Another Yank moving to England looking for a Golf Club

[Sumo]

67VIP, have a look at this link see if any of these appeal. I've played in a couple of events and I'm going to try and get to a few in this season depending on work. They're mostly Southern based with the odd event slightly further a field.

http://www.midamgolf.co.uk/events-entry-forms-2014

Also, I'm off to Woodhall this weekend for the first time for their Spring Open. They also have an Autumn Open but you have to get in quick.

[67VIP]

That looks interesting, sounds like a lot of fun. I wish I had time for some of those, but I've got three matches in May and three in Sept, plus the other golf I need to get in before I head back to the states. Gonna be a busy last season...but having been over here for four years will make for a lifetime of memories. Besides acquiring a profound adoration of golf in the Kingdom, I have also developed a taste for British beer, Irish whiskey, lamb with rosemary glaze, and bangers & mash/toad in the hole, But the thing I like most of all is my MINI...bought it the second day I was here and it's most definitely going home with me when I leave. It will definitely be my ride for A WHILE.

[67VIP]

Went to The Belfry on Saturday for what was supposed to be a round on the Brabazon, but my tee time I booked thru teeofftimes was not available so had to settle for the PGA instead. I've played it about six times previously, only been on the Brabazon once unfortunately. The PGA was definitely in need of a trim and bikini wax, and the greens were the worst I've seen there...very mottled and erratic speeds. It appeared as if they have had a lot of rain up there as the greens were unusually soft...they are normally like concrete. What I could see of the Brabazon indicated it was in very good shape...wish I could have played it instead. We did get to check out the remodel of the facilities and it does indeed look like they spent some money...26M pounds worth. Sam's Grille got a great face lift, but the pro shop took a dive as they dropped from nine brands to only five in the club category...that's a shame too as it was one of the best stocked shops I've seen over here. I might try and go back either before the end of April while the price is still 90 pds, or wait until the fall...we'll see. But if you have time before the 28th head over and tee up the Brabazon...I liked it better than Celtic Manor 2010 or Gleneagles Centenary.

[67VIP]

10,000 views and 182 replys since I started this topic, thanks for the interest in what one Yank had to say about golf in the Kingdom. Attached are some photos of courses in America I was fortunate to play, and on a few grovelling was required. My top five I've played in the states are Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run, Harbour Town, Black Diamond, and a tie between Kiawah Turtle Point and Innisbrook Copperhead.

[Sean25rp]

[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1397304809' post='9073655']
10,000 views and 182 replys since I started this topic, thanks for the interest in what one Yank had to say about golf in the Kingdom. Attached are some photos of courses in America I was fortunate to play, and on a few grovelling was required. My top five I've played in the states are Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run, Harbour Town, Black Diamond, and a tie between Kiawah Turtle Point and Innisbrook Copperhead.
[/quote]

What is the course in the penultimate photo?

[67VIP]

[quote name='Sean25rp' timestamp='1397308385' post='9073867']
[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1397304809' post='9073655']
10,000 views and 182 replys since I started this topic, thanks for the interest in what one Yank had to say about golf in the Kingdom. Attached are some photos of courses in America I was fortunate to play, and on a few grovelling was required. My top five I've played in the states are Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run, Harbour Town, Black Diamond, and a tie between Kiawah Turtle Point and Innisbrook Copperhead.
[/quote]

What is the course in the penultimate photo?
[/quote]

That's the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach, a Jack Nicklaus Signature design with six holes on the Atlantic Ocean...I played it the day after a senior PGA Tour event and it was in magnificent condition, although the greens were not as lightning fast as I thought they might be. The course is ranked in Golf Digest's top 100 you can play list...as compared to their top 100 list which has courses nobody's ever heard of, or will ever get a chance to play like Augusta National, Cypress Point, Seminole, etc, etc. That's one of the great things about golf here in the United Kingdom...if you have the time and money, you can play Muirfield, Turnberry, Royal St George, Sunningdale, etc. Golf in the U.S. presents no such opportunity.

[67VIP]

Stumbled upon Hadley Wood the other day and just booked a Sunday afternoon tee time...looks like it will be a lot of fun, one of Dr. Alister MacKenzie's early designs. I hope it will be more inspiring than my home course...been asleep at the tee lately.

[Bogie_Nights]

How come you only have 7 likes? This thread is fantastic...

[67VIP]

[quote name='Son_of_Sahm' timestamp='1397318219' post='9074503']
How come you only have 7 likes? This thread is fantastic...
[/quote]

Thank you, I am amazed it has attracted so many views. I initially just intended to ask questions about where & how to play and it just sort of evolved from there.

