Royal Ashdown Forest, ENGLAND   

6th hole, 130 yards; The most famous hole on the course. Known as “The Island,” the 40 yard long green is surrounded front and left by a stream and a gully on the right and back. Still it is a large target for a hole of this length and the ridge cutting across the middle of the green accounts for many a three putt bogey.

the ridge across the 6th green adds to the difficulties

7th hole, 375 yards; A dogleg right built around an angled patch of broken ground with gorse and a ditch at the inside of the dogleg. The green sets in its own natural amphitheatre and is swift from back to front. As the rain water tends to collect on this particular green, there is thought to moving the green onto the ridge behind its current location. This would provide the front nine with its only two shot hole greater than 400 yards and would be an ideal solution to the present problem of sustaining good grass on this green. However, the covenants make such a task difficult and only patience will see such a move.

12th hole, 565 yards; Tom Doak selects this three shotter as one of the best in the world for good reason. The golfer must hold both his tee shot and his second shot against the right to left fairway slope. Both shots must clear heather, and if the tee ball doesn't find a good lie, crossing the heather with your second will be a challenge. The sloping green is beautifully situated around ridges that throw the sloppy shot off and create a variety of recovery shots.

the long three shot 12th as seen from the tee

17th hole, 470 yards; This massive 4 1/2 par is the only inland hole in England to rival the 10th at Sunningdale (Old) in scope. The fairway runs gradually downhill until it tapers out some 160 yards short of the green. The golfer again is asked to flight a long ball to a distant green from a sloping lie. The green is none too big (it is only 30 yards deep) as the hole was once a five par.  Similar to the finish at St. Andrews, the authors view having a tough 17th hole followed by an easier 18th hole to be preferable to the reverse (but more common) order.

One final point deserves to be made, as there really aren’t such things as ‘winter’ courses in most parts of the world. Not unlike other English courses such as Swinley Forest and especially Rye, winter is a superb time to play here. The golfer may well find himself alone on the moor, the smell of a peat fire burning in a distant mansion. The odd horse and his rider may also be out to enjoy the magic scenery. Just ask the most famous resident in this Royal Forest - Winnie the Pooh.

the Victorian clubhouse is a cosy haven in the winter

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