English Golf Trip

[Chanceman]

1. Arrived Tuesday and headed to Datchet GC near Heathrow for some exercise . Nice little 9 hole opener. 2 stars

2. Next day across London to Old Fold Manor. Open qualifier and solid track. Very good greens but patchy under watered fairways. 3 stars

3. Up the M1 to Beau Desert. Wow. Definitely top quality. Everything good.  Small quibble maybe a few too many dead straight par 4. 4 stars

 

Ps Quite warm here in England. M1 horrible. Pubs are fun. Hollinwell today. Can’t wIt.

[El Gringo]

On 9/8/2023 at 7:01 AM, Chanceman said:

1. Arrived Tuesday and headed to Datchet GC near Heathrow for some exercise . Nice little 9 hole opener. 2 stars

2. Next day across London to Old Fold Manor. Open qualifier and solid track. Very good greens but patchy under watered fairways. 3 stars

3. Up the M1 to Beau Desert. Wow. Definitely top quality. Everything good.  Small quibble maybe a few too many dead straight par 4. 4 stars

 

Ps Quite warm here in England. M1 horrible. Pubs are fun. Hollinwell today. Can’t wIt.

What did you think of 18 Beau? It's been radically altered over last winter. 

[Chanceman]

13 hours ago, El Gringo said:

What did you think of 18 Beau? It's been radically altered over last winter. 

18th at BD? Terrific hole. Not sure what they changed but it turned out well. The moat thing is very cool. 

Day 4. Hollinwell. Such a great golf course. Beautiful, tough, interesting, and varied. 
Day 5. Seacroft. A challenging rough diamond in the current dry conditions. Very quirky in parts but overall solid. 
Day 6. Ganton tomorrow

 

[Chanceman]

Day 6 Ganton. Such a great course but too difficult for me. It’s amazing how fairly flat piece of ground can yield such a tough assignment. Only our resident 10 capper could handle it and even he had problems. Wonderful place though. We stayed in the Dormy house, had dinner in the clubhouse and just enjoyed the vibe. 

Day 7 Alwoodley. A beautiful course with great Mackenzie bunkers, challenging greens and wide fairways. I would go back again and again. 
Day 8 Delamere Forest. A particularly good golf course. Herb Fowler design and really superb. The course is quite hilly which gives it excellent views as well as elevated tees and secluded greens. 
My ratings so far Ganton 8, Hollinwell 7, Alwoodley 6, Beau Desert 6, Delamere Forest 5, Seacroft 4, Old Fold Manor 3.

[El Gringo]

I find Beau to be every bit the course Alwoodley and Notts are. Beau has superior greens. Notts has a majestic property. The back 9 is excellent. Greens rather subdued. Alwoodley to me is the least interesting of the three. Flattish fairways and greens with a few excellent exceptions. 

 

 

[Chanceman]

On 9/12/2023 at 10:36 PM, El Gringo said:

I find Beau to be every bit the course Alwoodley and Notts are. Beau has superior greens. Notts has a majestic property. The back 9 is excellent. Greens rather subdued. Alwoodley to me is the least interesting of the three. Flattish fairways and greens with a few excellent exceptions. 

 

 

Absolutely, Beau Desert has superb design as well as conditioning. The three courses (BD, HW and AW) are all very good. Ganton is exceptional. Anyway the trip goes on now heading back southwards.

Day 9 Cavendish. A little gem and reasonably priced. Challenging greens and varied holes. Nice price. 
Day 10 Church Stretton. The most fun we have had, despite the rain. Amazing views and some unbelievable holes. V low price too. 

Day 11 Kington. A very good golf course and the highest in England. Sheep are the main grounds keepers. Brilliant 18th hole and terrific par 3s. 
 

This part of England feels quite remote although still lots of traffic.

My fellow travellers had never heard of most of these courses but are hugely enjoying them.  But we are all feeling it after 10 days consecutive golf. 

 

[Chanceman]

The weather has changed. Getting a bit wet after some fine days.

Day 12 Minchinhampton. Quite a surprise for us. Very flat and open with horses, cows, dogs and people not playing golf. But it is a decent course with a number of solid holes. The par 3s are all interesting. Alas the rain became too heavy so we adjourned to the bar after 10 holes. Still well priced. 

Day 13 St Enodoc. Awesome golf course, superbly conditioned, spectacular, fun and always interesting. Pity it rained so hard, and blew us off line. Love to play it on an easier day.

Day 14 Perranporth. St E’s little brother but outstanding in its own right. It was very windy but manageable. The excessive blind shots are its only drawback. We just loved it. Fun and interesting start to finish. And of course the views. Great value. 
Now we head for London and the last week.

