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Ben Stephens

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #25 on: October 05, 2011, 05:20:30 AM »
Adrian:  Sign me up for the 'Cotswold Quirk'!  That would be a great couple of days.  Hawtree may have worked on Cleeve Hill but it would have been before my time.  We didn't do anything between 91-96 when I was there.  I'd be interested to join you at CH to do a bit of archaeology and see if we can root out those old holes.  I didn't play those holes up and down the hill you mention, so would like to see those too.

Tony:  Not played Clyne, but walked a coupe of holes with you last year at BUDA.

Robin,

There is an 1945 aerial of Cleeve Cloud - its difficult to see where exactly the greens were!

Cheers
Ben

Adrian_Stiff

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #26 on: October 05, 2011, 11:13:14 AM »
Adrian:  Sign me up for the 'Cotswold Quirk'!  That would be a great couple of days.  Hawtree may have worked on Cleeve Hill but it would have been before my time.  We didn't do anything between 91-96 when I was there.  I'd be interested to join you at CH to do a bit of archaeology and see if we can root out those old holes.  I didn't play those holes up and down the hill you mention, so would like to see those too.

Tony:  Not played Clyne, but walked a coupe of holes with you last year at BUDA.
Robin that would be great to uncover the old holes. 7 and 8 were great. April or May would be the best times for a 2 night-4 rounde, just let me know some good dates for everyone. Stinchcombe Hill is another nice shorty thats close and worth an add on.

Friday - Cleeve Hill 2.00  stay Canons Court Mews Night in Chipping Sodbury
Saturday - Painswick 9.30 & Minchinhampton Old 3.00 stay Canons Court Mews Night in Wootton Under Edge
Sunday - Stinchcombe Hill 9.30 & Stranahan Course 3.00

Might be too much golf but I can do that for £149 I think.
A combination of whats good for golf and good for turf.
The Players Club, Cumberwell Park, The Kendleshire, Oake Manor, Dainton Park, Forest Hills, Erlestoke, St Cleres.
www.theplayersgolfclub.com

Adrian_Stiff

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #27 on: October 05, 2011, 11:18:01 AM »

Robin,

There is an 1945 aerial of Cleeve Cloud - its difficult to see where exactly the greens were!

Cheers
Ben
[/quote] Ben - The 1945 and todays aerial are quite similar yet between 1960s and 1990 the course ommitted what is no 10 11 and 12. There was another hole linking between what is now 9 and 13. It appears to me that todays 10-12 are resurrected from the 1940s course. If you look at Google earth you will see a par 3 2nd hole, it was pretty short, that was a newish hole thats already gone.
A combination of whats good for golf and good for turf.
The Players Club, Cumberwell Park, The Kendleshire, Oake Manor, Dainton Park, Forest Hills, Erlestoke, St Cleres.
www.theplayersgolfclub.com

Adrian_Stiff

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #28 on: October 05, 2011, 11:24:17 AM »
I am chuckling away to myself reading this tour - where the hell did you find this place?? Do you have a "quirky golf courses containing sheep" guide that you dip into every now and again? :)

Please can you unearth a few gems close to central London and post further details!
Brian - Thats about it for the quirky Gloucestershire courses, Stinchcombe has some cute bits though overall is flatter ground with less abrupt bits. Wiltshire has a few quirky spots at Kingsdown, GCA fans will want to putt for hours on the 4th green and love the green settings at 8, 9, 10. Not much in Somerset I can think off that falls into this category, though further south Yelverton and Tavistock have lots of quirk. I am not familiar enough with the courses going East, but Frilfords Green course might tick some boxes too.
A combination of whats good for golf and good for turf.
The Players Club, Cumberwell Park, The Kendleshire, Oake Manor, Dainton Park, Forest Hills, Erlestoke, St Cleres.
www.theplayersgolfclub.com

Tony_Muldoon

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #29 on: October 05, 2011, 11:38:20 AM »
Adrian:  Sign me up for the 'Cotswold Quirk'!  That would be a great couple of days.  Hawtree may have worked on Cleeve Hill but it would have been before my time.  We didn't do anything between 91-96 when I was there.  I'd be interested to join you at CH to do a bit of archaeology and see if we can root out those old holes.  I didn't play those holes up and down the hill you mention, so would like to see those too.

Tony:  Not played Clyne, but walked a coupe of holes with you last year at BUDA.
Robin that would be great to uncover the old holes. 7 and 8 were great. April or May would be the best times for a 2 night-4 rounde, just let me know some good dates for everyone. Stinchcombe Hill is another nice shorty thats close and worth an add on.

Friday - Cleeve Hill 2.00  stay Canons Court Mews Night in Chipping Sodbury
Saturday - Painswick 9.30 & Minchinhampton Old 3.00 stay Canons Court Mews Night in Wootton Under Edge
Sunday - Stinchcombe Hill 9.30 & Stranahan Course 3.00

Might be too much golf but I can do that for £149 I think.

Might be best to take this off line but if I can do it I’m in.  Thanks Adrian.

 I’d prefer a date in March but that’s just me.  Also, finishing Sunday lunchtime would be great (with optional extras for some).
Let's make GCA grate again!

Tony_Muldoon

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD (finito)
« Reply #30 on: October 06, 2011, 12:35:47 AM »

Spangles

That is an interesting idea about diminishing returns on quirk (presumably gravity golf quirk?).  Do you have experience with this from another course?

