England/Scotland Trip Report/Review - Spring 2018 + October 2018

[duffer987]

15 days in May/June, 1562 miles, 10 golf courses, and 39 pubs. Pretty much an ideal two week trip for me.

 

And now I figure, why not throw a thread together that maybe someone might find useful or at least help kill some time at work. Especially as the English courses are quite underrepresented here compared to Scotland and Ireland.

 

With that, I can be wordy and meander, but here we go!

 

Tee times:

Everything from the States was done via email or online booking engine and was easy. Once there for rounds I hadn't booked already, I just made a quick call or just showed up in one instance.

 

Being a single is good and bad. Good for the less trafficked clubs, as it's more of a come on down. Bad at the busier clubs, as you may end up going out as a single surrounded by groups, which isn't very much fun.

 

Unfortunately I only had two of eleven rounds where I played with someone else, whereas my last solo trip I only had a couple rounds where I wasn't playing with others. For me I prefer it and play better, but on empty courses it was fine.

 

The only place I really wanted to play that I couldn't get a time was Brancaster. The secretary was very nice, but my availability and there's never matched up. Conversely, the secretary at Swinley Forest was fantastic, letting me go out at 7:45 before visitor times start to avoid a 24 person group.

 

Getting Around:

Because I have friends around London and near Edinburgh from my time living there, my trip is an up and back affair. Not something I'd necessarily recommend, but easily doable with only 3 longish drives between bases. And by long I mean UK long, so 200 miles, as opposed to North American long.

 

I got lucky with the car hire, as I booked a Ford Focus-esque class and ended up with a fully kitted out, brand new A3 sedan. It worked a charm, large enough for a smooth ride, but small enough to fit in some tight car parks and a respectable marque to turn up at respectable clubs in. Sat nav made getting around dead easy. Interestingly, since 2014 I've not had a rental car in the UK/Ireland/Europe that didn't have it.

 

Outside of the golf I also managed some touristy stuff (which you can see via the album my pics below link to). If you've never been to the East Coast, from Scarborough up and around to Edi, is pretty darn nice. Especially with the moors, just inland from it, to go along with the cliffs and beaches on the sea. Plenty of trails to be had and castles/villages for those wanting to confine their walking to the course.

 

20180531_131905 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

20180531_191857 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Food & Drink:

Yes. Same again please. I love me some pubs and warm brown beer, and England is absolutely the spot for that. Returning to old favorites and discovering new ones, is the main highlight along with the golf for me. Many places did excellent food as well and a few nights at some non-pub eateries, from seaside just off the boat spots, to North London holes in the wall rounded things out nicely. If you don't know any area https://whatpub.com/ is a great way to find spots serving real ale.

 

20180605_221006 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Accommodations:

Big hotels, small hotels, guest houses, and pubs made up the night's stay. It really depended on where I wanted to go and how close I could be to places to eat/drink. Except for the last 2 days, the trip consisted of 3 and 2 night stays, which means you can actually unpack and relax, as opposed to loading the car up every morning. Using the usual websites it was really easy to sort out, as I wasn't anywhere during a festival and school hadn't let out yet.

 

Golf:

So now onto the courses themselves. I've divided them between coastal and inland and thrown a number beside them (from 1 to 10) to indicate which I liked the most. I'm just some hack and I'm not saying which is 'better' or more of a tournament course. Simply how much I enjoy them. I could go back next year and see that order of preference change and then change again.

 

Logistically they break down as follows:

North Berwick, Renaissance Club, & Goswick fit into East Lothian

Formby & Birkdale fit into a Liverpool/Wirral/Southport trip

St. George's Hill & Swinley Forest fit with the greater London heathland courses

Hollinwell and Blackwell are good on the way stops moving between North and South, while Ganton kind of fits that if you are traveling nearer the East Coast

[duffer987]

Seaside Courses

North Berwick GC (1)

I adore this course. From the opening tee, to the final green, it's just so much fun. Maybe a bomber would prefer Muirfield down the road, but there are so many quality holes and opportunities to pull off shots that linger in the memory, I'm not sure who wouldn't place a round at North Berwick near the top of their list of golf trip highlights. Hugging the coast at the start, with a stone wall thrown in along the way, and then playing holes that became templates the world over.

