SugarPenguin
Challenge Tour Pro
So about a 3 weeks ago a group of 8 of us stayed at the Belfry and played the Derby and Brabazon respectively over a Saturday and Sunday.
First off the accommodation and service received is top notch. Everything is to a high standard and I cannot complain about anything except the price. Its expensive but not extortionate which is expected.
The Derby
This was a Saturday 11:40am tee off time. You actually get driven to the first tee which was pretty amusing as I haven’t really had that before. The tee slots are actually 8 minutes apart and recently there has been lots of complaints on the forum about slowplay round the Belfry in general. I experienced very little waiting. There was a couple of holes (par 3s) where we had a 5 minute wait but that was it. This surprised me especially since we were out during the middle of day really. I think round took about 4hr 15 min. Not bad what so ever. I actually really enjoyed the course. The greens were really quick and in great condition If not the best iv seen all year. Fairways were similarly good but not fantastic.
Its actually a pretty standard parkland course – nothing to spectacular. There are some really good interesting holes especially some of the shorter par 4s (sub 370 yards) such as the 9[SUP]th[/SUP], 10[SUP]th[/SUP], 15[SUP]th[/SUP], 17[SUP]th[/SUP] which I really enjoyed. Some excellent hole designs where precise tee shots are needed because of an abundance of fairway bunkers and dog legs. Another great hole is a downhill par 5 that just looked so inviting to drive down and have a go at getting on in 2. Could play it over and over again. I actually played really well and shot 10 over gross despite 3 putting 4 or 5 times. The greens were really difficult. They didn’t seem to be hard but the breaks were pretty crazy which surprised me.
I wouldn’t say it was a difficult course since a lot of the blokes are 24+ handicappers and they shot all round 26-30 points. Overall a nice tidy parkland course that is superior in quality to pretty much every course in its price range.
The Brabazon
Sunday 10:40am tee off time and we were greeted by a very friendly bloke to register with. He was great and explained everything perfectly and since theres quite a few people around the putting green and marshall, however the teebox is a little further down the path so its not as if you have a crowd of people watching you. The setting here is absolutely stunning with the putting green literally next to the clubhouse/hotel.
The fairways and greens were absolutely top notch. I really mean world class. Fairways were smooth and soft yet not boggy in the slightest. Really impressive. The greens were excellent as well. No spike marks or anything to disrupt the balls movement. It was like putting on glass. As expected the Brabazon is a much tougher course with some really challenging holes.
I thoroughly enjoyed the front 9. All the holes were very different and challenging. The fairways were a decent size but anything off the fairway you were pretty much force to play a recovery shot. I really enjoyed having to play the yardages off the tee as the fairways often started to narrow after around 250 yards from the tees. The greens were all different shapes and sizes and the bunkers guarding them were massive. What I liked especially about the course was that you had to fire your approach shots on the green. There was always a hazard before the green so you couldn’t drop it 10 yards short and let your ball roll up. Our high handicappers really struggled with this aspect.
The back 9 was nowhere near as good in my opinion despite there being more ‘signature holes’. The 10[SUP]th[/SUP] is an obvious one and I managed to put my ball on the 11[SUP]th[/SUP] tee box which was a little upsetting since I had been driving it beautifully all weekend. I didn’t like the blind tee shots as I lost my balls despite crunching my drives on what I thought were perfect lines well over the trees. There was a lot more leaves and ‘autumn debris’ shall I say compared to the Derby. This was especially true on the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] and it really frustrated me!
The round took 4hrs 30mins. Only hole we got held up on for 2 minutes was the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] as we wanted a shot at the green since we are all professionals.
In all honesty after having a quick peek at the PGA National – this looks like the best course.
I would 100% come back and play again though since it was really enjoyable and the quality was as good as I have ever seen. I think there is too much ‘over-hype’ about the brabazon. Yes the course is extremely good but if it wasn’t for the great Ryder cup matches then its hardly a spectacular track if I am being extremely critical.
First off the accommodation and service received is top notch. Everything is to a high standard and I cannot complain about anything except the price. Its expensive but not extortionate which is expected.
The Derby
This was a Saturday 11:40am tee off time. You actually get driven to the first tee which was pretty amusing as I haven’t really had that before. The tee slots are actually 8 minutes apart and recently there has been lots of complaints on the forum about slowplay round the Belfry in general. I experienced very little waiting. There was a couple of holes (par 3s) where we had a 5 minute wait but that was it. This surprised me especially since we were out during the middle of day really. I think round took about 4hr 15 min. Not bad what so ever. I actually really enjoyed the course. The greens were really quick and in great condition If not the best iv seen all year. Fairways were similarly good but not fantastic.
Its actually a pretty standard parkland course – nothing to spectacular. There are some really good interesting holes especially some of the shorter par 4s (sub 370 yards) such as the 9[SUP]th[/SUP], 10[SUP]th[/SUP], 15[SUP]th[/SUP], 17[SUP]th[/SUP] which I really enjoyed. Some excellent hole designs where precise tee shots are needed because of an abundance of fairway bunkers and dog legs. Another great hole is a downhill par 5 that just looked so inviting to drive down and have a go at getting on in 2. Could play it over and over again. I actually played really well and shot 10 over gross despite 3 putting 4 or 5 times. The greens were really difficult. They didn’t seem to be hard but the breaks were pretty crazy which surprised me.
I wouldn’t say it was a difficult course since a lot of the blokes are 24+ handicappers and they shot all round 26-30 points. Overall a nice tidy parkland course that is superior in quality to pretty much every course in its price range.
The Brabazon
Sunday 10:40am tee off time and we were greeted by a very friendly bloke to register with. He was great and explained everything perfectly and since theres quite a few people around the putting green and marshall, however the teebox is a little further down the path so its not as if you have a crowd of people watching you. The setting here is absolutely stunning with the putting green literally next to the clubhouse/hotel.
The fairways and greens were absolutely top notch. I really mean world class. Fairways were smooth and soft yet not boggy in the slightest. Really impressive. The greens were excellent as well. No spike marks or anything to disrupt the balls movement. It was like putting on glass. As expected the Brabazon is a much tougher course with some really challenging holes.
I thoroughly enjoyed the front 9. All the holes were very different and challenging. The fairways were a decent size but anything off the fairway you were pretty much force to play a recovery shot. I really enjoyed having to play the yardages off the tee as the fairways often started to narrow after around 250 yards from the tees. The greens were all different shapes and sizes and the bunkers guarding them were massive. What I liked especially about the course was that you had to fire your approach shots on the green. There was always a hazard before the green so you couldn’t drop it 10 yards short and let your ball roll up. Our high handicappers really struggled with this aspect.
The back 9 was nowhere near as good in my opinion despite there being more ‘signature holes’. The 10[SUP]th[/SUP] is an obvious one and I managed to put my ball on the 11[SUP]th[/SUP] tee box which was a little upsetting since I had been driving it beautifully all weekend. I didn’t like the blind tee shots as I lost my balls despite crunching my drives on what I thought were perfect lines well over the trees. There was a lot more leaves and ‘autumn debris’ shall I say compared to the Derby. This was especially true on the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] and it really frustrated me!
The round took 4hrs 30mins. Only hole we got held up on for 2 minutes was the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] as we wanted a shot at the green since we are all professionals.
In all honesty after having a quick peek at the PGA National – this looks like the best course.
I would 100% come back and play again though since it was really enjoyable and the quality was as good as I have ever seen. I think there is too much ‘over-hype’ about the brabazon. Yes the course is extremely good but if it wasn’t for the great Ryder cup matches then its hardly a spectacular track if I am being extremely critical.
