Holes to Note:

3^rd hole, 330 yards: The most appealing hole on the course, the 3^rd starts off with an old-fashioned blind drive to a tumbling fairway before a precise pitch to the elevated green.

The pitch to the 3rd.

4^th hole, 185 yards: Another example of how wonderfully simple one-shotters that play from one hill-top to another can be, the 4^th is more sophisticated that might initially appear. The player cannot see what is right of the green, and he will find there a sharp drop-off as well as two deep bunkers. He is thus tempted to favor the left side of the green, where there is also plenty of fairway leading down the slope. It would take a terrible shot, he thinks, to find that bunker on the left at the bottom of the hill. However, in actuality he need miss the green by only one or two yards to the left to watch his ball slowly roll the 20 yards down the hill into that very bunker, leaving a most unfriendly recovery prospect.

Believe it or not, that bunker on the left is very much in play on the 4th.

7^th hole, 420 yards: A wonderful combination of traditional links golf and the start of the art of golf course architecture, the 7^th features a green tucked behind a hill. However, unlike, say, the 17^th at Prestwick, a drive down the left side will open up the green considerably. A drive down the right (even in the fairway) will leave a completely blind second to a green that is now set crosswise to the player.

8^th hole, 390 yards: The 8^th features the nerviest shot on the course with its drive that actually crosses the corner of the country road down the right side. As with the 7^th, the 8^th provides a fine example of strategic golf: the closer one drives to the road (out of bounds), the easier his second will be; the farther from the road he drives, the more difficult his second will be, because of the sidehill lie in rough.

Looking across the 7th green up the 8th fairway.  Note: The 8th tee is a good 30 yards to the right.

13^th hole, 500 yards: The most famous hole at Seacroft, the 13^th is somewhat of a rarity in links golf: a sharp dog-leg (this one to the right). The player attempting to reach the green with his second must fire his ball out over what looks like No Man’s Land up a bunker-infested slope toward the green with the marsh below on the right just a few of yards from the green. The green is the spot on the course affording the player the best view of the North Sea, but it is only a glimpse across a mile of the marsh.

The second to the 13th: Where is he going??  The green is on line with the right edge of the right bunker.

14^th hole, 175 yards: The most (perhaps only!) photographed hole at Seacroft, the 14^th plays along the ridge, with a sea of gorse masking the drop-off to the left.

The intimidating 14th.

Given the quality of the course, then, why does Seacroft not enjoy a stronger reputation? The few people the authors know who have played there highly commend it. The day after their round at Seacroft, the authors were at Royal Worlington and Newmaket, no more than a two hours’ drive from Skegness. When told that they had played Seacroft the previous afternoon, a RW&N member who had not played there asked how they enjoyed the course, adding quickly 'I understand it is quite good.' Skegness is much easier to reach than, say, Machrihanish or Dornoch, as evidenced by its status as a summer holiday town. Without the obstacles of geography or access, there is no good reason for it not to enjoy an international reputation. Until Seacroft surfaces in more articles and lists, the authors will continue to scratch their heads over its relative anonymity.

© Copyright GCA 1999 - 2000. All rights reserved.