I managed to get over to play Royal Worlington & Newmarket recently. The course is famed as the home of the Cambridge University golf team, well loved by Darwin, and perhaps the best 9 hole course in the World? The club was founded in 1893 and was originally laid out by Tom Dunn. Harry Colt was called upon in 1920 to make amendments which is appropriate as he studied at Cambridge University, however it appears that this was the first time he had seen the course as it was only adopted as the home of the Blues after he had left university.
Apologies for the quality of some of these photos! It started off as a very damp and overcast day, so check out the Courses by Country write up by Ran as well:
http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/england/rwnHere’s a view of the clubhouse, along with a rather empty car park…
Hole 1
480 yards
Bogey 5
First impressions may be that everything is rather flat? The first hole stretches out ion front of us, with the road running down the right, a classic old fashioned cross bunker to catch the topped drive, and a few other bunkers seemingly scattered about the place.
Here’s a closer luck at that cross bunker
A good drive leaves the green within reach in two for the longer hitters, but for anyone laying up there are again plenty of bunkers to concentrate the mind
Royal Worlington really comes across as a bastion of the traditional values of a golf club, but certainly in a character filled, charming way. Si I was slightly surprised to wander past a sprinkler head and see a yardage on it?
So if the first hole has seemed a little flat, its when you get to the green that you realise not everything is as flat as it seems. The greens are all full of interesting contours that will test even the best putter.
Hole 2
224 yards
Bogey 3
The second is a very good par 3. The drive is over some undulating ground but then the last 50 yards or so are fairway leading towards a green that is raised up, creating drop offs on all sides. Here is a view from the fairway just short of the green
This is the drop off over the back
Hole 3
371 yards
Bogey 4
The tee to this medium short par 4 is tucked into the corner of the property as can bee seen on this picture from the second green
The tee shot is then back over the second green, over two cross bunkers probably about 30 yards past the second green, and to a fairway with trees and a pond to the right and a hollow running up the left hand side.
The fairway narrows at about 260 yards with a fairway bunker left and a pond down in a hollow to the right. The approach to the green is then over another hollow with a stream running down the middle to a green raised up, protected front left by a bunker and falling away to the front and right.
This picture shows the proximity of the seventh green to the third green, separated by only a bunker
Hole 4
492 yards
Bogey 5
A walk through a small wooded area, brings you out at the fourth tee. This hole plays down the right side of a tree lined corridor with the sixth coming back the other way on the left as seen from the tee, with the fifth playing across the corridor at the far end. There are various bunkers down the middle between these holes along what is very much a shared fairway.
From the fairway any approach to the green is partly blind with only the flagstick sticking up above raised ground short of the green. This is the view from just short of the green
This picture taken from the fifth green shows the slope short of the green (line of play is from the right of the photo). Having twice got close to the green and then tried a delicate pitch down the slope, I suspect the smart play is to lay back and have a pretty full shot in to the green, to stop you from trying to be too cute with the approach? This picture also shows the small stream behind and to the right side of the fourth green and the fifth tee on the far side.
Hole 5
155 yards
Bogey 3
What a cracking short hole this one is! The tee shot is over the previous green, and to a green that is only 155 yards away, but the green must be only about 10 yards wide and with drop offs on both sides so only a perfect shot will do.
From just short of the green, it all starts to become clear. There are several different tiers to the green stepping up towards the back, and the fall off to each side are cut to fairway length. Left is down to a grassy pit, right is rough and a stream beyond (though should be out of reach to all but the very worst shot)
Looking from the back left shows the drop off to this side clearer
And then from the back right also
Just a slight pull or push will mean the ball catches the edge of the green but runs away leaving you with the choice of a bump and run up the slope or a higher shot carried all the way. Either way though, there is a fair chance that unless you’ve a sharp short game your next shot could be from the hollow on the other side?
Hole 6
460 yards
Bogey 5 / Par 4
You will have noticed that Royal Worlington still use bogey instead of par. The sixth, along with the eighth are the two holes that have a par designation one shot less than their bogey designation, as there are a few references to par at the club. The drive here is across the line of play of the previous hole, with the fifth green off to the right. Trees tight on the right, and bunkers and the fourth fairway off to the left.
The trees are very tight on the approach to the green, with plenty of bunkers off to the left to catch anyone not brave enough
This picture shows how everything opens up again once you get past the trees
Hole 7
163 yards
Bogey 3
After the last 3 holes within the tree lined playing corridor, the seventh tees off from within the trees, to a green set back out in the more open country. The shot is played across a wide hollow, similar to the one to the left of the third hole, proving that though the land appears flat on first impression, there is plenty of character to the landscape. This is the view from just short of the green, after coming up out of the hollow
And the view back from behind the green, with the tee in the trees
Hole 8
461 yards
Bogey 5 / Par 4
Another tough long par 4 that receives the bogey 5 designation! The tee shot here is just over the corner of the previous green.
The fairway bunkers left and right, are reasonably deep leaving the only real option of trying to just advance your recovery down the fairway, though in this case, it may prevent you from getting into the cross bunkers up ahead.
View of the green from level with the 3 cross bunkers about 90 yards short of the green
Hole 9
317 yards
Bogey 4
A short par 4 to finish and certainly a birdie chance, but plenty of room for a higher score also! First there is a small walk back to the tee from the previous hole, which is a little surprising as almost all the other holes have tees pretty close to the previous green. The drive is then to a fairway set at an angle off to the right. Play safe left and you will probably run out of fairway, so take on the corner as much as you dare, or perhaps a fade would be ideal. A ditch catches anyone trying to take on too much.
A good drive will leave a short iron or a pitch to a green sitting in front of the clubhouse. However, there are two things that are quite apparent. Firstly the road that has to be played over and secondly the wicked tilt of the green from left to right. The road is a public road, and I would love to know what happens when a group of low handicap university students turn up and all start trying to knock their drives close to the green?!
This view from behind the green, shows the steepness of the tilt to the green, so even if your pitch is close to the holes, there’s no guarantee of that birdie.
So for the nine holes that’s 3,123 yards and a Bogey of 37 or a par of 35, giving a total for a full eighteen holes as 6,246 yards and Bogey 74 or Par 70.
Is it the best 9 hole course in the World? I can’t comment on that, but of the nine hole courses I’ve played in Britain, I enjoyed Charnwood Forest and the history of Mussleburgh Old, but there is certainly more interest for us GCA geeks over this very small area of land at Royal Worlington than any other 9 hole course I’ve played!
Cheers,
James