A trip to England & Scotland, or: Fantastic Courses and Where to Find Them

[Mark Chaplin]

It's interesting looking back at the pictures of Deal and Sandwich from barely 8 weeks ago. Whilst the boys had good weather down south, most weeks we were getting a really big storm so the courses had plenty of water and lots of warmth and sun. That only means one thing, very thick rough.

The last month has been hot and as dry as a bone, the courses are now straw coloured and as sporty as ****. Those US members sneaking in cheap "Brexit" trips are experiencing links golf at its very best, the 3Fs firm, fast and fair!

[John Cowden]

Wonderful stuff, Eric. 

[Eric Smith]

Woodhall Spa

When we arrived in Woodhall Spa it was nice checking into yet another top notch accommodation, the Inn at Woodhall Spa. Great little hotel, right in town near the restaurants and shops and just a couple of minutes from the golf club.



Here's a neat spot across the street:



The club was a change of pace activity-wise from the others we had visited thus far. Lots of folks around the clubhouse and driving range as Woodhall is the home of the National Golf Centre. I was worried our experience would be dampened by slow play but alas it seemed we were the only ones playing the Hotchkin Course! [There is another course on site as well.]



I thought the golf course was pretty cool, I loved the look of it but for whatever reason wasn't all that excited playing it, at least through the first nine holes. I thought the back nine was much more fun, I think we all did. I was texting with Adam Lawrence afterward on the ride up to Ganton and told him the same thing and of course he tells me I'm the first person he's ever heard say that! Usually its the front nine that folks consider the better holes and the back nine more redundant I think is the term he used. Nevertheless, its a cool place and I'm glad we played there. I believe he said Renaissance is about to do some work there?

Here are a few pics:


































 

[Bill_McBride]

Have to wax ecstatic about that bunker with the heather in bloom behind it!

[Matt Dawson]

Eric

I'm sorry not to have made your acquaintance while you were over here, but I have enjoyed your enjoyment through the pictures, so to speak...

I wonder, what was your overall impression of the courses that you played? I'm familiar with all of them, some admittedly more than others, and it strikes me that you picked a wonderful combination of links, heathland and back to links again

Did you enjoy the contrast between the differing types of course? I'm sure I read elsewhere on GCA that heather is much less common in the US (where I believe you are from) than here in UK, so would others that are not as well-travelled as you find a certain "novelty" value in heathland golf?

As an equivalent example, I haven't played much in the U.S, and never on the West Coast or the South, so I have no idea when people talk about the impact of kikuyu grass at Riviera...

[Marty Bonnar]

Hurry up and get to Scotland! 

 
F

Oh, and PS: Yes, I am geeky enough to have gotten your thread title reference!

[Thomas Dai]

Excellent photos of Woodhall Spa Eric.


Always nice to see photos taken from different angles to the norm. Features and slopes often show up much better when photographed from unusual positions.


Atb

[James Boon]

Eric,
I dont recognise this chap you mention, but its nice of you to say such things about Hollinwell. It was good to catch up and really glad you enjoyed the course. I especially enjoyed the long snaking 60 foot putt you holed on the 16th, as on such a tricky green its by far the longest I've ever seen holed there!
And in case anyone is wondering, the union jack flying isnt because we are massivly patriotic or pushing for Royal status... The RAF were playing a big 3 day tournament with us at the same time as Eric's visit.
Cheers,
James

[Matt MacIver]

Great journal and comments so far, looking forward to more. Getting to know the top English and certain Irish courses is generally harder for me - they're all so good they usually go by two names...😅

[Eric Smith]

Thanks for the comments guys. I promise I'll comment and get back to the tour following the Labor Day weekend.

Hope the guys in Ireland for the BUDA are getting all the wind, wine and Guinness they can stand.

[Jim Nugent]

Eric, one the greens at Woodhall Spa looks a bit like a Biarritz green.  Is that right?  If so, curious to learn when they built it, and whether that pre-dated CBM's Biarritz greens. 

[Niall C]

Jim


I'm no expert but from memory Woodhall Spa was built in the 1920's so wouldn't predate CBM's work.


Niall

[Eric Smith]

Eric

I'm sorry not to have made your acquaintance while you were over here, but I have enjoyed your enjoyment through the pictures, so to speak...

I wonder, what was your overall impression of the courses that you played? I'm familiar with all of them, some admittedly more than others, and it strikes me that you picked a wonderful combination of links, heathland and back to links again

Did you enjoy the contrast between the differing types of course? I'm sure I read elsewhere on GCA that heather is much less common in the US (where I believe you are from) than here in UK, so would others that are not as well-travelled as you find a certain "novelty" value in heathland golf?

As an equivalent example, I haven't played much in the U.S, and never on the West Coast or the South, so I have no idea when people talk about the impact of kikuyu grass at Riviera...