 

On the day, a reverse wind meant most of the front nine was playing downwind, providing the opportunity to score well on the way out and that's what happened. Of course that meant the course would have a chance to strike back on the inward nine and on a couple holes it did. Still out in -1 35 with 3 birdies was the low 9 of the trip and led to the inevitable curse of my playing partners asking on the 10th tee what I played off.

 

20180604_173107 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Formby GC (3)

This pine-filled links erased any disappointment about not getting on at Brancaster. The slow start on flat ground, quickly gives way at the 4th to the first of many holes that play over or around a dune. A run that continues until the 16th hole. Those dozen holes provide one strong hole after the next.

 

Both off the tee and into the greens, Formby required solid ball striking throughout. There wasn't much room to miss, but fortunately the rough after the first cut was whispy, so you could still recover or at least think you could. Greens on shelves and hidden in hollows, fairways that heaved and buckled, broken ground and pinched openings that dared you to give it a go: it's all here.

 

I enjoyed it so much I asked to go back out and was fortunate to slot in before the afternoon two balls got going. The staff here, in the pro shop and the bar were some of the nicest I met this trip. After my second round I went into the pro shop to return the trolley and say thanks and the asst. pro said I was welcome to go back out again if I wanted. For a second I thought about it, before sense told me there was a lot of golf left on the trip.

 

20180529_123816 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Berwick-Upon-Tweed GC (Goswick) (7)

If you are playing in East Lothian and are looking for a course to play after North Berwick and Muirfield, Goswick should be well up your list. I enjoyed it more than the usual 2nd tier courses like Dunbar, Gullane, Kingsbarns, and the non-TOC St. Andrews courses. You're far removed from the A1 here, with nothing but farmland and the rail line for company and the beach in earshot the other side of the dunes, if not always in sight. It's a fantastic spot for golf.

 

There are a few flattish holes either side of the turn as you approach and then leave the land around the clubhouse, but there are also a good selection of them that play up to and on top of the large dune ridge that separates the beach off in the distance from the course. There is a good collection of subtle doglegs, with bunkers to skirt, a few blind shots, and also a few punchbowl greens to really enjoy the ground game on.

 

The course largely follows a two-loop plan, leading away and back to the clubhouse. So over a full found the majority of holes do generally run north to south, but you never have more than 3 holes in a row going the same direction. So with the wind up you don't get continually pummeled or propelled like at Deal or TOC. An Open Series qualifier course, it definitely has the testing holes to kid good sticks a challenge, while remaining fun for the rest of us.

 

20180605_143202 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Royal Birkdale GC (8)

I think we all know this course, or at least the 18th below the art deco clubhouse where Mo holed out, or the near side of the driving range where Jordan hummed and hawed before starting his tournament winning run. There's obvious cachet value in that and if the course doesn't quite measure up to those moments for the travelling golfer, it's still worth a play.

 

Technically the routing is very good, with almost no two holes pointing in the same direction. The greens were also in great shape. Everyone there was very professional. The members in the bar were good for a chat and the starter was a hoot. But the golf itself was just good, but not great. The dunes were used to great effect to frame the holes, but rarely were they in play, and I couldn't think of another links course I'd played set up like this. It actually reminded me some of North American faux links courses, where they build up all this mounding and big hills, but always use them as corridors.

 

I'd certainly play again with my mates and have a match and enjoy myself, but when on my own, where without a match or lots of banter, you cannot help but nitpick the design, I'd likely not return.

 

20180530_171820 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

The Renaissance Club (9)

I played here to play here and it met those expectations. It's a solid course, with some nice holes and I can see how they can use it for the senior euro tour. But like other modern courses in the UK, it's... well... modern. Maybe it's the ingrained bias going in, like at Kingsbarns (with similar prices) or The Castle Course, but it did feel like playing somewhere in Michigan, as much as Scotland.

