2023 YANK AWARDS

[Mark Pearce]

Alnick Village

Is this a new course in the North East?

[Tony_Muldoon]

Alnick Village

Is this a new course in the North East?

Touche . Served nicely chilled.


Alnmouth Village.

[Richard Fisher]

Delighted that Mark P enjoyed the Gogs so much. The Gog Magog Hills are the minimax of England (the lowest highest point of any English county) and the chalk downland Old Course is especially good in winter when everywhere else within 20 miles is pretty much under water. We did try, and fail, to organise a GCA outing to the Gogs last year, and should have another go in 2024. The new course (1990s), the Wandlebury, is being reworked by Martin Ebert at the moment, to excellent effect thus far: prior to this I always thought it one of the least distinguished golf courses to have hosted Open qualifying, with (fundamentally) a shortage of interesting shots to hit. Despite being a Gogs member I used to play the Wandlebury no more than once or twice a year. It definitely needed Martin's attention!

[Mark Pearce]

Delighted that Mark P enjoyed the Gogs so much. The Gog Magog Hills are the minimax of England (the lowest highest point of any English county) and the chalk downland Old Course is especially good in winter when everywhere else within 20 miles is pretty much under water. We did try, and fail, to organise a GCA outing to the Gogs last year, and should have another go in 2024. The new course (1990s), the Wandlebury, is being reworked by Martin Ebert at the moment, to excellent effect thus far: prior to this I always thought it one of the least distinguished golf courses to have hosted Open qualifying, with (fundamentally) a shortage of interesting shots to hit. Despite being a Gogs member I used to play the Wandlebury no more than once or twice a year. It definitely needed Martin's attention!

I'd very definitely be interested in an outing to the Gogs.  Very easy to combine with a visit to work from head office!

[Adam Lawrence]

Delighted that Mark P enjoyed the Gogs so much. The Gog Magog Hills are the minimax of England (the lowest highest point of any English county) and the chalk downland Old Course is especially good in winter when everywhere else within 20 miles is pretty much under water. We did try, and fail, to organise a GCA outing to the Gogs last year, and should have another go in 2024. The new course (1990s), the Wandlebury, is being reworked by Martin Ebert at the moment, to excellent effect thus far: prior to this I always thought it one of the least distinguished golf courses to have hosted Open qualifying, with (fundamentally) a shortage of interesting shots to hit. Despite being a Gogs member I used to play the Wandlebury no more than once or twice a year. It definitely needed Martin's attention!

I saw the Gogs a few times when my friend James Fuller was your GM. I thought the Old course had quite a lot of potential if the club could only be persuaded to remove a lot of the crappy trees and incorporate some of the chalk pits -- which are very large and dramatic -- into the design of the holes, and essentially try to return the land more to an authentic chalk down ecosystem.

[Paul Dolton]

The best value for money was Newbiggin Golf Club. I did use the county card but it was fantastic value. "Smithy" played it a day or so after me and I totally agree with his rating.  It's just north of Newcastle.

What did you like about it?


I enjoyed the par 4 out to the point (3rd?)and about 4 holes around the turn were superb, but its in a a tough area for VFM. 
Alnick Village and Seahouses back 9 offfer better bang for ones buck?

I haven't played Alnwick Village.
Seahorses is good but overall it has several holes on what I would call meadow land.
Newbiggin had a fair few flat holes but crisp turf on every hole and as mentioned a good stretch of holes at the far end of the course.With county card it was £15. But I realise Sean was looking for prices with no deal.
Just out of interest has anyone played Alnwick. The Alnwick with 18 holes

[Adam Lawrence]

Houses not horses I think, Paul 

[Paul Dolton]

Houses not horses I think, Paul 

Yes sorry about that . Seahouses.
Also meant Alnmouth Village and Alnmouth Golf Club.

[Tom_Doak]

I hope that Seahouses has a sea horse logo just to mess with everyone!

[Sean_A]

I hope that Seahouses has a sea horse logo just to mess with everyone!

😎

Paul…it’s only the back nine of Seahouses which is compelling and the club wisely offers 9 hole rates. Seahouses reminds me a lot of a US ma & pa course, but on a far better site. The club too is low cool. I have a lot of time for the place.

Ciao

[Mark Pearce]

Just out of interest has anyone played Alnwick. The Alnwick with 18 holes

Yes, I have, a couple of times.  Unmemorable. 

