The Belfry

[minty18]

Well I was lucky enough to play the Brabazon on Saturday and was more than suprised that only 12 groups took to the course all day. It was a shot gun start but very luckily we were off the 1st.

My first drive landing just short of the bunker on the right, very happy indeed. An approach shot about 50yds short of the green saw me snatch a 5, as i did on the fairly straight forward second.

Then came the 3rd, one of the holes i was most looking forward to after watching the masters. Bang in to a very strong head wind it took 3 decent shots just to lay up infront of the water... 115yds to go over a lot of water and a nasty bunker saw me hit a full 8iron up into the wind, it stopped dead 3feet from the pin, easy par. Level fives after 3holes thinking the course wasnt that hard for a 27 handicap. Proceeded to get 7's on the next 3 holes then it got worse.

Anyway I ended up with a score of 120 and just two pars.... laughable I know but with a very strong head wind on the 18th I managed to put 3 balls in the drink. What a great hole of golf. 7 golfballs of mine in total are laying in the mirky water of the Brabazon with my name on it.

Carrying the bags for 18holes was probly the biggest downer of the day but a jacuzzi and steam after the round soon sorted the back out.

The food and drink is overpriced but a very tasty carvery is to be had in the evening so leave the expensive bar snacks alone.

So to sum up The Belfry experience I'd definitely reccomend everyone give it ago atleast once.... very pricey but for one weekend of the year it's not too bad and the drinks in Belair are no more expensive than a London Nightclub.

Anyone looking for any further info on the Belfry please feel free to ask and i'll try and help out.

Minty

 

[nmartyn]

hey minty - i'm there this weekend for my 30th.

i've also got a shotgun start on saturday morning - new one to me that. so we just turn up on the first at 10.30 and the starter tells us where to start from?

for the evening dinner etc we've got the buffet restraunt too, whats the dress code?

anything else to watch out for?

 

[minty18]

Depending on what hole you are starting on they will drop you to the hole where you'll wait nervously till you hear the Klaxon. They'll tell you what hole when you book in at the pro shop.

I wore shirt and trousers in the evening but some people were very casual (jeans and t-shirt). I'd say to go smart as the majority of people were. As mentioned, i thought the food was lovely.

Have a look in the pro-shop, some nice ashworth jumpers with the belfry logo are bogof so worth a look.

 

[nmartyn]

well hopefuly we'll get a nice little par 3 to start from away for the spectators

cheers for that, will let the rest of the group know - 14 of us going.

and will definately take a look at the Ashworth gear, got a £50 voucher burning a hole in my pocket from my fitting last week!

 

[TonyN]

Myself and Vig are there Monday and Tuesday. We're on the derby and Pga. Cant wait. What was the condition like for this time of year?

Do all the courses finish close together and lead back to the 1 clubhouse?

 

[nmartyn]

may see you there on Monday, staying two nights so may wangle a 3rd round on the monday... HID permitting!

 

[andiritchie]

I think i saw a shuttle bus service for the Derby near the pro shop as its down the back end,the tee for the PGA is in front of a bar and the 18th is near the pro shop

 

[TonyN]

If you are going to be playing monday, call me and we can go round as a 3 ball. Saves you trying to get a tee time on the day and always good to meet members.

I'll PM.

 

[nmartyn]

sounds good tony, i'm going with a few mates but dependent on the other halves so may be all of us... or may just be me - or none! lol

 

[vig]

Tee time on Derby is 11.20 but i'll be there in plenty of time to warm up after the drive.
As Tony says, you're more than welcome to join us, Belfry permitting of course.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

Minty, what did you do on the infamous 10th? Did you go for the green or lay up?

I actually loved the Brabazon and thought it was really challenging but I havent tried that many top courses to pitch it against.

The things that stuck in my mind about the round were:-

1. I managed to drive the 10th.
2. I won the long drive comp and have a engraved tankard.
3. I lost 3 balls
4. The greens were SO quick and difficult.

 

[minty18]

PPE, Sadly i'm not confident nor consistent enough to carry a driver in the bag which pretty much made the decision for me (it was playing 230yds in to the wind).

I hit a rescue club down next to the right hand bunker then a wedge which went in the bunker at the back of the green. The lip on the bunker was non exsistent so i putted out of it then two putted for bogey. fairly pleased.

You're right about the greens though mate, lightening quick but also really true, the ball never bobbled about.

One thing we all noticed was when laying up we could have probly took another two clubs. may have been the way the wind was blowing on the day but we were all well out with our distances.

I wasn't expecting much from the weekend cause I've heard some bad things about the Belfry on here (each to their own of course) however i thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[Imurg]

I think i saw a shuttle bus service for the Derby near the pro shop as its down the back end,the tee for the PGA is in front of a bar and the 18th is near the pro shop

You're correct on the shuttle bus. it picks you up from outside the shop and ferries you down to the Derby 1st. When i played it the buggy was there to pick us up again at the 18th.

 

[vig]

I think i saw a shuttle bus service for the Derby near the pro shop as its down the back end,the tee for the PGA is in front of a bar and the 18th is near the pro shop

You're correct on the shuttle bus. it picks you up from outside the shop and ferries you down to the Derby 1st. When i played it the buggy was there to pick us up again at the 18th.

How freakin far is it from the clubhouse?

 

[andiritchie]

How far? i would say 800 yards its down the back end one of the holes goes along side the 3rd on the Brabazon

 

[TonyN]

Do they have marshalls out on any of the courses to make sure people are moving along nicely, behaving etc?

 

[Imurg]

If they do I didn't see any. But having said that when I played the Derby it was a works do and we were in the middle of the pack and keeping pace. When I played the PGA the course was very quiet so they probably didn't bother.

 

[viscount17]

Do they have marshalls out on any of the courses to make sure people are moving along nicely, behaving etc?

snipers in the shrubbery I think

 

[TonyN]

Ah good job I have trained in search and scan.(doesn't help with those little white balls though) I always past my stalks too, I may have to wear my villegas hat and DPM to blend in.

Typical, just copying the last of my notes for the PGA course and the belfry site has gone down!