guys?

Marc,

I would have to say the percentage in the States is 40% to 60% of the revenue.  Originally I was thinking the percentage would be the same since I personnally think that the more rounds played, then the more spent on maintenance, the more charged for the round, and more revenue created to spend more on maintenance.  A kind of catch 22 scenario.  Cost may also increase with power cart use.  As I think that cost could be lower if power carts were not allowed and better playing conditions could be achieved more easily with less money.

Troy

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Sean,  I'm glad you made it to Tadmarton.  I'm sorry you didn't like it as much as I thought you might.  Your photos capture well the fun of the back nine.  

I don't know why it should be maintained in this way.  I remember it as being rather narrow (these were in my undergraduate days in the late 60s/early 70s) when it was always much tighter than Southfield, our home course in Oxford.  It played very fast, even in winter, because it is incredibly well drained up there.  It is often windy on this high ground and perhaps you managed to find an unusually still day.

Donald Steel in the 1968 Sunday Telegraph Guide pointed out that it was one of Roger Wethered's favourite courses.  Steel notes the split personality of the to nines, mentioning that it is good to have the open half first as the nerve will be tested on the back nine.  He remarks on the particularly demanding second shots on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 9th.  

[Thomas Dai]

I am bumping this old photo tour by Sean for three reasons, one, because the photos are no longer viewable, two, because it's one of my favourite places to play golf and three, because I was there recently on a beautiful fine day and managed to take some photographs.

Tadmarton Heath GC may not be long, it measures just under 6,000 yds on the card, but it ain't easy. As the course guidebook says, you'd better make your score on the first few holes, where it's a bit wider, because you won't make it up on the rest as the holes get tighter and tougher as the round progresses. The course is on sand so drains extremely well but can play extremely hard-n-fast-n-rolling in the summer.

One of the reasons the course appears short on the card is because the 4 par-3's measure only 151 yds, 137 yds, 114 yds and 174 yds respectively and there is only 1 par-5, the normally downwind 537 yd 5th hole. There are only 3 par-4's over 400 yds, but they all play into the prevailing wind thus increasing the relative difficulty, especially the 9th hole, which plays a bit beastly with most folks who know the hole laying up 70 or so yds short of the green to avoid a gorse lined and tightening gap.

The original photo tour was in 2006 was a bit scathing but things have improved. The course was, and has been every time I've been there over the last few years, in excellent condition with lovely firm, true rolling, fast greens. No need to play 'preferred lies' either, even in late autumn.The gorse has been managed and developed, various areas of scrub have been cleared out and several bunkers are currently being renovated (by Ken Moodie). I cannot speak highly enough of Tadmarton, and the cakes and pies and pasties served through a hatch in the clubhouse are ever so yummy and very much 'more-ish'.

Enough narrative, here are the photos, not all holes included, not enough photos taken, but hopefully enough to give you a general flavour.

Below - the 405 yd par-4 4th hole taken from short left of the green - dry stone wall to the left and tightening, gorse to the right and rear



Below - the par-5 5th photographed from behind the green



Below - two photographs of the the green of the 351 yd par-4 6th hole, and yes, that bunker on the right side does have a sleepered face. It's well over head height. The back of the green has been cleared out recently so going long is not an option, and the bunker front left isn't pleasant either. A hole to play with caution.




Below - the evil little 137 yd par-3 7th hole. Small green. Short will roll back into the stream or the bunkers, close-by either long, left or right is OB. It's a cracking, wicked little hole, and the wind eddies around the buildings too, and it can all be seen from the lounge windows.



Below - there are many cunning little aspects to Tadamartons greens. This is the 329 yd par-4 8th hole photographed from over the green. The green is narrow and slopes wickedly downward from both left to right and from to rear. Miss left and you're dead. Miss right into the bunkers or long and you've got a chance, otherwise hit the green. The bunker you can see here, several of them in fact, had suffered from a wash-out earlier in the day. It's easy to go OB right from the tee on this hole with both the prevailing wind being from the left and the fairway sloping heavily left to right - slicers nightmare!



Below - three photos of the 114 yd par-3 10th hole, firstly, looking back from the green towards the tee, which is to the right of the tall tree in the centre-right of the photo. And yes, when you stand on the 10th tee, which is slightly raised, all you can see is gorse and a flag fluttering 114 yds away. There is a wide, high lipped, deep bunker short of the green. Not the place to go, not least because you'll be playing out onto a downslope. The 3rd photo is taken from the 16th green, which sits close by the 10th, the two holes playing in opposite directions and separated by a deep bunker. Note how the gorse has been 'topped'. This has happened all over the course. Small is beautiful?