[Sean_A]

Following Sean’s lead (never a bad idea), here’s a summary of my 2023 golf.  Not a big year for quantity of new courses played, but very pleased with what I saw: Lido, Sedge Valley, St. Georges Hill (all three 9s), Berkhamsted, Minchinhampton Old, Players Club Stranahan, Hillcrest, & Lakeside. It was a fine year for repeat plays, including Elie, Muirfield, Castle Stuart, Brora, Royal Dornoch, St. Andrews Old, North Berwick, Huntercombe, Painswick, Cleeve Hill, Blue Mound, & Beverly.
 
Most Surprising New Play Course: Players Club Stranahan. Tony Muldoon made the wise decision to base Buda at The Players Club, which worked out really well. I was a little skeptical of including the Stranahan course, thinking we were just playing it since we were there. Instead, I got to see a really good set of green complexes and a course that, while short on the card, was plenty thought provoking. We didn’t have good weather so only made it around once, but I’ll be sure to return.
 
Most Surprising New Play Course Runner Up: Hillcrest. I never saw the version before Kyle Phillips, but the course now is outstanding. It was fascinating hearing about the routing prior to the changes. Lots of width, amazing views, very good variety of holes and interesting green complexes. And the halfway house was even better than my lofty expectations.
 
Most Disappointing New Play Course: Berkhamsted. I liked the looks of the course and the varied berms and hollows, but too many trees and relatively bland greens lower the impression a bit. Worth playing, but I expected more.
 
Best New Play Inland Course: Lido. We aren’t calling it a links, are we? No matter how the course is categorized, it’s incredible. I know we talk a lot about giving some time before rating courses, but it’s easy to see Lido ending up World Top 25 in short order. Just imagine if the Old Course and NGLA had a baby.... Every shot is interesting, and the challenge varies greatly depending on what line you take. It’s the most complex course I’ve seen, and astonishing to think this was designed for play 100 years ago.
 
Best New Play Inland Course Runner Up: Sedge Valley. You would be forgiven for expecting Lido’s par 68 neighbor to much smaller in scale and intimate, but playing corridors are wide. After the first few holes, you find out that plotting your way is very important here. Green contours aren’t as bold as one might expect from Doak, but the contours are still there and very clever. It’s easily the best course at the resort (excepting Lido).
 
Best New Play Links: Sadly, none this year.
 
Best Repeat Play Links: Tie, St. Andrews Old & Muirfield. Both are nearly perfect but in different ways.
 
Most Surprising Repeat Play Course: Maybe not that surprising, but it was good to be reminded why Huntercombe should not be missed if you’re on a London trip. Brilliant green after brilliant green, and makes the most of the features of the land. People should be flocking here, but I do love the quiet charm. Progress has been made on opening things up more by addressing trees and undergrowth, but still more could be done.
 
Best Affordable Course Played This Year: Has to be Cleeve Hill. I’m really thankful that new owners stepped up a couple of years ago and kept the course open. Such a fun combination of adventure and rustic golf. Tremendous scale and views, with plenty of room to play and width compensating nicely for blindness. Overall a very good course. Awareness of Cleeve, along with Kington, might be Sean’s greatest contribution to my UK golf experiences.
 
Best Course Played This Year: Return to the tie between Muirfield and TOC.
Runner Up: Lido
 
Top Experiences:
Elie with Mark Pearce
Close encounter with a Highland Coo at Brora
Tour of the new course site at Castle Stuart with Clyde Johnson
Playing the 18^th at TOC in the dark - last group in
Monday foursomes at Muirfield
My friend’s face as he saw the 16^th green at North Berwick
Buda after 4 years away
Golf with Lupin (Tony Muldoon’s dog) at Painswick
36 holes on a perfect day at St. George’s Hill
Playing all 18 at Sedge Valley (twice), including the first hole with Tom
Renaissance Cup at Lido with Michael Wolf
 
Favorite Course Played This Year: I’ll call it a tie between Elie & North Berwick. Golf by the sea just can’t be surpassed, and both of those courses also have an undeniable joy to be alive factor.

Tucky


It’s good to know someone other than me enjoys the Stranahan. I have a lot of time for the course. It will be interesting to see how the latest work turns out.


Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

Tucky[/size]It’s good to know someone other than me enjoys the Stranahan. I have a lot of time for the course. It will be interesting to see how the latest work turns out.Ciao


Me too!
I reckon the Stranahan is terrific. Plenty of strategy with some really cunning green complexes and putting surfaces. Highlights that length isn’t necessarily needed for challenge.
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