[Thomas Dai]

Following on from the Ganton thread and the Ganton-Woodhall Spa debate, I though a separate thread on the best heathland courses in the UK would perhaps be appropriate. There may have been such a thread before, but if so, I haven't been able to find it using the sites search engine.

One of the reasons I'd like to gather your thoughts is because I haven't played that many heathlands so I'd like to know where to target for future visits.

With his permission, and to get things rolling, here's Brains list from the Ganton thread plus a couple from my own admittedly limited heathland experience.

Sunningdale Old
Swinley Forest
Sunningdale New
Berkshire Red
Walton Heath Old / New neck and neck with...
...St George's Hill
Alwoodley
Berkshire Blue
New Zealand
Woodhall Spa
Notts (sorry Boony, you know I go for the Southern serenity over the Northern bruisers!!)
Liphook
Worplesdon
Royal Ashdown forest
Woking
Surrey and Berkshire Heaths are tough to beat for me...
PS - I assume we're calling Ganton links?
My own suggestions for inclusion - the wonderful (to me) Midlands courses built by Herbert Fowler at Beau Desert and Harry Colts at Whittington Heath plus Rosemount north of the border.
I'm also partial to the short on the card but still sweat Tadmarton Heath and the similar Green course at Frilford Heath plus the two courses at Enville. The Red at Frilford Heath is nice too.

All the best

[Adam Lawrence]

The one big gap in Brian's list is the cluster of heathland courses in Dorset. Broadstone and Parkstone in particular are very good candidates for inclusion in such a list.

I think also that if you regard Alwoodley as heath (technically I believe it would be moorland) then Gleneagles demands consideration.

[Thomas Dai]

Thomas - Beau missed out by the tiniest smidgen of a hair. Go berserk on the place with a chainsaw and things would be different!

I reckon if I had £10 for every time tree removal has been suggested on GCA I'd already have a private jet and be half way to completing a world tour of top courses!
All the best

[David_Tepper]

West Sussex (Pulborough)?

[Scott Warren]

David - indeed, one that routinely gets overlooked.

For my money, it's every bit as good as Swinley and Walton Heath (Old), and well ahead of The Berkshire's two courses. 3-7 & 13-17 at Weat Sussex are magnificent stretches.

[Ally Mcintosh]

West Sussex (Pulborough)?

If I were to pick 5, then it would be (in no particular order):

West Sussex
Woking
St Georges Hill
Alwoodley
Walton Heath

There are a few that I haven't seen but only a few (Swinley & New Zealand being the most prominent ones)... Going by everyone else, maybe Sunningdale should be there as well. But I've only visited once and the above 5 have elements that make them stand out more for me...

[Thomas Dai]

Thomas - Beau missed out by the tiniest smidgen of a hair. Go berserk on the place with a chainsaw and things would be different!

I reckon if I had £10 for every time tree removal has been suggested on GCA I'd already have a private jet and be half way to completing a world tour of top courses!
All the best

Haha, absolutely. Sean has lead that charge but those listening to me in recent weeks must think I'm like a broken record. The man is right. He's right on that, and he's right on width and ROUGH!  I'm not sure Sean has ever played a Doak which feels perverse to me. Their philosophies appear to be very closely aligned.

I'm of the Doak-Arble school myself, which is I guess why I keep prattling on about courses like (the admittedly non-healthland) but pretty much wide open and mainly treeless Minchinhampton Old. In fact, some of the £10-per-mention money would have been the result of my own comments herein. IMO the only things to benefit from having trees on golf courses are male dogs and over time, the pockets of tree felling companies (sic)!
As to courses, what do folks think about places I've heard good things about of but not played such as the likes Aldeburgh, Thetford etc? Although they may not be top of the list level contenders would they be worth visiting if in the area?
All the best

[Martin Toal]

Hankley Common?

[Mark Chaplin]

Hankley is obviously the most "heathy" of the lot. Woking the most overrated.

Wentworth still has some heathland on the West around 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14 & 15.

I'd add Purdis Heath in Ipswich.

[Sean_A]

Sunny Old
Alwoodley (being open-minded)
St Georges Hill
Swinley Forest
Sunny New
Woking
Ganton (being open-minded)

_______________________________
Beau Desert
Notts (being open-minded)
Addington
Woodhall Spa (being open minded)
Northamptonshire Co

NEED TO LEAVE SOME OPEN SPOTS FOR NEWBIES


Ciao

[Brian_Ewen]

UK or English ?

[Thomas Dai]

UK or English ?

All of the UK hence Rosemount/Blairgowrie in my original post. What about the likes of Forfar & Alyth, Boat of Garten and the newer ones east of Edinburgh all from north of the border? Unable to presently recall any in Wales. What about some in Ireland?
All the best

[Jon Wiggett]

I was going to say Boat of Garten. What about Baildon or Ogden both are very good moorland courses that get better with each play. Surely Gleneagles Kings and Queens and G-West might soon be on that list. Strensil and Fulford by York are also good shouts thou not in the Alwoodley Sunningdale league.

Jon

[Ally Mcintosh]

Thomas,

There are no heaths in Ireland... The three closest are Carlow, The Curragh and The Heath.... The first is an excellent course built on sandy soil but I don't know if it ever had heath characteristics - it certainly doesn't now.... The latter two had heath characteristics but have deliberately gone out of their way to follow a parkland style....

I'd like to have a crack at any of the three of them if I'm honest...

[Paul Gray]

No place for Hindhead? I personally think the back nine is all too easily disregarded.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

To me it is Sunningdale New and everything else is one class behind and in that class you have Sunningdale Old, Woodhall Spa, Ganton,Walton Heath times 2,St Georges Hill and RAF.