Below - the 295 yd par-4 15th hole photographed from behind the green. The 15th is totally gorse lined along both sides and you have to carry about 100 yds of gorse bushes to even reach the fairway. There is also gorse close-by over the back of the green. The green is very small and slopes heavily from back to front. In front of the green is one small bunker with a high lip. This is the kind of hole where you stand on the tee thinking birdie and walk off having hit several tee-shots into the gorse, the more so as the prevailing wind blows across the hole from right to left but you can't feel the wind on the tee, and Tadmarton, being on top of a hill, get's pretty windy regularly.



Below - the par-3 174 yd 16th hole photographed from short left of the green, you can see how the gorse has been 'topped' (my terminology).



Below - the evil 365 yd par-4 dog-leg right 17th hole photographed from behind the green with the very tightly gorse and tree lined fairway in the distance (centre of photo). This is not a hole to be taken lightly - it's not stroke index 3 for nothing. Just like the 15th, it's a real card wrecker near the end of a round.




Well that's a flavour of Tadmarton Heath. I really like this course....a lot. It might be short on the card but it's tight and it's usually pretty windy on top of Tadmarton hill. The course condition has always been excellent when I've been there with firm, fast, true-rolling greens. It's a very friendly place and being on sand, free draining, the food served through the hatch in the old farmhouse/clubhouse lounge is terrific, it's on the County Card scheme and it's set in wonderful countryside midway between Banbury and Chipping Norton, about 25 miles north of Oxford. If you get the chance, go and play it, I'm sure you won't be disappointed, folks I've taken along with me never have been. It's a definite 'gem' in my view.

All the best.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Thomas, Good to learn of your views and to see the pictures. From what I see in your pictures the gorse is somewhat less penal than it used to be - unless my memory is playing tricks.

[Greg Taylor]

Not quite in Beau territory, I would argue... an echelon down from there.

The course aside I am always impressed with the feel of the club house generally and warm welcome.

Also, don't they make their cakes... I seem to recall the selection and enjoyment factor is sky high.

[Tom_Doak]

Marc,

I would have to say the percentage in the States is 40% to 60% of the revenue.  Originally I was thinking the percentage would be the same since I personnally think that the more rounds played, then the more spent on maintenance, the more charged for the round, and more revenue created to spend more on maintenance.  A kind of catch 22 scenario.  Cost may also increase with power cart use.  As I think that cost could be lower if power carts were not allowed and better playing conditions could be achieved more easily with less money.

Troy

Troy:

I wish you would post this as a separate thread.  It's the sort of thing that ought to be discussed more on here.  I have had discussions several times with others about the hidden maintenance cost associated with heavy golf cart use, but never to any sort of proper conclusion.


Sean:

I am sort of glad that you didn't like Tadmarton Heath so much ... I would have been ticked off if you found another hidden gem just after I came to England to see the ones at the top of your list 

[Thomas Dai]

Mark,

The gorse has been made much neater and tidier and areas of scrub, such as behind the 6th green, have been cleared out which maybe changes the visual penal level a bit. You can get away with shots on holes 1, 3, 4 and 5. Over ambition on the short par-4 2nd will probably mean a high score with OB left and a evil/lovely green. However, it's from the approach shot to the 6th green all the way to the finish on the 18th green that the course shows it's teeth. Offline, mishits, thoughtlessness or over ambition will likely pile up a score. The tightly gorse lined 15th and 17th holes in particular can be real score killers. Make no mistake, there is certainly a good/low score to be had at Taddy but more by canny, thoughtful play than by following the smash-n-bash-n-hope approach. I think on a bigger scale it's the the kinda course a Nicklaus, Faldo, Langer, Kite, Donald player would likely win on.

Greg,

I go along completely with what you say about Tadmarton being an echelon down from Beau Desert, which I also very much admire. I think your comment about the made on-site cakes could apply to the course and the club as a whole too - for the enjoyment factor at Taddy really is sky high.

Tom,

I can't help with any details of maintenance revenue in relation to income but what I can say is that the standard of maintenance is very high, the greens were absolutely excellent. I believe they have either 5 or 6 full-time staff on the maintenance crew. Taddy is certainly a 'gem' and you should most definitely visit it if you have the opportunity - it's only a 8 miles from J11 of the M40 motorway, the motorway that links West London to Birmingham passing close-by Oxford, so it shouldn't be too hidden a gem to find.

