After Southerndown, it was time to head back to the London area for my last night of the trip and one final round of golf at Woking. Mark Chaplin was good enough to provide a hotel recommendation in Worplesdon, and it was a nice little town to stay in. At least to a small extent my trip included two of the Ws.
Before leaving the hotel to play golf, I took a little walk around the neighborhood. Here’s something that you probably don’t see on many playgrounds in the US.
My flight home wasn’t until 2:30 in the afternoon, so we arranged to be first off Woking at 8AM. We managed to arrive plenty early, with only one small wrong turn on the way. The club isn’t the easiest to find. Unfortunately, the pro’s shop was a bit slow to open that day, and I was starting to get nervous about finishing – why, I don’t know. After all, a two-ball shouldn’t take more than three hours, even if taking lots of photos.
Completely unsolicited, the assistant secretary sent out someone from the clubhouse with a couple of scorecards. He said that he had noticed the golf staff was running late that morning and did not want us to have to wait around. Just come by and settle up after the round. That little bit of thoughtfulness is one of my favorite memories of the trip.
We caught a foggy morning, so my photos aren’t the best. Still, they help me remember another great day at the first heathland course.
Still gotta share the course.
The grounds are both simple and elegant. The path to the left leads to the clubhouse & the one to the right the first tee.
The pro’s shop is in the same style as the clubhouse.
Though there is a pretty good practice area, this was also available near the clubhouse and first tee. Do you really need anything more?
A few first tee instructions. As we would see later, the instructions about the heather are warranted.
Here’s how you want to start the round……or do you?
The photo doesn’t do a good job of showing it, but the first green gives a great introduction to the cleverness of the greens. The front to back slope on a driveable par 4 is an excellent defense. Note the tall flagstick to aid your view from the tee. How tall?
Pretty tall!
The green complex on the 3rd is really memorable for the shape of the green and the perfect placement of the bunker.
Though the course is in many ways idyllic, there are reminders how near you are to a busy city. A train going past might bother a lesser player.
Looking back towards the fairway on the famous 4th. Tough hole location behind the bunker, and if you look closely you can see the outlines of the fairway bunkering as well.
Though not one of the more-discussed holes, this green site on the 5th speaks volumes about the simple charms of Woking.
As does this little stone bridge back at the tee.
Supposedly there is an airport or two nearby.
A water hazard!
With a bit of thoughtfulness & practicality thrown in.
I was really sorry that I didn’t get a chance to enjoy a drink on the patio, but was very glad that no one was sitting there when I had to hit my approach. I did fine, but a bladed shot could be scary.
Not much water on the course, but apparently the need for a flotation device. I would have gone with a different shape.
Just like the start of the round, the end also featured a short par 4. Having been closed out in our match on the 17th, I was free to pretend I was brave enough to go for the green off the tee. Ended up short & dry.
My second trip to England, and I didn’t have to use one of these either time. Luck, or is the wet weather exaggerated? Or some of each?
We had a few minutes to look around the clubhouse, and I’m glad that I did. On display are curling stones from the club’s old, old days. A pretty good drubbing of Wimbledon back in 1903.
The highlight was reading some excerpts from the club’s suggestion book. This one, signed by Stuart Paton, addressed concerns about hole locations. Given the work that this brilliant amateur architect performed on the course, I hope they listened.
How to summarize this trip? I think it’s safe to say that no one preceding us has played the same itinerary, and a travel company would have a tough time selling it. I feel fortunate to have played each course we chose, and my only regret of the trip is getting but one trip around several of the courses. I only hope to see each and every one of them again.