Sunningdale Golf Club, New Course

Sunningdale Golf Club, New Course

Tuesday 24 June 2014
Tee Time – 0841
Green fee - £295 (including old course)
Score – 83 (Par-70)

 

The clubhouse at Sunningdale and famous Oak Tree

I rose at 5am and made my last checks for the day and after saying goodbye to wife and daughter, I was in the car for 0545 on my way. As I made my way onto the dreaded M25, the rush hour traffic was hitting its peak. Having not journeyed down here for quite a while I forgot how arrogant and plain rude some people can be, not that this phased me at all; they were going  to work while I had the day in a green oasis.

 As I made my way off the M25 and into the Surrey sand belt, along with the high end golf courses, came the lavish houses and the Ferrari's, Bentley's and Maserati’s rolling around the streets. As I passed by another two Top 100 courses – Wentworth (East & West), I knew I was headed somewhere better today. After a long and tedious wait at the level crossing in the small town of Sunningdale, I broke left off the main road to Sunningdale Golf Club.

The large black gates hold the icon of this great club - the giant oak tree which sits affront the clubhouse. Entering the code to the gates gracefully swung them open to the wonders inside.

I checked myself in with the caddie master who welcomed me and directed me in the way of breakfast with the clubhouse. On walking in I was greeted and shown to my table and after grabbing coffee and a bacon sandwich I was straight back out to get set up. The changing areas were beautifully kept by a gentleman in a shirt, tie and long blue jacket, I descended the beautiful oak staircase out to the car, grabbed the clubs and hit the range.

The range is at the bottom of the hill and next to 'Sunningdale Artisans Golf Club' and is completely on the opposite end of grandeur to the main clubhouse, I would describe it more as a retirement bungalow. The range itself was simple and tidily laid out with only the ability to hit irons on this occasion. After topping a few shots I wasn’t exactly feeling confident for my days play!

Despite the name, the New course is coming up to a century old. Opened in 1923, the sole designer was the one time club secretary and now legendary Harry Colt. Unlike the Old course, Colt elected for a different style of layout with a little less bunkering but favouring more strategic play and longer carries off the tee over heather and gorse. The result is a spectacular course in its own right despite its elder sibling.

Once again I was playing on my own today and with the course very quiet and good weather in store I was very pleased to be able to take my time and take in the experience. After watching the two ball in front spoon both tee shots into the heater right of the fairway I had a feeling I would be doing a lot of that today...little did I know!

The first hole is a long straight par-4 with out of bounds on the left and trees and heather on the right. Your tee shot plays down into a little valley and back up the other side. Even with a long drive there is work to do with a 180 yard approach to a narrow kidney shaped green guarded by a solitary bunker.



Sunningdale New - 1st tee

 

The second is a short par-3 uphill where the trees close in from both sides to an undulating two-tier green. I was fortunate for my half thinned shot to catch the ridge of the front bunker and come to rest on the top tier. The greens were lightning fast despite the dew this morning and a ticked putt down the slope was still sent fifteen feet past. Unfortunately I missed the one back to walk off with a bogey.

 

Sunningdale New - 2nd green

The third requires a careful tee shot in order to avoid the two strategically placed fairway bunkers and the heather right on this curving par-4. Find the fairway and you have a straightforward approach into the green.

 

The lovely tee shot at the third - Sunningdale New

 

The third of the New course with the beautiful bunkers edged with heather

By this point the morning haze was starting to burn off and the skies clearing for a scorcher, the short walk through the trees made me realise what a special place this really is. One of the green staff moved to the side of the fairway to allow a tee shot off on this lovely par-4 fourth, another dogleg right requiring an accurate shot to avoid the trouble. The amount of green staff on this course is a testament to the greatness of it. The gentleman who had moved to the side was cleaning out around one of the many sprinkler heads, each one of which identify a yardage to the centre of the green. My tee shot found its targeted spot on the fairway and a 4-iron approach was struck to perfection. The green has a banked front and my shot landed at the top and ran in to 15 feet from the flag. I duly stroked in my putt for a good birdie three.

 

The fourth tees hot to the New course.

 

The crowned fourth green - New course

Number 5 is a short par-3 played from an elevated tee position onto an elevated green over a valley of thick heather and gorse, tee shots short or left will be in serious trouble and missed right will be collected by the bunkers. Even if you find the green, you have a slick putt where you can putt it off the front and you can easily walk away with double bogey or worse.

 

Par-3 5th hole - New course

Hole 6 is from the highest point on the new course and visually beautiful par-5 with a smooth consistent curve right, all of which you can observe from the tee. Bite off too much and you are in more trouble on the right with water trees and more gorse and heather. The fairway banks with the curvature of the hole round to one of the more generous greens.

 

The stunning par-5 6th hole - New course

The massive slope on the 6th green - New course

The 7th provides a difficult tee shot placement whereby the hole is in effect straight but runs at a different angle to the tee so you need to consider which point you enter the fairway. End up on the left of the fairway you will be blocked out for your approach but the overhanging trees. The green is small and requires accuracy despite the short iron approach to avoid the bunker that is almost the same size as the green.

