Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin)

We were met by a cooler, and wetter day as we made our way the few hundred yards from our hotel to the golf course at Woodhall Spa.

Woodhall Spa Golf Club was originally formed in 1891, and utilised two sites prior to where it is located now.  In 1902 it was decided that the club needed to move to the land provided by local land owner, and member, S.V. Hotchkin.
Harry Vardon was employed to design the course, and it opened for play in 1905, after JH Taylor had advised the location of the bunkers.

The bunkering here at Woodhall Spa is one of the great features of the course.  They all make Big Bertha look tiny.  This one here is a fairway bunker on the left of the 2nd hole.

Harry Colt redesigned the course in 1911, with the works being completed in 1914.  The club struggled financially through the first world war, and SV Hotchkin took over the finances of the club in 1919.  Hotchkin had taken a great interest in golf architecture, and set about remodelling the course through the 1930's.  His financial input kept the course open during the second world war.

Gary Jones successfully negotiates his way out of the fairway bunker on the par four 3rd hole.  Behind the green stands the "Tower on the Moor".  This tower is the main feature of the club logo.

The tower is what remains as the ruins of a larger hunting lodge, or lookout, built by Lord Cromwell in the 1440's.

Again the heather is in abundance around the course, but it is today that we see the signs of gorse.  This is the par three 5th hole.

As mentioned, the bunkers are a real feature here.  Not only are they cavernous, but they are mostly surrounded by thick heather and gorse, just in case they are not hard enough already!

The fairway conditioning was certainly the best we have seen, and the layout is quite brilliant.

SV Hotchkin's son, Neil, continued his father's legacy at Woodhall Spa after his death in 1953.  In order to safeguard the future of the club, Neil, a huge supporter of English amateur golf, sold the club to the English Golf Union in 1995.

At this time, the EGU also secured extra land, and were able to construct a second course and practice facilities.  The original course was renamed the Hotchkin course, in honour of SV Hotchkin at this time.

Gary Jones pinched my camera today, and caught me trying to extract my TaylorMade TP5 from the heather and gorse on the steep wall of this fairway bunker.  It took me quite a few attempts just to be able to stand up, and my truncated swipe at the ball produced only a downward movement of an inch.  Great success!  At least I didn't fall into the bunker!

I think i might have mentioned that the bunkers truly are incredible here.

We very also very fortunate with the weather.  It rained for the first five holes, and I thought that there would not be many photos taken to share.  After that the rain stopped, and although overcast, we managed to stay dry for the rest of the day.

Tom Doak was recently engaged to provide direction on the latest reincarnation of the course.  A plan of tree clearance, and removing clutter to allow the bunkering to dominate the views was commenced in 2016.

At this stage, a lot of this work has occurred on holes 7 - 13, where bunkers have been reinstated and restored.  The heathland feel is being returned, and vistas opened up slightly.  From what I can tell, this has been very successful on those holes, and they have a greater feel than the final few holes do.

I really enjoyed the course, and was amazed by the bunkering and it's enormity.

Woodhall Spa certainly deserved it's place on any top 100 list, and was great fun to play.  It is not an easy course, and any score in the 30 plus point area was quite impressive.  Our winner today was Sue Nicholson, with a fine hole out 3 for 5 points on the 3rd hole, helping her to victory.

The next stop is another highly rated venue, and former Ryder Cup host, Ganton.

Notts (Hollinwell)

Our newest reciprocal club, Notts Golf Club, is located in Nottinghamshire, and was founded in 1887.  The club later relocated to it's current site, playing the Willie Park Jnr designed layout from 1890.

In 1902, another member of the previously discussed "great triumvirate" JH Taylor, consulted on the course bunkering.  However, the greatest change came in 1912, when a Tom Williamson proposal to extend the course was accepted.

As part of this extension, the opening three holes were created, including this, the par four 2nd.  A lot of folklore exists about the happenings in this area, and it was here on the 2nd that Robin Hood and his "merry men" are said to have kept watch over the Sherwood Forest.  Pictured is what is known as Robin Hood's Chair, where he maintained a look out toward Newstead Abbey.

More stunning heather surrounds the fairways here at Notts as well.

The par four 8th hole is one of the strongest on the front nine, and the tee shot is quite daunting.  It is also the site of the thing that gives the club it's Hollinwell name.