 

It didn't feel particularly Doaky. Maybe the owners asked him to not do his typical schtick, as they wanted a tournament course. That said the 10th is really cool, turning left above the beach, with the dune ridge protecting the right. And the uphill 8th, with two spindly trees framing the hole is another standout. A couple holes do provide the chance to throw in some stone walls for good measure. It's less wide open than his typical courses, but still not what I'd consider a driving course like Ganton or Portrush.

 

I did have one of the 4 best caddies I've ever had here. Local chap, who played US college golf and was spot on in how a caddie should go about getting you around the course. Everyone else I dealt with there was excellent too.

 

20180604_101815 by dkb123, on Flickr

[duffer987]

Inland Courses

St. George's Hill GC (2)

Landing after an overnight flight, hopping in the car hire, driving to the course, checking in, puttering about until my tee time, and then 10 holes later I've collected my 4th birdie? How that happened I'm not sure and my legs did start to go down the stretch after the flight, but even those more wayward shots didn't reduce my appreciation for this course. It's simply one of the finest golf courses I've ever played.

 

Maybe the 6th tee shot, is the only one that isn't top drawer on the entire front nine, culminating in the iconic 8th par 3, from an elevated tee over broken ground to one of the coolest greensites you'll see. There are some strong par 4s, like the 2nd with it's long second from a downhill lie, but there is also a driveable 4 and a reachable 5, which helped with the birdie count.

 

This top drawer stuff continues on the back, starting with a really cool left to right cambered fairway and then an approach shot over a mound guarding the left front. Really only 14, 15, and 18 could be considered un-top drawer, but that doesn't take away from the course overall. I would happily start all my trips to the UK at St. George's Hill.

Admittedly I have yet to play Sunningdale or Walton Heath Old, but I cannot imagine a better place to introduce and reacquaint yourself to heathland golf.

 

20180525_124451 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Ganton GC (4)

Ganton reminds me a lot of Carnoustie; not the prettiest, strong par fours, well positioned bunkers to be avoided, a brute of a par 3 and par 4 near the end of the round, yet still fun to play in amongst all the challenges.

 

This is a great driving course. Pick your line between the bunkers, judge the occasional dogleg correctly, and make a confident swing. End up in one of those bunkers and a half to full shot penalty is extracted.

 

There are also some reachable holes - the short 4 3rd and short 5 6th - that give you the chance of birdie or better or in my case, two 3 putt pars. There are also some subtle slants and cambers to the fairways that enable some speed slot fun if you match the right line and ball flight.

 

20180531_110705 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Swinley Forest (4)

I book ended my trip with another Colt classic. Maybe lacking the mystique in this day and age that it once had, this is still about as awesome a golf course as anyone could want. It's not long, but then it's also a par 69, with only two par 5s to go along with another superb collection of five Colt par 3s.

 

Per Colt's design ideology, a few 4s start us off, before we hit the first of those superb par 3s. That starts a run of holes that lasts through the 14th, that I could loop back and play over and over. Not to say that 15 onward is not good, especially considering 17, but it wasn't until the 15th tee, that I felt any let up in the quality of holes and shots on offer.

 

Sitting outside having a late breakfast, and looking out over the 1st and 18th, chatting to the secretary and one of the members about the PNW, and enjoying the sunshine and warming temperatures was a great way to wrap up the golf on my trip.

 

20180608_081234 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Notts Golf Club/Hollinwell (6)

This is an absolute top notch track; worthy of being used for The Open qualifying series. Unlike other heathland courses it is properly hilly. Not in the same sense as St. George's Hill is hilly, but real elevation changes with far reaching vistas. And thankfully those hills are used to great effect on 3, 11, 12, 13, and 16. Other holes, like 2 and 15 use the base of the hills to provide small challenging targets for your approaches.

 

Hollinwell was in excellent shape and had the best greens of any course I played on the trip, considering pace and the nature of the true rolls. Also unlike other heathland courses, it's also long. 6600+ from the shortest men's tees, with the ability to stretch to 7200+, but with the mix of uphill and downhill holes, along with the firmness of the heathland turf it didn't feel long.

