Captainron
Big Hitting, South African Sweary Person
Ganton is an institution in world golfing circles. It was opened for play in 1891 on the sandy soil of an ancient estuary which gives this course its fabled linksland feel despite being several miles from the sea. Harry Vardon became professional in 1896 and stayed for 7 years. he won 4 of his Open Championships whilst affiliated to the club. Host venue to a Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship and most recently the Walker Cup Ganton certainly has the pedigree which suggests you are going to be tackling something special.
Build up to the trip was enhanced by the promise of some specatcularly mild Autumn weather which duly obliged. We arrived well before our appointed time of 1 pm and headed straight for the pro shop. We were surpirised to find that the weekends were the quietest times at Ganton due to the 250 strong membership being made up of mostly retuired persons who played on week days. My playing partner purchased some spikes for his shoes and was asked to provide said shoes so that the spikes could be fitted for him. Our non plussed faces lead him to add that this was a standard service afforded to the members and he would do the same for him. Classy touch.
Picking up the card we were surprised that the course was not overly long off the yellow tees. Only 3 par 4's made it over the 400 yard mark and none of the par 5's were over 500 yards.
The course was in rude health. The greens were true, quick and testing. The fairways sleek and generous. The rough brutal. The bunkers frequent, deep and daunting. The first is a gentle opener where the true speed of the greens was revealed to us. The second is a fabulous par 4 where a two teired green slopes heavily from front to back makign a precise approach a must. The short par 4 third is a great risk and reward hole. The fourth is a famous test from the tips but not nearly as daunting off yellows. The difficulty is once again in judging your approach to a devilish green. The par 3 5th and par 5 6th are relatively straight forward and should yeild pars. Evidence of the clubs forward thinking was shown on the 6th where additional dunkers were being built around the 290 yard mark to catch the bombers who ignored the fabulous old bunker which ran out at about 220 yards. The seventh is a sweeping dog leg played uphill to a tight green. The 8th provides agood chance to grab a birdie before things tighten up a bit on the par 5 9th.
The par 3 10th has a large false front and plays longer than it looks. The 11th is a tremendous par 4 and probably my favourite hole on the course. The 12th and 13th are the two holes I liked least. They aren't bad holes but to my eye they just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the course. The 14th is another driveable par 4 where abunant gorse bushes frame the hole beautifully. 15, 16 and 17 are beasts. All are arrow straight but these holes are giants in comparison to the rest of the course.
15 and 16 both play every inch of their 427 yards. Both need pin point drives to set up long seconds where only excellence is rewarded. The 235 yard par 3 17th is a monster played into the prevailing wind. I absolutely melted a 2 iron and came up 20 yards short of the green which itself has a massive slope to a hige middle tier. I tip my hat to anyone who makes a par on here. Awesome! The last is a good finishing hole which lends itself to an heroic finish.
This ancient bastion simply re enforced the notion that courses need not be defended by length but rather by guile, stealth and cunning.
We never made it into the clubhouse to admire the many trophies and photos from its long and illustrious history. A strict dress code demands that a jacket and tie be worn to enter its hallowed halls which is a shame.
Overall I must admit that I was slightly underwhelmed by the course. Maybe I had built up my expectations too much. The course is good but I feel that Notts and Alwoodley are better.
If anyone is thinking of becoming one of the 250 members at this renowned course you just need to do the following:
1)You must be nominated and seconded by two members with no less than 5 years membership
2)Wait out 3 years (current waiting list estimation)
3)You must play a round with the captain and another member who will evaluate your application whilst playing with you.
4)Not get black balled once your membership is proposed.
5)Pay the £1500 annual subscriptions.
Simple really.
Build up to the trip was enhanced by the promise of some specatcularly mild Autumn weather which duly obliged. We arrived well before our appointed time of 1 pm and headed straight for the pro shop. We were surpirised to find that the weekends were the quietest times at Ganton due to the 250 strong membership being made up of mostly retuired persons who played on week days. My playing partner purchased some spikes for his shoes and was asked to provide said shoes so that the spikes could be fitted for him. Our non plussed faces lead him to add that this was a standard service afforded to the members and he would do the same for him. Classy touch.
Picking up the card we were surprised that the course was not overly long off the yellow tees. Only 3 par 4's made it over the 400 yard mark and none of the par 5's were over 500 yards.
The course was in rude health. The greens were true, quick and testing. The fairways sleek and generous. The rough brutal. The bunkers frequent, deep and daunting. The first is a gentle opener where the true speed of the greens was revealed to us. The second is a fabulous par 4 where a two teired green slopes heavily from front to back makign a precise approach a must. The short par 4 third is a great risk and reward hole. The fourth is a famous test from the tips but not nearly as daunting off yellows. The difficulty is once again in judging your approach to a devilish green. The par 3 5th and par 5 6th are relatively straight forward and should yeild pars. Evidence of the clubs forward thinking was shown on the 6th where additional dunkers were being built around the 290 yard mark to catch the bombers who ignored the fabulous old bunker which ran out at about 220 yards. The seventh is a sweeping dog leg played uphill to a tight green. The 8th provides agood chance to grab a birdie before things tighten up a bit on the par 5 9th.
The par 3 10th has a large false front and plays longer than it looks. The 11th is a tremendous par 4 and probably my favourite hole on the course. The 12th and 13th are the two holes I liked least. They aren't bad holes but to my eye they just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the course. The 14th is another driveable par 4 where abunant gorse bushes frame the hole beautifully. 15, 16 and 17 are beasts. All are arrow straight but these holes are giants in comparison to the rest of the course.
15 and 16 both play every inch of their 427 yards. Both need pin point drives to set up long seconds where only excellence is rewarded. The 235 yard par 3 17th is a monster played into the prevailing wind. I absolutely melted a 2 iron and came up 20 yards short of the green which itself has a massive slope to a hige middle tier. I tip my hat to anyone who makes a par on here. Awesome! The last is a good finishing hole which lends itself to an heroic finish.
This ancient bastion simply re enforced the notion that courses need not be defended by length but rather by guile, stealth and cunning.
We never made it into the clubhouse to admire the many trophies and photos from its long and illustrious history. A strict dress code demands that a jacket and tie be worn to enter its hallowed halls which is a shame.
Overall I must admit that I was slightly underwhelmed by the course. Maybe I had built up my expectations too much. The course is good but I feel that Notts and Alwoodley are better.
If anyone is thinking of becoming one of the 250 members at this renowned course you just need to do the following:
1)You must be nominated and seconded by two members with no less than 5 years membership
2)Wait out 3 years (current waiting list estimation)
3)You must play a round with the captain and another member who will evaluate your application whilst playing with you.
4)Not get black balled once your membership is proposed.
5)Pay the £1500 annual subscriptions.
Simple really.