Hopefully next time I am home I will be able to add Swinley and New Zealand to that list.

[Niall C]

Not sure if Forfar would qualify as heathland, need to check my Price, but suggest Elgin would.

Niall

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

I am in agreement with Michael Wharton-Palmer.  The fascination with Sunningdale Old is the UK equivalent of the Maidstone infatuation in the US.  I had the great fortune to play there a couple times a week in the summer of 1979 and the fun factor was even better than the Old.  There is no way the Old is in the same league strategically and challenge wise with the New.  In addition, the new has quite a few more interesting greens. The strategic driving value on the New is about as good as it gets in the British Iles.  

[Brian_Ewen]

From an old thread on Heathland and there are many  

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,20383.25.html

I have one of those Scottish Greensavers books lying here .

They list Heathland courses in Scotland as :

Blairgowrie
Ballumbie Castle
Kemnay
Elgin
Lamlash
Ladybank
Alyth
Dunkeld & Birnam
Forfar
Kirriemuir
Falkirk Tryst
Boat of Garten
Fort Augustus
Torphin Hill
Edzell
Dufftown
Lauder
Moffat
Whitekirk
Lothianburn
The Dukes Course
Fort William
Port Bannatyne
Easter Moffat
Westerwood Hotel GC
Craigie Hill
Gleneagles Kings
Gleaneagles Queens
Gourock
Muir of Ord
Strathpeffer
Galasheils
Innerleithen
Selkirk
Abernethy
Carrbridge
Kingussie
Golspie
Grantown on Spey
Bonar Bridge

[Brian_Ewen]

I'm sure this won't be a comprehensive list, but here's a stab at English heathland courses:

The Berkshire (X2)
East Berkshire
Newbury and Crookham (not sure - I haven't been there for MANY years)
Royal Ascot (?)
Swinley Forest
Stoke Poges
Sandiway (though precious little heather survives)
Yelverton
Broadstone
Ferndown
Isle of Purbeck
Knighton Heath
Parkstone
Wareham (?)
South Moor (?)
Orsett
Army (?)
Blackmoor
Liphook
North Hants
Berkhamsted (probably not heath, but plays like one)
Rowany
Charnwood Forest
Woodhall Spa
Thetford
Coxmoor
Notts
Sherwood Forest
Tadmarton Heath
Luffenham Heath
Beau Desert
Penn (haven't been there since I was a boy, so memory may be dangerous)
Whittington Heath (in parts, like the curate's egg)
Aldeburgh
Ipswich (Purdis Heath)
Rushmere
Thorpeness (in parts)
Woodbridge
The Addington
Camberley Heath
Coombe Hill (is there any heather remaining?)
Farnham (part)
Hankley Common
Hindhead (parts)
New Zealand
RAC (X2 but it's over 30 years since last I was there)
Sunningdale (X2)
Sunningdale Ladies
Walton Heath (X2)
Wentworth (X2 - I'm not counting the Edinburgh)
West Hill
Woking
Worplesdon
Crowborough Beacon (bits)
West Sussex
Sutton Coldfield (bits)
Fulford (bits beyond the A64)
Alwoodley
Bingley St Ives (a bit)
Moortown (a little remains)
Sand Moor (does any remain?)

[Peter Pallotta]

Just a question gents, for anyone who might know:

In the US, it seems that some private courses/clubs take pride in the playing ability of their members -- i.e. they make no bones about their courses being difficult challenges/hard tests, and the membership can boast that it includes many golfers with low handicaps good enough to handle it.

Amongst these great UK&I healthland courses, do any stand out in the same way/have a similiar aura about them?  Or is it instead different there?

thanks

Peter

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Peter,
Sunningdale and Wentworth both actively let it be known that they have a number of very good players and I think Wentworth even offers younger quality players a "deal" on dues.
Whilst at Sunningdale last week I spent a delightful hour talking to past Walker Cupper Ian Caldwell about their memebrship and he was very proud of the clubs heriatge of having a large number of near scratch players.

[Caspar Sala]

All candidates are mentioned I guess but I feel Hankley Common deserves extra mention. The back 9 through the heather are (at the right time of year) nothing short of gorgeous.

Sunningdale New and Old would follow after that. There cant be much better in golf than the view from the 6th back tee on the New, esp heather wise.

[Adam Lawrence]

From an old thread on Heathland and there are many  

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,20383.25.html

I have one of those Scottish Greensavers books lying here .

They list Heathland courses in Scotland as :

Blairgowrie
Ballumbie Castle
Kemnay
Elgin
Lamlash
Ladybank
Alyth
Dunkeld & Birnam
Forfar
Kirriemuir
Falkirk Tryst
Boat of Garten
Fort Augustus
Torphin Hill
Edzell
Dufftown
Lauder
Moffat
Whitekirk
Lothianburn
The Dukes Course
Fort William
Port Bannatyne
Easter Moffat
Westerwood Hotel GC
Craigie Hill
Gleneagles Kings
Gleaneagles Queens
Gourock
Muir of Ord
Strathpeffer
Galasheils
Innerleithen
Selkirk
Abernethy
Carrbridge
Kingussie
Golspie
Grantown on Spey
Bonar Bridge

I can't speak to many of the others, but if Westerwood is heath then I am a Dutchman...

[Adam Lawrence]

All candidates are mentioned I guess but I feel Hankley Common deserves extra mention. The back 9 through the heather are (at the right time of year) nothing short of gorgeous.

Sunningdale New and Old would follow after that. There cant be much better in golf than the view from the 6th back tee on the New, esp heather wise.

Hankley is top drawer if beauty is your only priority but the golf is second tier at best. In particular the greens are far too dull to be regarded alongside the real big names.

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