 

20180607_121923 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Blackwell GC (10)

Each trip some course had to be the least good and this time around that honour is bestowed on Blackwell. The course is half way through a decade long restoration and things sure look promising, but on the day it was simply a bit too shaggy. The pro said the fairways and greens were longer then they wanted them, but with some torrential showers 2/3 days they hadn't been able to get the mowers out.

 

That aside, there are some class holes here, with a number of them having a small creek meandering through. The property is well suited for golf with all sorts of hills to play up, down, and around. Some trees encroach more so than you'd like, but once they have cleared some of them out, it should feel more like a heathland course. You'd be happy to call this your home course, but for the travelling golfer, I think I will wait for the completion of the restoration to return.

 

20180528_144021 by dkb123, on Flickr

[bobbydazzlewazzler]

Wow what a trip thanks for taking the time to post such an awesome review. I’ve done trips like that more or less yearly around the uk (albeit not quite as lavish) and you’re right its not much fun as a single stuck between groups of fours who wont let you through - rarely happens though.

I live in London and the only course I’ve played from your trip is North Berwick - one of my favourite places to play golf..

[duffer987]

Wow what a trip thanks for taking the time to post such an awesome review. I’ve done trips like that more or less yearly around the uk (albeit not quite as lavish) and you’re right its not much fun as a single stuck between groups of fours who wont let you through - rarely happens though.

I live in London and the only course I’ve played from your trip is North Berwick - one of my favourite places to play golf..

 

Thanks :) You're darn fortunate to have the heathland courses and Kent courses a shortish drive away.

Actually almost all groups were keen to wave me through (only 1 particularly unpleasant threesome), it's just in North America since you're playing public courses, you typically always get paired up before teeing off if you are a single or it's implied to form larger groups where appropriate once out there. The pair up/play through dynamic is just a bit less cut and dry in the UK imho.

[Walter]

Thank you for the very interesting review !

It was a great read , and you are right some of those (inland) English courses aran't as reviewed as others, this is great info for every (single) golfer planning a trip in the future!

Good stuff!

 

Thank you !

 

Jelle

[duffer987]

Thank you for the very interesting review !

It was a great read , and you are right some of those (inland) English courses aran't as reviewed as others, this is great info for every (single) golfer planning a trip in the future!

Good stuff!

 

Thank you !

 

Jelle

 

Thanks :)

It is nice to have the ocean beside you for sure, but you really don't lose anything - as such - playing top notch heathland courses.

[Chanceman]

This is my dream type of trip. Love your work. Some great tracks and memorable experiences there. Swinley Forest is terrific with Colonel Blair-Smythe and his dog out there playing golf. Woking is another good one. I am currently planning a "Round England" tour of my own with courses (including some of yours) starting out from Heathrow, then drive, play golf, go to pub, sleep, drive, play golf...... My tentative rota is: The Addington, Aldeburgh, Gog Magog, Hunstanton, Woodhall Spa, Ganton, Alwoodley, Moortown, Formby, Wallasey, Cavendish, Hollinwell, Little Aston, Painswick, Wrag Farm, The Berkshire and home...Might take 3 weeks. Fun on a stick.

[babyfade]

great stuff thank you

[duffer987]

This is my dream type of trip. Love your work. Some great tracks and memorable experiences there. Swinley Forest is terrific with Colonel Blair-Smythe and his dog out there playing golf. Woking is another good one. I am currently planning a "Round England" tour of my own with courses (including some of yours) starting out from Heathrow, then drive, play golf, go to pub, sleep, drive, play golf...... My tentative rota is: The Addington, Aldeburgh, Gog Magog, Hunstanton, Woodhall Spa, Ganton, Alwoodley, Moortown, Formby, Wallasey, Cavendish, Hollinwell, Little Aston, Painswick, Wrag Farm, The Berkshire and home...Might take 3 weeks. Fun on a stick.

 

That'd be well cool jaunt :)

Alwoodley is awesome, I didn't have the time to play down the road at Moortown, but with it and Sand Moor, would make a fun trifecta in Leeds.