[Sean25rp]

[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1397313063' post='9074175'][quote name='Sean25rp' timestamp='1397308385' post='9073867']
[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1397304809' post='9073655']
10,000 views and 182 replys since I started this topic, thanks for the interest in what one Yank had to say about golf in the Kingdom. Attached are some photos of courses in America I was fortunate to play, and on a few grovelling was required. My top five I've played in the states are Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run, Harbour Town, Black Diamond, and a tie between Kiawah Turtle Point and Innisbrook Copperhead.
[/quote]

What is the course in the penultimate photo?
[/quote]

That's the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach, a Jack Nicklaus Signature design with six holes on the Atlantic Ocean...I played it the day after a senior PGA Tour event and it was in magnificent condition, although the greens were not as lightning fast as I thought they might be. The course is ranked in Golf Digest's top 100 you can play list...as compared to their top 100 list which has courses nobody's ever heard of, or will ever get a chance to play like Augusta National, Cypress Point, Seminole, etc, etc. That's one of the great things about golf over here...if you have the time and money, you can play Muirfield, Turnberry, Royal St George, Sunningdale, etc. Golf in the U.S. presents no such opportunity.[/quote]

Thanks for the info. Looks great.

[67VIP]

Hadley Wood Golf Club on a gorgeous spring day. Beautiful Dr. Alister MacKenzie design, with a little Augusta look & feel to it. Some of the smoothest greens I've played on here in England...but it was amazing how many members playing ahead of me seemed to be allergic to repairing ball marks. That should be criminal at a course like this. Will definitely comeback for a few more visits to this gem...a very pleasant surprise on Masters Sunday.

[67VIP]

My game finally returned to form yesterday, I managed to get around in a very smooth 74...even reached two of the par fives in two and made birdie on both. Putted very well and my short game was pretty effective too. I got so far out of whack from walking 18 holes 2x a week in about 2 hrs 15 mins and that pace transitioning into my swing. I was getting better on the range the past few weeks, but couldn't take it to the course. Last week's round at Hadley Wood made a big impact as I was so enthused with the course I took my time going around, got a lot of pictures and just made a determined effort to enjoy the day and atmosphere. Yesterday I caught up with a very slow group at my home course and since I knew two them I tagged along for eight holes...three birdies in that stretch. But more importantly some very solid ball striking...the X2 Hot Pro three wood I recently bagged is a beast and Taylormade's new Tour Preferred X ball are making a definitive impact. I am still holding a voucher for Stoke Park and foaming at the mouth to go back and play Hadley Wood.

[67VIP]

...so my sister and brother in law are coming for a visit the first of June. I would like to take my bro-in-law and his adult son to play two rounds here in England, and limit our travel distance to no more than about a 90 min drive. First thing that came to mind was Woodhall Spa...fits the bill and won't break the bank. Now I'm trying to figure out round two...was thinking about Royal St George, but that's almost a three hour drive and a lot of coin. Can I get a three ball there?

My fall back for round two will be either Walton Heath or Sunningdale...providing we can get on. I don't want to take them to The Belfry/The Grove/London Golf Club/Woburn...those are all wonderful courses, but they are too much like home.

[mjtoal]

[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1398719770' post='9189655']
...so my sister and brother in law are coming for a visit the first of June. I would like to take my bro-in-law and his adult son to play two rounds here in England, and limit our travel distance to no more than about a 90 min drive. First thing that came to mind was Woodhall Spa...fits the bill and won't break the bank. Now I'm trying to figure out round two...was thinking about Royal St George, but that's almost a three hour drive and a lot of coin. Can I get a three ball there?

My fall back for round two will be either Walton Heath or Sunningdale...providing we can get on. I don't want to take them to The Belfry/The Grove/London Golf Club/Woburn...those are all wonderful courses, but they are too much like home.
[/quote]

How about Hunstanton or Sheringham? Two very traditional English links courses, with a large dollop of English eccentricity thrown in, and shouldn't be outside your deriving limit.

http://www.hunstantongolfclub.com

http://www.sheringhamgolfclub.co.uk

[67VIP]

[quote name='mjtoal' timestamp='1398782945' post='9194931']
[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1398719770' post='9189655']
...so my sister and brother in law are coming for a visit the first of June. I would like to take my bro-in-law and his adult son to play two rounds here in England, and limit our travel distance to no more than about a 90 min drive. First thing that came to mind was Woodhall Spa...fits the bill and won't break the bank. Now I'm trying to figure out round two...was thinking about Royal St George, but that's almost a three hour drive and a lot of coin. Can I get a three ball there?