I guess I'm biased as I don't live too far away so have been able to play Taddy a few times over the years and it's a course/club that I'm always eager to go back too. In addition, all the folk who've played it with me or have played Tadmarton on my recommendation have been thoroughly impressed and have expressed a desire to return asap, which to me is a great recommendation, and one of the reasons I placed Tadmarton on my list of 'Top 20 courses you would recommend to good golfing mates' - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,57213.0.html

Click onto - http://www.tadmartongolf.com/pages.php/page/6b482a36-446e-11e2-8f46-bc305bd9eec9/view_section.html - to find out more about this really delightful course and club.

All the best

[Sean_A]

Marc,

I would have to say the percentage in the States is 40% to 60% of the revenue.  Originally I was thinking the percentage would be the same since I personnally think that the more rounds played, then the more spent on maintenance, the more charged for the round, and more revenue created to spend more on maintenance.  A kind of catch 22 scenario.  Cost may also increase with power cart use.  As I think that cost could be lower if power carts were not allowed and better playing conditions could be achieved more easily with less money.

Troy

Troy:

I wish you would post this as a separate thread.  It's the sort of thing that ought to be discussed more on here.  I have had discussions several times with others about the hidden maintenance cost associated with heavy golf cart use, but never to any sort of proper conclusion.


Sean:

I am sort of glad that you didn't like Tadmarton Heath so much ... I would have been ticked off if you found another hidden gem just after I came to England to see the ones at the top of your list 

Tom

Maybe its time to revisit.  I don't recall much to get excited about and the maintenance was unquestionably second rate, quite similar to the mess at Blackwell.  But, things change and the Winter Tour should begin quite soon  .

Ciao

[Adam Lawrence]

Sean - if you go, give me a shout. It's only up the road, and it's pretty feeble I haven't visited yet, especially as Tadmarton is one of very few courses in Oxfordshire with decent soil.

[Jon Wiggett]

Good to see they have been cutting the gorse back. It surprise me that clubs do not do this on an annual basis as you can maintain a uniform look year for year. Gorse makes a great hedge which can be shaped and look really pretty when in bloom.

Jon

[Sean_A]

See the updated tour.  I stopped in for look on Friday.  Sorry Thomas .

Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

Now then, #8.  This hole is one of the most deceiving I have ever come across.  The hole looks harmless from the tee, but once the golfer sees his drive jump right it should be a clue as to the approach and putting. The photo tells you what my eye did, however, there is a wicked slope to the right!

Sean,
Grrrrrrrrr!
Being serious for a moment, reading through the commentary once more I must say that I cannot agree more with your assessment and description of the 8th hole - "This hole is one of the most deceiving I have ever come across." Spot on. Looks sooo innocent, plays sooo evil/lovely.
Now let's forget for a moment the usual GCA serious business of the merits of the course, because the most important question (sic) regarding Tadmarton Heath is - Did you and your playing companions avail yourselves of the cakes/pies/pasties and if so, have you every visited a club/course anywhere in the UK where they are more yummy? If so, please let me know as a matter of urgency as my taste buds and stomach would like to experience that club/course, wherever it may be! (Drat, can't get the smiley icons to work).
All the best.

[Sean_A]

Thomas

Yesss, the 8th had me taking more than double takes.  That green is insane. 

Sorry, no partaking of cakes, but the sponge cake did look very fine. 

Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

This club-course seems to be moving forwards.

Perhaps in the past there was a period of stagnation, as per the initail photo tour, of failing to take into account new conditioning practices or the way modern golf balls and clubs play.

However, every time I visit Tadmarton, and I try to visit a couple of time per year including recently, there have been improvements, some small, some more noticeable. For example, the practice facilities have been gradually upgraded and last autumn the bunkers on holes 12-13-14 were re-done. This autumn the bunkering on the 1st-2nd-3rd-7th-8th is being re-done with some slight repositioning and a few fairway mounds due to be installed as well.

The course was certainly in very fine nick when I visited recently and at only a touch over £20 on a midweek County Card, it's pretty good value for a sandy free draining heathland.

It's a much better test of golf than you'd expect from a course that's 'only' 6,000 yds par-69 on the card.

As usual with apparently 'short' courses, the devils in the detail - small, firm greens, only 1 par-5, 3 very short par-3's, quite a few narrow shortish par-4 with nasty/nice greens and several par-4's over 400 yds that play into the prevailing wind. Lots of gorse too, very much so on the final few holes which are very tight in places, especially on the short 295 yd par-4 15th, a pretty unique hole in my experience. A flat walking course too and with generaly short walks from greens to next-tees.

Although I'm aware that some arn't massive fans of Taddy, I've taken numerous golf friends along there with me over the years and they've all been impressed and wished to return.

