Royal Ashdown Forest, ENGLAND   

What is the most natural course in the world? Some people cite St. Andrews as the course which has evolved over several centuries and owes less to the hand of an architect than any other course.  The old story is that the sheep huddling against the wind formed the bunkers at St. Andrews. Did the sheep also lay the sod in the bunker walls as well?

Bunkers by and large are contrivances by the hand of man. It follows that a course where minimal land was moved and that has no bunkers might well be the most natural course. There does exist such a full-length course; Royal Ashdown Forest, located one hour south of London.

The original charter of the Royal Forest prohibits any man-made alterations or excavations to the land. Thus, as a bunker is an excavation, there is not a single one on the entire course.  Remarkably, the golfer may well play several rounds here before he becomes aware of this fact. Other than the wooden planks propping up a stream bank in front of the second green, the entire course is natural. By definition, Royal Ashdown Forest is a shining example of  an architect working with the land.

Would new courses built today be better if similiar restrictions were in place? It is an interesting thought as it certainly forces architects to maximise the land’s natural features. The rate some architects pump out courses would be dramatically reduced as they were forced to spend more time on site trying to understand the subtle nuances of the land. More unique courses like Royal Ashdown might well be created.

Who needs bunkers? This approach was only six yards short of the 8th green

As for the course itself, given that bunkers serve many purposes, most importantly strategic, where then does the challenge and strategy come? It comes from the sloping land, the heather, the gorse, a stream, and trees to a much lesser degree. The property is hilly. A variety of uphill, downhill, and sidehill lies will be encountered. The tee shots on several holes are intimidating as they must clear bracken infested terrain to reach the fairway. Nonetheless, to compensate the golfer, these same hills provide stunning views around the upper part of the course out across the Sussex countryside.

Many low markers in this age of the friendly sand wedge actually prefer being in a bunker as to other lies that may be encountered around a green. Also, better players often use bunkers to better gauge the depth perception for approach shots. For these reasons, many low markers actually find the bunkerless Royal Ashdown Forest as a tougher course to score on than their home club. Modern architects and their prolific eye candy bunkers might learn a thing or two after a day in the Royal Forest.

There are some holes that are hard to love such as the dull uphill 4th.  However, there are many compelling holes to make up for the occasional weak one, as described below.
 

Holes to Note:

This sign on the 1st tee lets you know this is English golf at its best

5th hole, 500 yards; The green on this down hill three shotter is placed ten paces behind a stream. The result is a beautiful gambling five par. The golfer going for the green in two must execute the shot from a downhill stance while still achieving enough height to stay on the green - not the easiest of shots but a gratifying one to pull off.

Don't be short on the 5th!

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