Wentworth Advice Needed

[penfold]

I won a BMW golf day a few months ago (having the round of my life) and qualified to play at Wentworth next Wednesday on the west course... I was hoping for any advice or tips for the course for the forum members as being newish to golf i'm pretty nervous about the day.

Thanks.

 

[walliams8]

Just enjoy it . It's a very tough course that can be a bit of a slog in parts . Just keep it in play tee to green .
What do you play off ?

 

[penfold]

Just enjoy it . It's a very tough course that can be a bit of a slog in parts . Just keep it in play tee to green .
What do you play off ?

Thanks - from looking at the course online it looks long with lots of fairway bunkers. I play off 13 at the moment but my driving which was on fire at the day of first comp has taken a dive with a serve hook causing me all sorts of problems. Anyway like you said ill just enjoy it as soon as im off the first, its a free day out with breakfast and lunch and who knows if i can sort the driver out next round is at Turnberry so fingers crossed.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Try not to be distracted by the massive houses that seem to line the holes of the back 9. When I played West course earlier this year I ended up spending more time gawping at (the absurdity of) the houses than enjoying playing the course.

 

[walliams8]

Thanks - from looking at the course online it looks long with lots of fairway bunkers. I play off 13 at the moment but my driving which was on fire at the day of first comp has taken a dive with a serve hook causing me all sorts of problems. Anyway like you said ill just enjoy it as soon as im off the first, its a free day out with breakfast and lunch and who knows if i can sort the driver out next round is at Turnberry so fingers crossed.

Good incentive , Turnberry is actually easier for me !

First tee is definatley a knee trembler with the putting green in view to your left and a handful of people normally watching . I was happy to get the ball in the air . Just keep it in play as I say , I made the mistake of going for too much and had a nightmare round . If I played again there's a handful of par 4s (first being the 3rd) I would lay up on if I didn't have a reasonable chance at the green .

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Depends to a degree which course. The West is a slog but the others are far better to play.

 

[Foxholer]

The West (as mentioned in the OP Homer) is a long slog, but if you play within yourself, then it's actually pretty easy to score well - the real key being the Par 3s! Just stay out of the trees and bunkers! The depth of the bunkers is probably the biggest shock to/for most mid-cappers

While a hook is not a good idea, a slight draw is better than my slight fade! But it's hard to go wrong with straight!

Spend quite a bit of time on the putting green - after the sumptuous breakfast! The greens are unique and take quite a bit of getting used to. They could well look awful on the course but actually run very well, if actually slower than you might expect - though this time of year they could be quicker. The bentgrass acts quite differently to 'normal' grass in that it doesn't seem to accelerate downhill as much as you would expect - unless damp, when it's quicker! It also breaks in a different way - much more at the end. I put both phenomena down to the fact that the leaves of the grass are flat where 'normal' grass (and there's a lot of the airborne native Poa Annua invading/invaded the greens) is upright! Apologies for the long-winded explanation!

However the Golf goes, enjoy the day. It's quite a special feeling following in the footsteps of some of the PGA winners. There are certainly some ostentatious houses (pretentious probably isn't actually the right word!). The one on the right of the 16th, just past the road should have another 'a' in the 2nd word of its name (Place)! And it's been a while since I've been there, so haven't seen the monstrosities that have gone up on 15 and 17! At least they have now replaced the leaky flat-roofed paddle-steamer disaster that was by the 17th green - and knocked down without full permission by a previous owner (who I sympathise with!).

 

[matt611]

Don't be afraid to lay up on some of the longer par 4's as the bunkers can be very punishing on shots that only just miss the green.

There seem to be very few straight putts; never assume you have a simple 2 footer.

Most importantly enjoy it. I really enjoyed my round and found it a really good challenge/battle. I thought the course was really good and gets a lot of unfair criticism.

 

[Ethan]

Relax. Many Wentworth guests any hit the side of a barn from 10 feet so you are ahead already. Get there in time to use the range and putting green and take a look inside the clubhouse. The course is very good even if not improved by the water at 18. It is also pretty fair and playable. I played in the PGA pro-am a few years back with a gallery and people in the grandstands!

 

[alexbrownmp]

I won a BMW golf day a few months ago (having the round of my life) and qualified to play at Wentworth next Wednesday on the west course... I was hoping for any advice or tips for the course for the forum members as being newish to golf i'm pretty nervous about the day.

Thanks.

Relax, you won't be off the back tees and in this dry sunny weather here it's not a long course, you'll be quite surprised (I was disappointed first time) at the shortness of many holes. It's actually quite overrated for most of the holes with a few interesting ones. Clubhouse and food is good, car park full of money and a few 'nobs' swaggering about (staff and members) but overall well worth it for the price you are paying.

 

[MendieGK]

Great golf course, ignore the haters. It's also not that much of a slog - par 73 and only about 6600yds is no different to most member courses off the back

Enjoy the day. There aren't really any bland holes. You'll love it

 

[richart]

Course should be nice and fast at the moment, so not much of a slog. I haven't played there since the course changes, but not sure they all look quite right, especially the run off left of 17, and the ditch in front of 18.:mmm:

 

[chrisd]

I played it a little before the changes and didn't find it a slog at all. It was everything I hoped it would be and very fair providing you don't hit too many into the trees. I found that I should have gone more at the flags on the day as the greens were more receptive than most.

Enjoy the experience and play well

 

[duncan mackie]

Great golf course, ignore the haters. It's also not that much of a slog - par 73 and only about 6600yds is no different to most member courses off the back

Enjoy the day. There aren't really any bland holes. You'll love it

Yep - the Edinburgh is more of a slog than the West...

 

[MendieGK]

Yep - the Edinburgh is more of a slog than the West...

I love all 3 but found the Edinburgh a little samey seemed like every hole was a dog leg!