Little Aston/Blackwell was a coin flip for me and definitely another to get to.

I've gone past Cavendish last two trips and keep telling myself to play it, but I want to play Delamere Forest nearish by first. It's probably #1 on my inland yet to play list.

Apparently The Berkshire doesn't take singles, but I'd like to think a carefully worded email could see past that.

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

What does everyone think of the following itinerary? Can drive south or north in Scotland. Can also do Spain & Italy before or after golf in Scotland.

 

 

June 2019

 

Fly from Phoenix to Inverness (via Heathrow?)

 

Play:

1) Castle Stuart-modern, played Hanse' Rustic Canyon loved it

2) Royal Dornoch-the home of Ross. I'm very into GCA

3) Cruden Bay-quirky, good architecture

4) Kingsbarns-supposed to be good modern architecture

5) The Old Course

6) Muirfield-memorable day

7) North Berwick-quirk, fun, memorable holes

 

Fly from Edinburgh to Naples, Amalfi coast for a few days. Fly from Naples to Madrid. Sightsee there for a few days then fly Madrid to Phoenix (via New York?)

 

If Muirfield becomes too much of a hassle, we will likely have a 2 players. I heard you have to prepay for a foursome. Maybe just play 6 rounds or sub in one of the backups that didn't make the initial cut such as:

 

St. Andrews-New

Prestwick

Brora

Machrinash

Crail-Balcomie

Ellie

Cullen

 

I'd love to play 10-12 rounds but I want to add in Spain and Italy if I'm making the flight from Phoenix. Was in Cinque Terre & Barcelona in 2007 and loved both countries.

 

I found a flight for January for under $1000, even though I want to go in June 2019.

[duffer987]

If you're having a non-golfing component on the continent, I'd do that first, laying off too much sangria or wine the final night before heading to the UK.

That means you're past the jetlag and raring to go when the golf starts. It also means you have a buffer - heaven forbid the clubs do a runner on you.

 

That's a good modern/classic Scottish sampler Buckeye.

For me, since you've already got Castle Stuart, I'd pass on Kingsbarns for Carnoustie or Gullane #1/Goswick over near North Berwick.

I'd also pass on Muirfield without a foursome and throw in Royal Aberdeen instead or Brora up North.

For a week's golf I'd also not want more than 2/3 hubs; looks like you'd need to play Cruden Bay while passing through to limit the hotel changing.

 

az2au would know better what's feasible out of PHX than me, but you could book Westjet PHX-LGW for your main flight transatlantic flight.

Leave the clubs there. LGW is great cheap airline hub with loads of flights. So Easyjet/Ryanair/Jet2 to Europe and back. Pick up the clubs and LGW to Edi and back. Fly back LGW-PHX

[fredstar]

What does everyone think of the following itinerary? Can drive south or north in Scotland. Can also do Spain & Italy before or after golf in Scotland.

 

 

June 2019

 

Fly from Phoenix to Inverness (via Heathrow?)

 

Play:

1) Castle Stuart-modern, played Hanse' Rustic Canyon loved it

2) Royal Dornoch-the home of Ross. I'm very into GCA

3) Cruden Bay-quirky, good architecture

4) Kingsbarns-supposed to be good modern architecture

5) The Old Course

6) Muirfield-memorable day

7) North Berwick-quirk, fun, memorable holes

 

Fly from Edinburgh to Naples, Amalfi coast for a few days. Fly from Naples to Madrid. Sightsee there for a few days then fly Madrid to Phoenix (via New York?)

 

If Muirfield becomes too much of a hassle, we will likely have a 2 players. I heard you have to prepay for a foursome. Maybe just play 6 rounds or sub in one of the backups that didn't make the initial cut such as:

 

St. Andrews-New

Prestwick

Brora

Machrinash

Crail-Balcomie

Ellie

Cullen

 

I'd love to play 10-12 rounds but I want to add in Spain and Italy if I'm making the flight from Phoenix. Was in Cinque Terre & Barcelona in 2007 and loved both countries.