[El Gringo]

I played Minch Old on Monday. Seriously lush for this time of year. I still enjoy the proper common aspect of the course. 

 

I am envious you played St E and Perranporth. It's been a few years for me. Lovem' both. 

[Chanceman]

Day 15 was wet, wet and wetter. Luckily it was a driving day from Cornwall up towards London. Stayed at a lovely old pub in the New Forest.

Day 16 played Pulborough. This is a golf course! Fairly flat land with some great undulations and an easy walk. Too much heather though which can make life difficult for erratic golfers. Especially in the rain. A beautiful course. 

Day 17 St George’s Hill. This is my instant favourite of all those we have played. A majestic course. Elevated tees. Wide fairways. Well positioned bunkers. Superb par 3s. Great variation from hole to hole. Rough not too penal. Spectacular vistas and a simple routing. Awesome. 

 

[Ireland2]

This is one fantastic trip you planned. A very knowledgeable sequence of golf courses from beginning to end. Well played, Sir

[AltC]

Top trip Chancer - super golf at not the big name courses - yer a canny guy!

[Chanceman]

Thanks guys. It has been a great trip but not over yet!

Day 18. London Scottish. This is the course on Wimbledon Common where you have to wear red shirts because of the walkers with dogs . The pro shop is stocked with everything red. Not a great course but hey for 50 gbp who’s complaining. Nowhere else  to play on ay in London.
Day 19 Royal Ashdown Forest. A great course down at Pooh Corner. No bunkers does not make it easy. Slope of like 138 tells you. Deep in the forest means seclusion and quiet to add to the terrific golf. Big fave.
Day 20 Royal Cinque Ports. The next door neighbour to Royal St George’s. Tough links course but really good. I found it hard on the back nine which is into the wind. Heavy rough and lots of “where the hell is the fairway”.

Last day tomorrow at The Addington. 3 weeks of a good time! 

[Tobyrich1928]

Let me know what you think of the Addington Chanceman - the work going on is fantastic and when it's all done in a couple years it's gonna be a very special place, look out for the new clearing short right of the 6th green!

[sabram]

21 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Day 20 Royal Cinque Ports.

Played it last week. . Loved it. 15-17 were fantastic, what land!

 

Link to photosRoyal Cinque Ports ("Deal") pix

[Chanceman]

Yes The Addy was terrific. All the work is coming together but does not affect the play that much, apart from a few GUR bunkers — which drew no complaints. The holes from 8-13 are superb. Hard to imagine what it was like before cutting down about 1000 trees. That is the mystery green at the 6th? Can’t see much. 
 

Re Deal, yes it’s a treat albeit a tough test for anybody. Would be brutal when the wind is up. Fwiw why do courses need 150 yd carries? I am a short hitter so found a lot of holes very tough. Otherwise ok!!

 

We’re are done now so back home tomorrow. Will sleep well on the plane.

[Chanceman]

Ratings for our courses

1.St George’s Hill

2.Ganton

3. Royal Cinque Ports

4. Alwoodley

5. St Enodoc

6. Royal Ashdown Forest

7. Hollinwell 

8. Pulborough

9. Beau Desert

10. The Addington 

11. Perranporth 

12. Delamere Forest

13.  Kington

14. Seacroft

15.  Church Stretton

16. Cavendish

17.  Rolls of Monmouth

18. Old Fold Manor

19. London Scottish

20. Minchinhampton

 

Group Faves

Church Stretton

Perranporth

St George’s Hill

 

Give me 3 replays

St George’s Hill

Perranporth

Alwoodley

 

[El Gringo]

I ask everybody this because by my noggin, Deal is clearly the best of this lot. It's not my favourite by a long shot, that's Kington, but the best. Tell me, what is Deal lacking? 

 

Folks have said Ganton has cleared back some gunge. If this is the case I would like to see it again. 

 

I am totally out of step with you re RAF. A very over rated course imo. Tons of carry shots required to greens. A lovely looking one trick pony design. Each time I play there it falls further down my list, but it's a reciprocal so definitely a great deal for 30 quid. 

[Chanceman]

3 hours ago, El Gringo said:

I ask everybody this because by my noggin, Deal is clearly the best of this lot. It's not my favourite by a long shot, that's Kington, but the best. Tell me, what is Deal lacking? 

 

Folks have said Ganton has cleared back some gunge. If this is the case I would like to see it again. 

 

I am totally out of step with you re RAF. A very over rated course imo. Tons of carry shots required to greens. A lovely looking one trick pony design. Each time I play there it falls further down my list, but it's a reciprocal so definitely a great deal for 30 quid. 

