Courses on common land

[SaintHacker]

My own course, Bramshaw (forest) and Burley are all on open New Forest land, accesible to anyone and anything that lives there. Ponies, cattle, pigs etc etc

 

[rulefan]

Beverley GC in Yorkshire is on Common pastureland. Crisscrossed by footpaths and encircled by an ancient gallop.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Struggling to remember if Royal Wimbledon had public access on it, especially as it adjoins Wimbledon Common in places

 

[Ross61]

Harpenden common golf course is, as the name suggests, free to the public to roam over the common on which it sits.

 

[Tongo]

My own course, Bramshaw (forest) and Burley are all on open New Forest land, accesible to anyone and anything that lives there. Ponies, cattle, pigs etc etc

Thinned a tee shot into the rump of a resident pony on the 7th a few years back. Just a glancing blow so it looked irritated rather than hurt!

 

[Tongo]

Southampton Municipal and Queens Park in Bournemouth are both on common land. Southampton doesnt get many on the course as there arent any paths that lead anywhere but Queens Park is a nightmare for ignorant walkers who appear out of nowhere.

 

[evemccc]

Earlier this week, I took my permitted exercise walking round the Old Course at Walton Heath. It was a stimulating few hours, looking at the holes and architecture up close. The course has markers on the tee boxes used in the 1981 Ryder Cup - seeing how much further back the current competition tees are was food for thought.

Walking the course was possible because Walton Heath is common land, and lingering on fairways didn’t disturb any golfers.

So, a question - are there any more top-end courses on common land, or freely accessible to walkers? There are a few days of lockdown left, and walking another course would be a welcome change of scene.

I’d love to have a close up of Walton Heath Old.

Can you pls PM me whereabouts you parked and accessed this course! Only this weekend before lockdown Mk 2 ends!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Harpenden common golf course is, as the name suggests, free to the public to roam over the common on which it sits.

Wimbledon Common/London Scottish is the same. Can be a pain as the public have right of way and a lot of them know it and will deliberately walk the length of the hole. Alternatively you'll have the family walking or on bikes with no concept of a golf course being there walking out as you're about to play

 

[Beedee]

Have played a few common land courses over the years. Nothing prestigious tho. Never played one I wanted to play again.

 

[jim8flog]

From memory a large part of Guildford is on common land.

No where near top end Bournemouth Queens Park and Meyrick Park.

 

[NearHull]

Beverley GC in Yorkshire is on Common pastureland. Crisscrossed by footpaths and encircled by an ancient gallop.

Local rule for free drop from a cowpat - I believe. Notable though, for some of the best greens in the area and protected from the cows by a wire fence. I have been told tales of Sunday afternoon tee times competing with picnics on the greens and sand castles in the bunkers.

 

[rulefan]

Local rule for free drop from a cowpat - I believe. Notable though, for some of the best greens in the area and protected from the cows by a wire fence. I have been told tales of Sunday afternoon tee times competing with picnics on the greens and sand castles in the bunkers.

Being so unique in the design of its course leads Beverley & East Riding Golf Club to have some extremely unique local rules.

‘If a ball rests in or touches animal dung in the general area or a putting green and interferes with the player’s stance or area of intended swing, the player may:
Play the ball as it lies, or
Treat it as a loose impediment that may be removed under Rule 15.1, or
Treat it as ground under repair from which relief is allowed under Rule 16.1.′

Posts and wires help keep the greens in immaculate condition and if a ball is to hit either the post or the wire then rule 3.6 applies
‘If a ball strikes any part of a protective fence around the green of the hole being played, the player may choose to disregard that stroke, either abandon the ball or retrieve it and play a ball at the reference point and the 1 club length relief area from which the original ball was played. ′.
The post or wires around the green are treated as immovable objects and therefore relief can be taken in accordance with Rule 4b
‘For a ball lying outside the wire for the putting green on the hole being played, relief will always be outside the wire, and for a ball lying inside the wire relief, will often be outside the wire.’

 

[howbow88]

Augusta National

 

[Chico84]

Struggling to remember if Royal Wimbledon had public access on it, especially as it adjoins Wimbledon Common in places

There’s a footpath that runs through the middle of it but it is fenced off from the course itself. In theory you can walk onto the course from the path in places where there is access for players to cross over the path but I don’t think it would be considered open access.

That said, taking a walk during the first lockdown we had to walk on the course as the footpath was too narrow to safely pass other walkers coming the other way due to its fenced-in nature.

Obviously the main Wimbledon Common course is totally open to the public to walk upon, but I’m not sure it qualifies as ‘quality’ in the same way others mentioned here do!

 

[Wilson]

View attachment 33751
Luckily short game I'm OK at... ?

Did you not ask him to mooooove?

 

[HarrogateHacker]

Beverley GC in Yorkshire is on Common pastureland. Crisscrossed by footpaths and encircled by an ancient gallop.

I used to be a member there, the club have the rights to play golf but walkers have as much right to be on the land, the cows roaming around added some interest too, you soon get used to it

 

[HarrogateHacker]

Woodhall spa has footpaths through the course, I didn’t really notice the paths til about the 11th but think most holes from 11 to the finish have paths through or beside, doesn’t impact the experience just need to check the coast is clear before hitting. Played Seaton Carew recently if I remember correctly that had a path or two through the course, which was quite busy and held us up a bit

 

[Smiffy]

Crowborough Beacon is on common land.
You get a lot of dog walkers and the odd horse rider on there during the Summer.
I'll never forget smacking some woman straight in the back from an errant tee shot on the 5th hole once. I heard the thud from 200 yards away (a good drive for me, shame about the sidespin).
I did shout fore by the way. She was facing me when I hit it, turned her back and squatted down, but I still collared her......

 

[jim8flog]

View attachment 33751
Luckily short game I'm OK at... ?

I think I would be Fresian over that shot.

 

[Bit of rough]

I’d love to have a close up of Walton Heath Old.

Can you pls PM me whereabouts you parked and accessed this course! Only this weekend before lockdown Mk 2 ends!

No need to be private about it!

Look up Walton Heath on Google Maps. Just south of the two 18th greens, there’s the Walton Heath Car Park. A bit muddy, but free to use. It’s a short wedge from the New Course 1st tee.

The Old begins with a Par 3 on the other side of the road. TBH I skipped that.

A course mapping app is useful to give yardages - helps to appreciate the strategy.