Sunningdale Golf Club - Old Course

Sunningdale golf club - Old course

Tuesday 24th June 2014
Tee time - 1340
Green fee - £295 (including New course)
Score - 82 (par-70)

The clubhouse and famous Sunningdale oak tree

The Old course is the higher ranked of the two courses at Sunningdale and is the older of the two. Designed by Willie Park Jr the two time Open Championship winner, it was opened for play in 1901. Initially thought to be unsuitable for a golf course, the creation of Sunningdale established it year after year in the top 100 courses in the world.

After having a wonderful round on the New course in the morning and playing well in the process, I had high hopes for the afternoon on the Old. I was not disappointed.

The first tee sits affront the Tudor style clubhouse in all its beauty of the summer sun and the patrons were out observing me closely.

The caddie master was brilliant in giving me free reign to head out when I wanted due to the quietness of the course and rather than hang around all day, after a brief freshen up I was on the tee.

The tight tee shot - 1st hole - Old course

The first is a straight par-5 running alongside the road to the right. The trees lining it force you to play left a bit (especially those like myself who draw the ball). After a good straight tee shot and almost floating down the fairway in such relaxation, I belted a 4-iron from 230 yards and found the front of the green. Unfortunately my eagle putt lipped out and left a tap in birdie to start - not bad!

Sitting on the front of the green for two - Old course 1st hole

 

The second tee shot is into a wide fairway that is crossed by a road leading to shall we say some 'large' houses! The tee shot is easy by the second is blind from the right side of the fairway and involves almost a full carry of bunkers, rough and heather along the way. Deciding to play sensibly a layup opens up the downhill approach to the green.

The third is a short par-4 that requires a 200+ yard carry off the tee to avoid two menacing bunkers that cut into the fairway. Play a wood and your landing area narrows progressively and there are 3 further bunkers capable of gobbling up a ball. Miss the fairway left and you are in a host of thick rough and heather. At this stage I played through a four ball that were heavily tangled in the stuff. Further up at the green it is flanked left and right by a further three bunkers. A very attractive hole.

The fourth is a steep uphill par-3 played to a crowned green protected from the front by more formidable bunkers. The image below shows the beauty of the hole and the purple heather in bloom in the run up to the green. I under-clubbed my shot and despite finding the green three-putted on the super quick surface.

The purple heather leading to the short pat-3 4th green - old course

The fifth is one of the more photographed holes on the Old course. Another good length par-4 from an elevated tee position requires a good hit and a brave second over water to a small and heavily guarded green. While my tee shot found the fairway it was not great in terms of length and wasn't feeling bullish enough to have a go at it from the right side so I laid up and had a go at an up-and-down (failed).

Old course -5th tee

The sixth is a shorter par-4 with a small fairway in terms of width and length. A driver is too much off the tee due to the 100 yards of heather leading to the green making it a visually striking hole. Miss the fairway (I did) and barring a good lie (fortunately I had) you have a serious challenge to hit this tiny green.



The par-4 6th hole - old course

The seventh is one of my favourite holes on the old course. The view from the tee is of wild heather and a sprawling bunker rising in front of you. At the top sits the fairway which slopes down and left heavily. Even with the course plan it's was difficult to pick the correct line so I put my trust in the marker post and flushed my drive directly over it. It took me some time to find my ball due to the impossibility of working out my line. I was surprised to find it right at the very bottom of the fairway some 320 yards from the tee. I was fortunate not to be any further left as the trees close in from the left block your visibility of the green. This is an original and yet another fantastic hole but yet another hole where a 15 footer slipped by for birdie!

The blind tee shot - 7th hole - old course

Natural sand and heather - beauty

Taken from one of the higher points of the fairway - everything feeds left!

The tight little approach to the green - 7th hole - old course.

 

Walking off the seventh you all most walk onto the eight green with the tee of this short par-3 to the left cuddled away in the trees. I took a few moments in the shade of the trees to take a drink. This is what golf really it. The pure enjoyment of peace and quiet with the birds singing and the sun shining. The woodland surrounding each of the holes is immaculate and the wild heather and gorse makes this an architectural masterpiece. The hole is a short one to a circular green horseshoed by five large bunkers. Overlooking the green in the distance is a beautiful house of gigantic proportions (probably owned by a non-golfer). I pushed my shot right far enough to even miss the bunkers and managed a delicate chip back over them and par putt from a precarious position.

The discreetly hidden par-3 8th hole - old course 



Some of the beautiful places surrounding this wonderful course.