"A little piece of England as it once was" is how a friend described Tadmarton. Great food served 'through the hatch' in the yee olde worlde clubhouse too.

I think it's a place non-UK based GCA-ers' would enjoy visiting. A bit different to the usual. Somewhere for the memory bank.

Best time of year to visit? Free draining so anytime!, but May-June, when the gorse is in yellowy bloom, is particularly lovely.
 
atb

[Thomas Dai]

Went back to delightful Taddy recently.

The course is moving forward all the time and the new bunkering including the re-positioning of bunkers overtaken by technology looks terrific. Doing some each year over 5 years so not all done yet.

Two photos from the clubs website - forgot to take my camera with me.

15th hole


14th hole


The club have also modified the 2nd green which now allows for a front pin position and a Clubhouse upgrade is planned to coincide with the clubs 100th anniversary.

atb

[Richard Fisher]

Played 23 holes at Taddy this afternoon on an afternoon that combined the bluest of blue skies with light snow and hail. The bunker changes that Thomas mentions continue apace, but inevitably there was a lot of GUR in evidence in consequence, and quite a bit of mud about. Overall, I personally incline more to Sean's general estimation: some very good holes, and some less so, and on a busy day (as today) the routing (as at the 10th/16th confluence) can become a bit intimidating and offputting. But it reminded me (positively) of the sort of golf I used to play as a child with my Dad, and is indeed an enjoyable, slightly off-the-beaten-track introduction to a certain sort of golf club with which the UK is particularly blessed. I'm going back in a couple of weeks' time, and will be interested to see how the course strikes me on a second visit...

I loved the clubhouse, and ate perhaps the finest Victoria sponge that I have ever, in roughly 40 years of clubhouse cake-eating, consumed: this and a pot of tea cost me less than £3. The driving range enjoys surely the most beautiful view of any such facility in England, and on a day like today (when the sun was out) any cameraman working for the English Tourist Board would have been rubbing his (0r her) hands with glee.

[Richard Fisher]

As a PS, I wondered why the neighbouring Rye Hill course seemed so empty on a fine afternoon. Now I know

http://www.banburyguardian.co.uk/news/local-news/golf-club-closes-after-leaseholder-goes-into-liquidation-1-7170000

[Thomas Dai]

.............it reminded me (positively) of the sort of golf I used to play as a child with my Dad, and is indeed an enjoyable, slightly off-the-beaten-track introduction to a certain sort of golf club with which the UK is particularly blessed. I'm going back in a couple of weeks' time, and will be interested to see how the course strikes me on a second visit...

I loved the clubhouse, and ate perhaps the finest Victoria sponge that I have ever, in roughly 40 years of clubhouse cake-eating, consumed: this and a pot of tea cost me less than £3. The driving range enjoys surely the most beautiful view of any such facility in England.....

Beautifully described Richard. One of my very favourite places to visit and play. Thoroughly nice (and improving) heathland golf, wonderful clubhouse and food with cakes to die for. Has a these days pretty unique combination of charm and character that shows what life used to like in parts of now over-populated, over-busy Britain/England.


Atb

[Richard Fisher]

Thomas
You'll be pleased to know that more tree and bush clearance has been going on at Tadmarton. On the most perfect, breezy late-summer day yesterday some of the loveliest views in British golf were to be had (not least at the 8th), after a concerted attempt to open up some of the most prominent vistas. That said, there is still, on occasion, way too much gorse (notably at the 17th), and evidently a lot more than when first designed, which doesn't necessarily aid playability. The greens were fast and true, rendering the short game even trickier than normal (taking a decent one-to-two-club wind as the normal Taddy experience), and the snacks and cakes are still, unquestionably, off scratch. Emphatically not a great course, but a lovely place to play golf and a super introduction to some of the quieter joys of the game in the UK.

[Richard Fisher]

On the evidence of a game at the end of last week,  Tadmarton continues to improve significantly, with a really quite extensive programme of tree and gorse clearance really helping both playability, conditioning and aesthetics: after a winter programme of major gorse and scrub removal, the 17th (for example) is now a much better hole, and similar clearance work is in evidence at the 15th and at other points under the club's control. Clubhouse cake and ambience still off low single figures, I am happy to report: there can't be many nicer, and cosier winter spots in British golf than the old farmhouse club room beyond the dining area. 

[Sean_A]

Richard

I am pleased work has been progressing at Taddy.  It does strike me that some tlc would go a long way toward making the course a more enjoyable experience.  Did you take any pix?

Ciao