 

Yet another lovely hole - par-4 7th New course

As I was walking over to the eight tee, one of the green staff were cleaning and cutting one of the many tee boxes. It was pleasant that he took time to stop and stand on the lookout post so watch out for my blind tee shot to the fairway. The beautiful heather was full and dissected by two pathways that merge together to give you a line to the fairway. I thanked him and he bid me a good day. The approach is to a green merged into the banking behind the green and slopes heavily from back to front with yet another small landing spot. There are no bunkers on this hole but still a good one. I put my approach to 8 feet and missed yet another birdie putt to my slight annoyance.

 

The blind tee shot off the par-4 8th hole - New course

The small green of the par-4 8th about to miss yet another birdie

The 9th is an interesting hole with another blind view of the fairway. The rough and heather rise in front of you to the horizon. Tee shots need to be aimed left and allow the contours of the fairway to feed the ball back to the middle of the fairway. All of these holes are ones that give tremendous enjoyment particularly when you are playing well. I was glad to be studying the course planner for the correct yardages as it was paying huge dividends to me. The green on the 9th is another oval one with the rapidly familiar sight of a bunker taking a 'Great White Shark' sized bite out of it. After shanking my perfect drive into the trees, I was lucky to have a line through to the fairway and played a great up and down from 60 yards to walk away with a par.

 

Beauty of the heather in bloom.

 

Approach into the par-4 9th - New course

Walking off the green of the 9th, I had the best experience of the day so far. The short walk to the 10th tee through the immaculate pines was simply spectacular. The canopy of the trees provided shade from the beating sun and rays of sunshine broke through in places. As I walked through the opening, I realised I really was in golfing heaven and forgot about everything expect the joy of golf and Sunningdale.

Golfing heaven - the walk from the 9th to the 10th - New course.

 

The 10th is my favourite hole on the New course. Despite the pines to the left of the hole having been recently stripped back and opened up it is a wonderful par-3. At just over 200 yards it is no easy shot. The tee boxes are set into the hillside and are set at levels surrounded by heather. There is a small landing area short of the green and four bunkers around the green providing the heaviest of protection. The bunker at the front is set forward to muddle your perception of distance, after which is a severe slope up to the green. The bunker left of the green is set 15 feet below the green level and once again takes a nibble out of the green. My tee shot was short and just caught the top of the front bunker. It ran on up onto the green but due to the gradient ran quickly back down and was nearly collected by the left hand bunker. My chip shot on had to be dropped right of the pin to avoid the embarrassment of finding myself back in the bunker and while rolling it to ten feet I again missed a straightforward putt and walked with a bogey!

 

The 10th tee - what a belter!

Behind the 10th is the halfway house that serves both the New and Old courses. Lovely staff, polite and kind but wallet didn't appreciate the experience for just a couple of bottles of drink and a lovely homemade chunk of ginger cake. I don't suppose this is on the complaints list for the status of some of the people who play here! I am just an average Joe with a rather expensive love for golf!

 

The 12th on the New course is a short par-4 dogleg. After pulling my tee shot into the drainage channel on the left, I was left with a terrifying approach to an elevated green protected by a bunker front right, heavy banking front and a whole load of pain left! Unfortunately I found the latter and was fortunate to have a shot amongst the thick rough heather and gorse. The green was 20 feet above my feet and the pin nastily positioned at the front next to the bunker. I was fortunate to miss the bunker and find the fringe before two putts and running off the green in terror with a double bogey. I certainly got off lightly from this difficult hole.

 

The short but difficult par-4 12th - New course

The 13th is a straight par-5 which most people will play wrongly (as I did). A good drive still leaves realistically 250 yards to the green but the sprawling bunker right of it will scare most off, unless you are stupid. So the sensible option is to lay up, but your then problem is the bunker smack bang in the centre of the fairway. Ideally I like to leave 120-150 yards for my approach to get the most of my shot, however do this and you need a lob wedge for the second. Colt's design is clever where you have to compromise your game here and I really like that.

 

Decision time - fairway of the par-5 13th - New course

The 15th on the New course is one of the few featuring water. A dogleg right par-4 places a pond on the kink of the dogleg and requires an uphill approach to a green where you cannot see any more than the flag or the 5 bunkers protecting the approach. Fortunately a good bounce prevented a reload off the tee as I was perilously close to the hazard. I trusted the yardage, clubbed up one and hit it. It was pleasant to walk up to find my ball pin high to 15 feet, however I again missed my birdie putt which was the general tone of my day.

 

Water right of the par-4 15th fairway - New course

Bunkering in the lead up to the 15th green - New course

The 18^th is a great finishing hole. An arrow straight par-5, it needs two big hits to find the green. Playing as a narrow hole, accuracy is rewarded and finished off a thoroughly enjoyable first round.

 

The tight finishing par-5 18th tee shot - New course

While to New course sits in the shadow of its elder sibling, this is one of the best courses I have played from both a conditioning, layout and sheer exclusivity point of view. As I have said in a previous blog, I love courses that are tree lined and isolate one hole from the next and the New course does this to dramatic effect.

 

Scorecard

If I could play with one arm for the rest of my life, I would sell it to be a member at this place. It is not the slightest bit pretentious and all the staff and members for that matter are lovely people.