My fall back for round two will be either Walton Heath or Sunningdale...providing we can get on. I don't want to take them to The Belfry/The Grove/London Golf Club/Woburn...those are all wonderful courses, but they are too much like home.
[/quote]

How about Hunstanton or Sheringham? Two very traditional English links courses, with a large dollop of English eccentricity thrown in, and shouldn't be outside your deriving limit.

[url="http://www.hunstantongolfclub.com"]http://www.hunstantongolfclub.com[/url]

[url="http://www.sheringhamgolfclub.co.uk"]http://www.sheringhamgolfclub.co.uk[/url]
[/quote]

I haven't been to Hunstanton, but I've played Sheringham twice and Royal Cromer 15 times. Last time I was at Sheringham this past fall it was not in very good condition. If I had my choice and could pull it off I'd take them to Royal St George and Walton Heath...that would give them a superb look at English golf and allow some serious name dropping when they go back home.

[67VIP]

Professional photos of Hadley Wood 7th & 17th greens...which I will be playing again on Sunday afternoon. I think I might be able to get motivated for that...but it may take a little effort.

[mjtoal]

[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1398928443' post='9209483']
[quote name='mjtoal' timestamp='1398782945' post='9194931']
[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1398719770' post='9189655']
...so my sister and brother in law are coming for a visit the first of June. I would like to take my bro-in-law and his adult son to play two rounds here in England, and limit our travel distance to no more than about a 90 min drive. First thing that came to mind was Woodhall Spa...fits the bill and won't break the bank. Now I'm trying to figure out round two...was thinking about Royal St George, but that's almost a three hour drive and a lot of coin. Can I get a three ball there?

My fall back for round two will be either Walton Heath or Sunningdale...providing we can get on. I don't want to take them to The Belfry/The Grove/London Golf Club/Woburn...those are all wonderful courses, but they are too much like home.
[/quote]

How about Hunstanton or Sheringham? Two very traditional English links courses, with a large dollop of English eccentricity thrown in, and shouldn't be outside your deriving limit.

[url="http://www.hunstantongolfclub.com"]http://www.hunstantongolfclub.com[/url]

[url="http://www.sheringhamgolfclub.co.uk"]http://www.sheringhamgolfclub.co.uk[/url]
[/quote]

I haven't been to Hunstanton, but I've played Sheringham twice and Royal Cromer 15 times. Last time I was at Sheringham this past fall it was not in very good condition. If I had my choice and could pull it off I'd take them to Royal St George and Walton Heath...that would give them a superb look at English golf and allow some serious name dropping when they go back home.
[/quote]

Have you played Royal Newmarket and Worlington, near Bury St Edmunds?

[67VIP]

[quote name='mjtoal' timestamp='1399102369' post='9222917']
[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1398928443' post='9209483']
[quote name='mjtoal' timestamp='1398782945' post='9194931']
[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1398719770' post='9189655']
...so my sister and brother in law are coming for a visit the first of June. I would like to take my bro-in-law and his adult son to play two rounds here in England, and limit our travel distance to no more than about a 90 min drive. First thing that came to mind was Woodhall Spa...fits the bill and won't break the bank. Now I'm trying to figure out round two...was thinking about Royal St George, but that's almost a three hour drive and a lot of coin. Can I get a three ball there?

My fall back for round two will be either Walton Heath or Sunningdale...providing we can get on. I don't want to take them to The Belfry/The Grove/London Golf Club/Woburn...those are all wonderful courses, but they are too much like home.
[/quote]

How about Hunstanton or Sheringham? Two very traditional English links courses, with a large dollop of English eccentricity thrown in, and shouldn't be outside your deriving limit.

[url="http://www.hunstantongolfclub.com"]http://www.hunstantongolfclub.com[/url]

[url="http://www.sheringhamgolfclub.co.uk"]http://www.sheringhamgolfclub.co.uk[/url]
[/quote]

I haven't been to Hunstanton, but I've played Sheringham twice and Royal Cromer 15 times. Last time I was at Sheringham this past fall it was not in very good condition. If I had my choice and could pull it off I'd take them to Royal St George and Walton Heath...that would give them a superb look at English golf and allow some serious name dropping when they go back home.
[/quote]

Have you played Royal Newmarket and Worlington, near Bury St Edmunds?
[/quote]

I have played Links Golf Club in Newmarket many times and enjoyed it very much. My club plays them twice a year in inter-club matches and they are a lot of fun to play against...some of the members are in their 70s & 80s, still walking 18 holes playing from the back tees--which is 6800 yards on their course--they are my heroes. I have not played Royal Worlington, I've called there three times and they had no openings...I've also been over to look at it to see what all the fuss is and it appears as if they built 9 holes inside a soccer field. To each his own I guess, but I don't have time to waste on that nonsense. Too many other places to go...such as your suggestion of Hunstanton. I'll be playing there in the next couple of weeks and I've got a lot of golf coming up over the summer and early fall...don't want to waste my last season here in the UK.

