Sean,
Afraid to say things are still less than ideal. Whilst the course is generally well manicured these days the set up is, on three holes at least, bordering on criminally ignorant.
Out of interest, which holes do you feel are odd? That's one thing which I've never really considered but then it is home and therefore just somewhat part of the furniture, so to speak.
Sorry to thread jack, people.
Paul
From memory, much of the back 9 is odd; 14, 15 & 18. In one way or another these holes seem forced. Then of course there is the opening par 3. To me the course feels like it should start and finish somewhere else as the openers and closers are not terribly memorable. Did the course start near 13/14 originally? I also recall what seemed like a lot of odd ball mounds scattered about flatish fairways. If I recall, the best part of the course is between 8 and 13 where some of that mounding is in your face, three short 4s (two of which are excellent) and a very good one-shotter. I don't recall the number, but a long par 4 adds some variety to this otherwise shorter section of Hayling.
Ciao
To the very best of my knowledge the course has never commenced around 13/14, although the ferry clubhouse was once utilised more than it is today and it remains common for folk to get the ferry over to Hayling and start their round at 14. Back in the 19th century a round did commence further to the east and the original crude layout was once an absolute monster where an early bogey score of something like 85 would have been very good going. As for the current first, no visitors ever seem to like the first two holes and even some of the members would prefer that it began differently. I like the start but am in a definite minority. Much as I said before, to me it's just home so having grown up with an opening par 3 I simply never thought anything of it.
8 - 13, i.e. right out in the dunes, is certainly the best section of the course. I'd actually extend that to 5 - 13 as 5 is an outstanding par 3 and 7 a damn good par 5 with one of the best greens on the course. 6 is, in my opinion, overrated.
14 onwards is not so much forced as just not on the most interesting of land, being as it is the section furthest removed from the beach.
14 itself is currently not the hole it was. Once upon a time the drive was to an expansive fairway which teased you into taking on more to the left, towards the gorse, than you might really be comfortable with. The same width used to also get you thinking about the angle for your second as the hazard runs along the left hand side. All of that left hand side fairway is now left longer and all the strategy has gone, forcing you to simply aim at a 15 yard wide strip and hope to get it there or thereabouts.
15 has never been great but it's equally not terrible. The fairway, or what should be the fairway, is split down the middle by a ridge which should get the player thinking as to whether to go along the top shelf to the left or the lower shelf to the right. Unfortunately, not too much fairway remains to the left now.
16 is a good but tough par 3. Par is always a good score there.
17 should entice the low capper to flirt with danger down the left but should equally give the rabbit the option to play safe to the right and effectively treat the hole as a par 5, or at least that was the case until the right portion of the fairway was abandoned and the cross bunkers 100 yards short of the green were taken out. Now, much like at 14, you simply aim at a narrow landing strip and mindlessly hit away. It's one of the holes I'm particularly bewildered by now and I don't mean that in a good way!
18 I like. It's probably the most ordinary hole on the course but with the prevailing wind at your back, in the summer at least, it's almost a half par hole these days and I actually think it finishes the round off quite well.
TO ALL - SORRY AGAIN TO THREAD JACK BUT DECIDED TO LEAVE THIS HERE IN CASE SOME OF YOU FANCY READING THE MOST MINIATURE OF REVIEWS.