I actually enjoyed the battle at Deal but I guess its difficulty gets to you in the end. A great course though.
Kington was good but maybe I was expecting more. The quirk of Church Stretton was quite appealing.
As for RAF I found it quite engaging and enjoyable. Probably rated higher than it should be but sometimes you just enjoy a course despite its faults.
And St George’s Hill is the complete package. Beauty, challenge, condition,  it has the lot. It and Sunningdale Old would be my two favourite English courses. 

[El Gringo]

1 hour ago, Chanceman said:

I actually enjoyed the battle at Deal but I guess its difficulty gets to you in the end. A great course though.
Kington was good but maybe I was expecting more. The quirk of Church Stretton was quite appealing.
As for RAF I found it quite engaging and enjoyable. Probably rated higher than it should be but sometimes you just enjoy a course despite its faults.
And St George’s Hill is the complete package. Beauty, challenge, condition,  it has the lot. It and Sunningdale Old would be my two favourite English courses. 

Ok. Yer talking favourites. That's fair enough. I find Deal too difficult for my game, but it's an awesome course. Earlier this year we moved forward and from those tees the course was seriously fun. There were a few horrible walks forward which I would not do next time. But most holes made more sense for my game. 

[puttnforthe8]

13 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Ratings for our courses

1.St George’s Hill

2.Ganton

3. Royal Cinque Ports

4. Alwoodley

5. St Enodoc

6. Royal Ashdown Forest

7. Hollinwell 

8. Pulborough

9. Beau Desert

10. The Addington 

11. Perranporth 

12. Delamere Forest

13.  Kington

14. Seacroft

15.  Church Stretton

16. Cavendish

17.  Rolls of Monmouth

18. Old Fold Manor

19. London Scottish

20. Minchinhampton

 

Group Faves

Church Stretton

Perranporth

St George’s Hill

 

Give me 3 replays

St George’s Hill

Perranporth

Alwoodley

 

 

Thanks for this - I am trying to put together a plan for a trip.  

[sabram]

15 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Ratings for our courses

1.St George’s Hill

2.Ganton

3. Royal Cinque Ports

4. Alwoodley

5. St Enodoc

6. Royal Ashdown Forest

7. Hollinwell 

8. Pulborough

9. Beau Desert

10. The Addington 

11. Perranporth 

12. Delamere Forest

13.  Kington

14. Seacroft

15.  Church Stretton

16. Cavendish

17.  Rolls of Monmouth

18. Old Fold Manor

19. London Scottish

20. Minchinhampton

 

Group Faves

Church Stretton

Perranporth

St George’s Hill

 

Give me 3 replays

St George’s Hill

Perranporth

Alwoodley

 

 Royal Cinque Ports (Deal) was my favorite on my recent trip to England. I loved almost every shot. The fall offs around the greens made for some very fun, creative choices to chip, pitch or putt. The land was awesome.

I'm surprised that you preferred Royal Ashdown Forest to Pulborough (West Sussex) I liked Royal Ashdown, it's a cool, very hilly property but a very hard walk (I played it on a really hot day). Royal Ashdown has some excellent holes, but I thought almost every hole at Pulborough was excellent (although wasn't a fan of the famous 230 yard par 3 6th). I'd gladly play Pulborough every day. Royal Ashdown not so much 

[Frank_Kasule]

Sounds like you had a great time, some really fantastic courses! 

Can definitely agree with Church Stretton being a fav, there's something magical about that course. 

[sabram]

9 hours ago, El Gringo said:

we moved forward and from those tees the course was seriously fun. There were a few horrible walks forward which I would not do next time. But most holes made more sense for my game. 

I also moved up a set of tees. Really fun. I'm not a low capper, but I parred 15, 16 and 17. I do have to note that the wind eas benign on the day I played and I had a god caddy. He eas the only caddy I had all week. It was my 8th round in 7 days. We played Princes that morning and Deal had no trolleys available due to a comp that day. There was no way I could carry my bag that round

[Chanceman]

22 hours ago, El Gringo said:

Ok. Yer talking favourites. That's fair enough. I find Deal too difficult for my game, but it's an awesome course. Earlier this year we moved forward and from those tees the course was seriously fun. There were a few horrible walks forward which I would not do next time. But most holes made more sense for my game. 

Actually not totally talking favourites, but I am no course rating guru so these are just how I see them. Influenced by the daily conditions. Eg it rained heavily at Pulborough so it drops in the ratings. Same at Minch which we did not even finish cos of the wind and rain. I just happened to really like RAF with its woody ambience. Some of our guys put Perranporth higher than me. Ganton was so obviously good but too hard. So I would say my list is a hybrid of objectivity and subjectivity.