This is the Hollinwell.  A "Holy well" dating back to the Robin Hood days.

It is said that a drink from the well will lend much strength to the golfer, particularly in the heat of Summer.  It tried it to see if I could get a spark, but if it worked, it certainly was not immediate!

One of our Notts GC hosts, Bruce, fires his shot to the par three 9th hole.

Notts is great test, and steps up a notch as you make the nine hole turn.  The tee shot here at the par four 10th shows why.  Not much fairway to look at there.

The par four 11th is one of the best framed holes on the course.  An uphill par four, with no real bail out area.

The view from the 12th tee, looking down over the 11th hole.

One of my other hosts, Robert, hit his approach into the par four 12th.

The par three 13th is known as the signature hole here at Notts.  Mike Bradley, the Notts GC club pro, fires his 7 iron in to 2 feet at this impressive downhill par three.

Much like the Surrey courses, the heather is flowering beautifully here further north.

The view looking back from the green to the 13th tee.

The bunkering complex on the approach to the par four 16th hole.

The view from behind the green on 16.

The view from behind the green on the par five 17th.

The two clubs together for the first time.  From the moment we arrived, there was a great atmosphere in the club as the parties from each team mixed.  A magnificent day was had by all.  A big thanks to Colin Maber, Martyn Bonner & Mike Bradley for their work in getting this to happen.

After golf we made our way over to Woodhall Spa, in preparation for our game at Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin) tomorrow.

St Georges Hill

We were greeted by a brilliant 28 degree day at another brilliant heathland course, St Georges Hill.

St Georges Hill was the brainchild of WG Tarrant, a property developer.  Mr Tarrant wanted to develop a residential estate incorporating sporting facilities, and a golf course was central to his plan.  The first golf residential estate.  Harry Colt was engaged as the architect, and the course opened in 1913.

St Georges Hill estate has become one of the UK's most expensive estates, and the list of residents (past and current) is extraordinary.  John Lennon, Cliff Richard, Nick Faldo, Kate Winslet, Ringo Starr, Jenson Button just to name a few.  The house pictured above was owned by comedian Eric Sykes.  It is located behind the 4th tee.  Mr Sykes was refused membership, and subsequently added the chimney stack in the centre of the roof.  It's shape was intended to look like the house was giving the golf course "the bird".

Many believe St Georges Hill to be Harry Colt's best inland design.  It certainly is a quality course. The course, although quite undulating, feels a lot more playable than the other Surrey heathland courses we have played.  The fairways are wider, and whilst there is still plenty of heather to trap you, you don't feel confined by it.

The undulating nature of the site gives great vistas from the tee of most of the holes.

The par three 8th hole is the signature hole, and is a brilliant par three.

The view down the par four 9th is magnificent, and shows the castellated clubhouse, perched on the highest point on the property.

The "Lake House" that sits adjacent to the 9th fairway. The lake at the bottom of the hill was known as "Dead Man's Pond".  It was here in 1852 that the last recorded pistol duel was staged in England.  George Smythe (who became Viscount Strangford) and Colonel Frederick Romilly met to settle a dispute over electioneering in Canterbury where they were both MP's.  Neither man was injured, and they both returned to London.

One of our St Georges Hill hosts, George Quick, hitting a great shot into the par three 11th hole.

The reverse view of the 11th, from green to tee.

Our other host, Chas North, firing his drive down the par four 12th hole.

Gary Jones ready to hit over the heather on the par four 13th.

True to the experiences found on other Colt courses, the par threes here are exquisite.  The downhill 14th is no exception.  200 yards over water and a heather encapsulated bunker, to a green that sits across the hole.  Very impressive.

The magnificent view from the tee on the par five 15th.

Approaching the 18th, the clubhouse standing proud above the course.  The clubhouse was built in 1912, in preparation for the course construction, and originally had a dormered thatched roof.  In 1914, it was converted to a military hospital for the Great War.
A fire swept through the thatched roof in 1920, and the upper storeys were destroyed.  It was swiftly rebuilt, however this time it was topped off with castellation, giving it a baronial look.

We were fortunate to have the company of some wonderful St Georges Hill members today, and a freindly match was played.  The home side (as is often the case) had a comfortable win. A great day was had by all, and many new relationships were formed.

Tomorrow we depart the Surrey area, and head north to visit our newest reciprocal club in Nottinghamshire, Notts Golf Club.