The ninth is a drivable par-4 at 267 yards but with plenty of reasons not to have a try due to the four bunkers protecting the run up to the green. There is a channel of no more than 20 yards wide to thread you ball through for a safe passage. In hindsight I should have taken a 3-wood but a ramped down drive was perfect for line but a little too far as I watched it narrowly miss the flag and head off the back into the rough. I should have done better than par but was pleased nonetheless to have survived yet another challenging hole.

The driveable par-4 ninth - old course

The signature tenth at Sunningdale is teed from the highest point of the course down to a perfect fairway littered with a number of identically shaped fairway bunkers along the sides and through the centre. A lovely hole to play (despite topping it into a bunker!!)

The signature 10th hole - Sunningdale old course

At the end of the tenth green is the halfway house that also serves the New course and one that is very well stocked in terms of choices, however I was a bit put out to purchase a sandwich and upon sitting down to eat it realised that there was only half of it. Now I know these places are for the rich and the famous, but it was my only disappointment of the entire day!

The well equipped halfway house - bring your wallet!

I enjoyed playing the eleventh hole despite leaving the other half of my sandwich in the fridge in the halfway house. The tee shot is one of only a few blind shots, this time with a marker. The view is covered in heather gorse and sandy areas. The landing areas are small and tight requiring accuracy to avoid trouble. The green is very small and crowned to dispatch mediocre approaches.

Another blind tee shot to the 11th - old course

The short and tight fairway landing area - 11th hole - old course

The 'crowned' green of the 11th - old course

Number twelve is a shot par 4 with a snaking fairway running down the hole with some bunkers thrown in to collect the loose ones. The approach is to an elevated green as the hole banks to the left and is surrounded by tall trees, simply a beautiful hole!

The snaking par-4 12th -old course

Beautiful bunkers feathered with heather - 12th - old course

Playing well and great putting surfaces = birdie opportunities

The thirteenth is a good length downhill par-3 requiring a full carry to reach the green. Two large bunkers protect the right front of the green and a pin position on the right makes it a stern challenge.

The downhill par-4 13th -old course

The tight crowned par-3 green

 

One great view after the next - 14th - old course

15th - old course

Heavy guarding of the 16th green! - old course

The seventeenth is a downhill par-4 where you can hit it to the wide fairway without too much trouble, the approach into the green is long and the small green is protected left, right and front by menacing bunkers. After a good drive I was left with 180 yards to the pin from the fairway and I struck my 4-iron perfect and saw it climbing high with a slight left to right fade. The ball landed softly front centre and followed the contours of the green towards the hole, I watched with pain as the ball hopped as it lipped out and ran 10 feet by. It was a shame I didn't hole it but love the feeling of striking it exactly how you intended to. Low and behold, I missed the ten footer for a birdie too! D'oh!

17th tee - old course

Narrowly missed holing out from 180 yards - 17th - old course

The clubhouse back in view - approach to the 17th green - old course

Distraught to be walking to my 36th and final tee of the day, I knew this wonderful experience was soon to come to an end. In the distance stands the Sunningdale oak and the Tudor clubhouse behind. My tee shot raced off to the right and I found the thick rough. From my position of the second I had a shot for the green but the flag was buried back right and a deep bunker was sitting directly in front to stop my progress. Working out the yardage as 165 yards to the pin, I selected the 6-iron in a 'no guts, no glory' moment. I could see the green staff and course manager talking beside the green as I made my final lining up and made a smooth swing through the rough to the ball. As I had hoped, the ball accelerated off the club face high into the sky. As I eyed the ball and pin up and down I could see the line was perfect and watched the ball land over the bunker onto the green surface. I approached the green to find my ball to eight feet with great satisfaction. As the staff watch on, I made a pure stroke to find the bottom of the hole and a lovely round of applause.

18th tee - old course

Final approach - 18th hole - old course

More heavy guarding - no surrender! - 18th - old course

Perfection to finish - 18th green at Sunningdale - old course

My experience had come to an end and had loved every minute of it. Sunningdale is in my humble opinion the best inland course in the UK. The conditioning is second to none and the layout is one of the best I have played. There are courses such as Turnberry that somewhat have an advantage due to the scenery around them. Places like Sunningdale don't have that, yet what they have achieved is an oasis of greenery and natural heather set amongst a sandy base that make you want to sell your vital organs to play there again.

A great day at a great place, with great staff in great weather with a great(ish) score.