richart
Major Champion
Had the pleasure of playing West Hill yesterday, and it was a true pleasure. One of the nicest courses I have ever played, and on a par with St Georges Hill which is high praise. There is not a bad hole on the course, and a lot of stunning ones. The weather was sunny, hot and hardly a breath of wind, which did add to the enjoyment.
I have seen the course from the train going into London, and it has always looked good, but as with a lot of courses you need to play it to appreciate the design and quality. The greens were not in the best condition as they have a big father and sons competition on shortly, and they were being prepared for the big day. For March they were still very acceptable, even if I struggled with them being a bit bumpy. The sand in the bunkers was also variable, some with no sand but a lot of stones, others having too much.
These gripes apart the course was just superb. No two holes the same, plenty of elevation changes (hills!) and the bunkers perfectly position to keep catching me out.
We started on the 10th which is one of the hardest par fours on the course, and depite hitting a good tee shot, managed to take six. Three pars and a birdie later and I was beginning to think the course might be quite easy. Sadly for me I was very wrong, and every time I missed the fairway or green, I struggled to even give myself a chance of a par.
The 18th is a great finishing hole, uphill, plenty of fairway bunkers, the green a few yards from the clubhouse. Not a hole to get too aggresive on unless you want to rattle the clubhouse windows.
The front nine is just as good as the back, although it seemed to play a little easier. The third hole which runs down by the railway line is especially hard though. 450 yards with a brook running in front of the green, making the hole play its full distance.
Every hole is tree lined with enormous pines and oaks. I imagine when the oaks are in leaf you would hardly see another hole. No criss crossing or waiting for someone to play from another hole. In fact apart from the golfers in front of us, we hardly saw another player.
How difficult a test is West Hill ? Well it is only a par 69, but is over 6300 yards and there are very few holes you can afford to miss the fairway and hope to get a par. Standard scratch off the whites is 71, and off the yellows 70.
The clubhouse which looks a bit bleak from the railway, is actually very nice and looks out over the 18th hole. It is very smart inside, and there is a huge dining room, in which we had a great full English before we played, and a two course lunch afterwards. The food was good and plenty of it !!
It is amazing that West Hill is ranked the 10th best course in Surrey. Just shows the strength in depth of the area. Whilst the majority of the top 10 courses are very expensive to play, you can tee it up at West Hill after 3.00 for £50, and that is a bargain. I can not wait to play the course again which is high praise from me.
I have seen the course from the train going into London, and it has always looked good, but as with a lot of courses you need to play it to appreciate the design and quality. The greens were not in the best condition as they have a big father and sons competition on shortly, and they were being prepared for the big day. For March they were still very acceptable, even if I struggled with them being a bit bumpy. The sand in the bunkers was also variable, some with no sand but a lot of stones, others having too much.
These gripes apart the course was just superb. No two holes the same, plenty of elevation changes (hills!) and the bunkers perfectly position to keep catching me out.
We started on the 10th which is one of the hardest par fours on the course, and depite hitting a good tee shot, managed to take six. Three pars and a birdie later and I was beginning to think the course might be quite easy. Sadly for me I was very wrong, and every time I missed the fairway or green, I struggled to even give myself a chance of a par. The 18th is a great finishing hole, uphill, plenty of fairway bunkers, the green a few yards from the clubhouse. Not a hole to get too aggresive on unless you want to rattle the clubhouse windows.
The front nine is just as good as the back, although it seemed to play a little easier. The third hole which runs down by the railway line is especially hard though. 450 yards with a brook running in front of the green, making the hole play its full distance.
Every hole is tree lined with enormous pines and oaks. I imagine when the oaks are in leaf you would hardly see another hole. No criss crossing or waiting for someone to play from another hole. In fact apart from the golfers in front of us, we hardly saw another player.
How difficult a test is West Hill ? Well it is only a par 69, but is over 6300 yards and there are very few holes you can afford to miss the fairway and hope to get a par. Standard scratch off the whites is 71, and off the yellows 70.
The clubhouse which looks a bit bleak from the railway, is actually very nice and looks out over the 18th hole. It is very smart inside, and there is a huge dining room, in which we had a great full English before we played, and a two course lunch afterwards. The food was good and plenty of it !!
It is amazing that West Hill is ranked the 10th best course in Surrey. Just shows the strength in depth of the area. Whilst the majority of the top 10 courses are very expensive to play, you can tee it up at West Hill after 3.00 for £50, and that is a bargain. I can not wait to play the course again which is high praise from me.