Hi Matt. Sorry for the delay in my reply. Where are you based in the UK? I very much enjoyed all of the courses we played over there as most were courses I'd longed to see, such as Ganton(!!), Royal St George's and Rye while the others were courses I'd visited once before and yearned to get back to, such as Deal, N Berwick, and St Andrews. It was cool finally getting to see one of the Surrey heathland courses and I can see an entire London based golf trip in my future. I love it there! The heather is a bitch to play out of but I do love the aesthetic as it adds a unique texture to the landscape.


I'll be back, if not next summer, then in 2018.

[Eric Smith]

Hurry up and get to Scotland! 

 
F

Oh, and PS: Yes, I am geeky enough to have gotten your thread title reference!

Truly, Marty, your post was a laugh out loud moment. Hilarious!


I'll get there today I promise.

[Eric Smith]

Excellent photos of Woodhall Spa Eric.


Always nice to see photos taken from different angles to the norm. Features and slopes often show up much better when photographed from unusual positions.


Atb

Thanks, Thomas. I'm drawn to the bunkers for sure as well as the odd feature or two. These courses are just so darn enchanting it is easy to get lost in the otherworldly nature of them. Anymore all of my golf is travel golf and I find when I'm playing I'm more or less in a dream state. Sure I want to hit the great shot but for me "being there" is the juice. Surely I'm getting a bit loony tunes as I age but that's the way it is and I'm fine with it. Hopefully my playing companions don't get too annoyed with me.

[Eric Smith]

Eric, one the greens at Woodhall Spa looks a bit like a Biarritz green.  Is that right?  If so, curious to learn when they built it, and whether that pre-dated CBM's Biarritz greens.

Jim,


I think the green is more of a two-tiered green. Maybe it does rise up a bit in the rear portion but I simply cannot recall. It was a small green. Cool par 3. Here is a neat fly over of the 5th hole.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Jim


I'm no expert but from memory Woodhall Spa was built in the 1920's so wouldn't predate CBM's work.


Niall

You are correct, you are no expert.


Try 1905 for this course.

[Eric Smith]

Ganton(!!)

I don't know about you, but when I look at a map of England when dreaming of a golf trip, I get annoyed because the prospect of fitting in a visit to Ganton is not all that simple when trying to pair it with other areas of the country. But I found a simple solution to my head scratching - start the trip in London and end it in Edinburgh...easy, right?


The prospect of seeing Ganton was one of the huge factors in my belief that this trip would indeed be one for the ages. Man does it feel good to be right!


Just as we got started it began to sprinkle on us - hard to believe these were the first rain drops of the trip - but it stopped before we reached the second tee. Crisis averted.


This place is awesome. You're out in the country, really out in the country, with these beautiful hills surrounding the fields of green grass, you see a church steeple back among the trees, I could imagine we were somewhere maybe in Southwest Virginia. The difference is this course isn't found in Virginia or anywhere really. What is it with Ganton that makes it so different from the other courses on our trip? I don't know what to tell you. There is a reason folks who post here on golfclubatlas go to this course and stay and play it multiple times over multiple days. It is just so much fun to play. My play was Jekyll and Hyde. Mostly because I avoided the many cavernous bunkers on the front nine and then lived in them for the most part on the back. The course was as firm as anything we'd seen up to this point. Sandy soil and tight fescue turf. There's even a sand quarry tucked back behind the gorse bushes on the back nine.


















































I will return to Ganton and stay in town next time. This course is simply worth the time and effort. Go!!

[Colin Shellard]

Eric


Just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your thread    This is he sort of heart warming adventure of British courses I can relate to and delight in reading about.


Having played Ganton about 6 years ago, I can only echo your comments. It's a wonderful place, superb golf course and a friendly club. Spent an hour sitting on the terrace in between rounds drinking a couple of pints and some sandwhiches in beautiful late summer weather. I found great variety in the holes at Ganton, where the trees come in to play on the back nine these holes had a very different feel to the holes at the start of the round. All in all a wonderful course.


I was also lucky enough to have played the Old at Walton Heath a couple of years ago with a friend who is a member. It was my first (and so far only) experience of the South's heathland courses - so very different to the links and parkland that I am used to playing in the rest of the UK. I can't wait to get back down there to play the New and some of the other courses in that area.


Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!


Col

[Niall C]

Jim


I'm no expert but from memory Woodhall Spa was built in the 1920's so wouldn't predate CBM's work.


Niall

You are correct, you are no expert.


Try 1905 for this course.

Well actually (says he adopting very smug voice) Colt redesigned the course in 1911 with the work taking to 1914 to be completed. This gave todays routing however Hotchkin dabbled with it during the 1920's moving many of the tees and greens and hazards (all acording to club website). So there !!


Niall