[67VIP]

Just played our first interclub match of the season against Braintree this past Saturday, a good day was had by all. We are playing Links Golf Club (Newmarket) this Saturday, followed by Old Thorns in two weeks. I'm going to try and hit up Hunstanton this Sunday as well...the course looks very nice and I like the photos of the before /after changes to course. Hadley Wood was even better when I went back for a second visit...I think a few more visits are in order, have to try and bring a few of my golf buds with me too.

[67VIP]

Hunstanton Golf Club...wow what a track, reminded me a little of Carnoustie. One of the most fun rounds I've played in a while, other than Hadley Wood. Will definitely have to schedule another visit. Finally had my irons fitted on Wednesday for loft & lie and that was a big help, some of the best ball striking I've had in a while...included some stellar long irons too.

[67VIP]

Made my third trip over to Hadley Wood Friday morning, the greens were the fastest yet...lots of three putts. Had a very un-impressive mid 80s score--(my worst yet), mostly the result of bad putting. Not many people on the course and since I was by myself it gave me a chance to practice some shots...maybe I will do better the next time around. I still need to figure out how to get the ball up the hill on 13 without rolling out to the right and being blocked by the tree line.

[67VIP]

Finally got a tee time for Walton Heath Old Course...looking forward to this one very much.

[67VIP]

Woodbridge Golf Club, one of the meanest short courses I've ever played...all 6200 yards of it. Greens were spectacular today.

[67VIP]

Walton Heath Old Course...yeah, I hit it it--and it WAS all that. Beautiful day, a tad windy, but course was amazing. Post recovery from US Open European Sectional qualifying tourney, but still in good shape. Rough was rediculous, but I suppose that was intended. This was the only course I've ever played that gps was useless...should have stuck to the yardage book. Apparently two different course routings on skycaddie. I'd love to play it again but 145 pds is pretty steep...one time deal for me. I can play both courses at Sunningdale for the same price, so I guess that settles that.

[67VIP]

I'm looking at trying to bag two of the three W's, Worplesdon & Woking golf clubs...anyone played them recently? I see from google maps they are about a mile and a half apart, and Woking is offering a twilight rate of 55 pds. Since they are so close together I'd like to play them in one trip, about a 2 hour drive for me...is that doable? The big question is always...can you get on in the first place?

[67VIP]

Add two more names to the quest: Ashridge & Luffenham Heath. Got a tee time for Luffenham already, working on Ashridge now. Luffenham looks amazing if the photos on the website are anything like reality. Hope they both turnout as well as my trips to Hadley Wood & Hunstanton.

[67VIP]

[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1403560183' post='9561103']
Add two more names to the quest: Ashridge & Luffenham Heath. Got a tee time for Luffenham already, working on Ashridge now. Luffenham looks amazing if the photos on the website are anything like reality. Hope they both turnout as well as my trips to Hadley Wood & Hunstanton.
[/quote]

Made it over to Luffenham Heath yesterday and it was indeed a very nice course. Got thru the first 7 holes from the blue tees in 2 over when thunder and heavy rain started to flood out the course...wouldn't you just know? Hopefully we can make it back over as there are some really neat holes on that course.

Once again foolishly attempted to contact Royal Newmarket regarding visiting the course and once again no reply...can't say I'm not surprised, but for the life of me I have no idea why I even bother. Woking, Moor Park, & Ashridge all readily invited me to visit at my earliest convience; although I suspect Moor Park may require the most coordination as they alternate between the High & West courses for visitors. Looking forward to teeing those up this summer.

[moony_12]

Have you played at Frilford Heath?

[67VIP]

[quote name='moony_12' timestamp='1404809687' post='9658021']
Have you played at Frilford Heath?
[/quote]

I'm not familiar with that course. Where is it located?

[moony_12]

It's just outside of Oxford, its one of three clubs in England with 54 holes of championship golf.