 

I found a flight for January for under $1000, even though I want to go in June 2019.

 

Sub in Carnoustie for Muirfield if you cant get on.

[Cwing]

Great thread. In to follow.

[ceejay81]

I just paid my deposit and confirmed my tee time for next July at North Berwick! I am beyond excited and can't wait!!

[fredstar]

I just paid my deposit and confirmed my tee time for next July at North Berwick! I am beyond excited and can't wait!!

 

You will not be disappointed, its brilliant.

[imakaveli]

Great write up! (and great avatar) ;)

[duffer987]

Well I was back over for a few days and got in a few more rounds and reckoned I might as well add them. If you were playing in the Southeast or in an around London and wanted a game you could do worse than playing one of these courses.

 

West Sussex: This course is awesome. It's rated quite highly, so I went in with level-headed expectations to not be disappointed and they were blown out of the water. This is heathland golf at its finest. All the holes are framed by the trees, heather, and scrub, with well placed - but not too many - bunkers. The holes fall this way, then turn hard that way, down around a corner, up onto a plateau. It has just the right amount of movement under foot and elevation changes. The highly regarded par 3s, deserve their esteem, and the great mix of par 4s makes for a hugely fun and interesting round.

 

Being a two ball course, going off as a single at 11:45 on a Sunday still meant a peppy pace was maintained and I got around in 2h 45min. They also have a range and practice area right by the clubhouse/first tee for those wanting to warm up before hand, in lovely countryside surroundings.

 

West Sussex #6 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Littlestone: This is a neat links course handily placed near Rye and within 60/90 mins of the classic Kent courses. Speaking of which, to me Littlestone is like a toned down version of Deal. That may seem backhanded, but really Deal is one of the best links courses out there, so being a notch down from it is still pretty darn good. There are some flat holes near the clubhouse and on the inland side, but there are also a few dune ridges in play, that make for some excellent green sites and tee boxes, with a couple of blind or obscured shots thrown in for good measure. The doglegs are largely subtle, bar a couple holes, and the terrain is more wavy than heaving, but this is still very much worth a play as part of a Kent/Sussex coast trip.

 

Due to the drought, there were some rough patches and you did get some silly roll. On the first hole I drop-kicked my hybrid tee shot and still got 235yds out of it. I was also fortunate to join up with a couple chaps who were playing in a society event on the weekend and were getting in a warm up round, which made the round all that more enjoyable, and gave me to other golf clubs to visit next time I am in their neck of the woods.

 

Littlestone GC #15 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Reigate Heath: If you are flying into or out of Gatwick you really must make time to play here. While only 9 holes, the opening 5 and closing 9th are top drawer stuff and even 6-8 while not world beaters, do serve as more than just getting you back up the hill to the 9th. 1 & 2 cross fairways and you have to be mindful of dog walkers, but this is fantastic sandy heathland soil and the course plays just as you'd want it to.

 

Golf can be an amazing thing at times and my first off, Tues morning round, in the crisp air and dew, was about as restorative a 9 holes of golf I've played in ages. Approaching the course from the south and seeing the windmill on the hill through the fog as I approached was well cool and the actually playing of it met those initial impressions.

 

Reigate Heath #2 and #3 by dkb123, on Flickr

 

Blackmoor: I like Harry Colt courses, so I like to try and seek them out, if they don't naturally fall into my trip. So on this short break I chose Blackmoor over another local course Liphook and without playing the latter, I have to say I made a good choice. The middle ground may be flat and doesn't have the movement of the top tier tracks, but this is a solid next tier track, with some real standout holes, and worth a play. Not cross an ocean St. George's Hill, West Sussex worthy on its own, but definitely worth playing as part of a larger trip.

 

There are a few templatey touches here and like his other courses, the par 3s are strong and varied, from short to long. Speaking of long, if anyone has played Timber Forest on Long Island, the 200yd 14th at Blackmoor would certainly look familiar. I was fortunate enough to play with a couple members and enjoy a pint after the round and I could definitely see myself as a member here.

 

Blackmoor #14 and #15 by dkb123, on Flickr