Trip to the South East - end of March

[sane_eric]

Customary golf tour coming up, making the most of the reduced fees and increasing daylight that March brings. Last year we got absolutely battered by the weather in Devon and Cornwall (after years of good weather). This year we are headed in land to the joys of the South East. Also taking a break from years of links golf. This year we visit:

Day 1 St Georges Hill. Green course, then 18 on the Red and Blue.
Day 2 Addington, just the 18
Day 3 West Sussex 9 holes, lunch then the full 18
Day 4 The Berkshire. 18 on Red, lunch, then 18 on Blue
Day 5 - off work with post tour depression.

Its all booked and paid for, tips and hints on what to expect or how to tackle them would be welcome!

s

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Excellent choice of courses Eric. I'm sure you are aware but West Sussex is 2balls/4somes only so make sure you have an even number of people.

Oh...and good luck trying to swing a club after the lunches at SGH and The Berkshires

 

[sane_eric]

Excellent choice of courses Eric. I'm sure you are aware but West Sussex is 2balls/4somes only so make sure you have an even number of people.

Oh...and good luck trying to swing a club after the lunches at SGH and The Berkshires

I didn't book the tees at West Sussex so I'll have a chat with the lad that did and see what the score is.

Food good? Nice.

 

[Sybez]

Done well to get on at West Sussex, very old school and special handshakes kinda place!

I assume your carrying all of the rounds!

 

[richart]

Top food at St Georges Hill and the Berkshire. Don't fancy your chances of playing the Blue at the Berkshire, after their lunch though.

Green course at St Georges hill is not up to the same standard as the Red and Blue in my opinion. The houses on the green are probably only worth a couple of million, compared to the ten million plus on the other two. Look out for Cliff Richards house, and John Lennon's old place on the left hand side the 9th fairway.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Sounds a fantastic trip. Can I be crass and ask how much this is costing

 

[rickg]

Berkshire is jacket and tie for lunch between rounds....a bit of a pain.....I have seen some guys put on a cravat with their polo shirt and slip a jacket over.....saves changing if you are short for time........and you want to give yourself as much time as you can for the Berkshire lunch......probably the finest in the land, followed closely by St George's Hill, IMO.

Have fun and take a pair of trousers 2" bigger than normal....you'll need them for the last round. :thup:

 

[Swingalot]

Fine choice of courses. Leave plenty of time when travelling to SGH as it gets very busy round their, mostly with construction traffic building even more rooms on the mansions around the course for the Russians who now own most of them!
Once you are there, you will be at one of the finest inland courses in the south east, if not the country. Enjoy.

 

[Lontano]

I didn't book the tees at West Sussex so I'll have a chat with the lad that did and see what the score is.

Food good? Nice.

I think you will enjoy the course. It holds up well in all this bad weather and if you get a nice sunny day, well it can be totally charming in the shadow of the South Downs.

The food is very nice, the clubhouse traditional and the welcome friendly. Have a good day at my club.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Good luck with the travelling. Haven't played St. George's Hill and personally don't get the fuss about The Addington but The Berkshire is worth the trip alone, especially the lunch, and West Sussex is a hidden gem. I'm sure you'll enjoy it, let us know what you think of them.

 

[sane_eric]

Played the courses as laid out above

Day 1 St Georges Hill. Green course, then 18 on the Red and Blue.
Day 2 Addington, just the 18
Day 3 West Sussex 9 holes, lunch then the full 18
Day 4 The Berkshire. 18 on Red, lunch, then 18 on Blue

Day 1 - great start to the tour, a very grand, opulent setting for 27 holes. Nothing small about the place, especially the mansions dotted around. There are a lot of spectacular holes here, lots of raised greens and raised tees. I was generally surprised at how undulating the landscape was for all the courses, especially SGH. Great welcome at SGH, great facilities.

Day 2 - a real dilemma this course. The start was not as spectacular as SGH, a bit more classical and subtle, more old school. But despite the apparent "ordinariness" of the first few holes the place really took off half way through the front nine all the way through to the 17th. I have never played anywhere like the Addington and am not sure I will. The run of holes from 6 to 13 are highly entertaining and very different from each other and possibly any other course I have played. Lovely facilities, very friendly in an old school/members club type of way.

Day 3 - voted favourite course visited. Initial impression was "it looks a bit flat", but that was very unfair. Once we started playing (in 2 balls, with a cheeky 3 ball in the middle) the class of the place shone through. Lots of heather and strategic bunkering made the course quite a cerebral challenge. Practice facilities good, Sunday carvery outstanding, as was the post round tea and cake. This is the course we are returning to next year.

Day 4 - the course you play on the last day of the tour will always suffer from being the last course and therefore it has to contend with the downer everyone is on because they are going home later that day. Considering that, both courses stuck in the mind for the quality of the layouts, the variety of the holes, the welcome from the staff and the fact that we really had the course to ourselves, or at least it felt like that. Most holes have their own tree lined space that looks tight off the tee but is not too punishing and allows you the chance to escape, or at least find your ball should you stray from the tee. The bunkering in places was spectacular, as where the changes in the roll of the landscape.

Surrey again next year (and WS), looks like

Day 1 West Sussex
Day 2 Woking
Day 3 Worplesdon
Day 4 Sunningdale (old and new)

 

[sane_eric]

With photos

Day 1 St Georges Hill. Green course, then 18 on the Red and Blue.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/108381698@N06/sets/72157643262766914/

Day 2 Addington, just the 18

https://www.flickr.com/photos/108381698@N06/sets/72157643264412323/

Day 3 West Sussex 9 holes, lunch then the full 18

https://www.flickr.com/photos/108381698@N06/sets/72157643265776213/

Day 4 The Berkshire. 18 on Red, lunch, then 18 on Blue

Blue https://www.flickr.com/photos/108381698@N06/sets/72157643266659784/

Red
https://www.flickr.com/photos/108381698@N06/sets/72157643266219374/

 

[Lontano]

An interesting write up and selection of photos - thanks.

it is good to see that you had such a good day at West Sussex.