Ciao


I’ve asked this Question before when there’s lots of Quirk involved, but you are the first to bite.

My home course Epping GC near London features 3 blind Par 3’s and a very drivable blind par 4.  They are all essentially all hit and hope.  After 4 years of playing the course these holes have not become more fun each time I play it. Clearly there is an overuse of this ‘Quirky’ feature.

I quite enjoyed having a go at Cruden Bay’s loopy Par 3, No 15, because I wanted to see if I could find the green.  In 3 attempts I failed.  I know you don’t like it, and maybe it’s a bad example as the design is flawed, but I understand many members don’t like it and I can see why. 


I would also add that this kind of hole works less well inland.
 Firstly if the soil is clay the bounce is always a bit unpredictable at least compared to a sand based one.  Imagining a shot, executing it well and then, if blindness is involved, not having a clue about what happened next can become tiresome. It’s one thing to see a ball bounce off line or to have an option to hit somewhere safe but if it’s the soil or drainage issues causing uncertainty that’s not fun.  There was more of this “old fashioned golf” in the (so called) “dark ages”, and it’s the reason why heathland golf was so embraced.
 Secondly Quirk plus wind requires a lot more thought than hit to the same place each time and hope. 

I’m still undecided on this but like most things in life there’s more nuance to Quirk than just having a love/hate relationship with it.  I realise the examples I gave are blind shots so maybe I need to think it out more.  Extreme sideways slopes on fairways can get tiring too. Again the secret is not to overuse this feature. Overly canted greens are easily overdone.   Epping has two that are extreme and two that are only slightly less than this- acceptable. 

On here we may be overrating courses that are a bunch of fun to play a few times because they feature quirk.  That’s fine as long as we understand that they may not stand upto repeat play.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2011, 02:03:32 AM by Tony_Muldoon »
Let's make GCA grate again!

Sean_A

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #31 on: October 06, 2011, 03:01:31 AM »
Spangles

You sound a bit Dr Macazian.  He too wasn't sold on the idea of blind shots - especially approaches. 

I still can't really determine what funk is.  Most of the time folks refer to funk when its simply a matter of draping a course over the land rather than digging it in per se.  For example, I never thought Pennard was funky except for in a few spots (mainly 17). There are not nearly as many blind shots as folks contend and most of those are inconsequential blindness.  Perhaps its the whole package of up n' down, elephants' graveyards and consistently true f&f (no watering) conditions which lead people to conclude Pennard is funky.  I think of it as good design using what is on offer.  Now, I can point to one truly funky course, North Berwick. Me calling it funky is basically due a culmination of the entire course; walls, 16th green, blind shots, water holes, centreline bunker, Redan and a few other reasons.  None of the featurs are overdone and they combine to create what IS a unique golfing experience.  Then again, we could all say TOC is funky if only for the bunkering and double greens.  And then there is Painswick - which may be the ultimate (surviving) design by necessity. 

For me, you hit the nail on the head by hinting at conditions.  I don't believe Painswick's design is well supported by its turf and maintenance and this is a huge tick against it for me - well that and the 8th & 9th sharing a fairway.  I find it amazing that modern archies can harp on about safety issues and not hold this up as one of the most serious safety transgressions in the golf world.  I wonder about Cleeve Cloud.  In general the turf looks very good, but there are spots which are very dubious.  There is of course the issue of drainage as well.  Holes designed over hill seams strike me as potentially bad news - like a river runs through it bad news. 

I am not sure where I am going with all this except to say that perhaps what we usually mean by funky is budget conscious design by necessity.  I have yet to come across one of these sorts of courses that makes me tempted to join and thus test the weeky diet thesis.  The closest I have come by far is Kington, but weather conditions are just too severe to really make this a viable option unless I lived much closer to the course.  Kington is quite unusual in the funk dept because its funk in the main makes the course MORE playable and highly strategic.  Its a superb, incredibly simple, and highly unique solution to the age old problem of hilly terrain. 

Sorry if this is all a bit of ramble, but as you say, black n' white for funk just doesn't apply. 

Ciao 
« Last Edit: July 10, 2016, 08:35:17 PM by Sean_A »
New plays planned for 2024:Winterfield & Alnmouth,

James Boon

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #32 on: October 06, 2011, 04:12:42 AM »
Sean,

A great tour, many thanks for posting!

In discussing quirk and safety above you mention 8 and 9 at Painswick sharing a fairway. I have said before that my love of Painswick comes from playing it early morning or less busy periods. However, I can imagine that a busy day with people walking, biking and picnicking all over the course as well as more than a handful of fourballs, could be nothing short of Russian Roulette? If Adrian arranges the Cotswold Quirk, I'd happily tag along, complete with hard hat!  ;D

Thanks again!

Cheers,

James
2023 Highlights: Hollinwell (Notts), Brora, Aberdovey, Royal St Davids, Woodhall Spa, Broadstone, Parkstone, Cleeve, Painswick, Minchinhampton, Hoylake

"It celebrates the unadulterated pleasure of being in a dialogue with nature while knocking a ball round on foot." Richard Pennell

Mark Pearce

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #33 on: October 06, 2011, 10:02:14 AM »
Good quirk endures, bad quirk doesn't.  I've never heard anyone complain that the quirk at Elie gets tired because, fundamentally, the quirky holes are good holes.  I got bored of 15 at Cruden Bay with one play.  Bad architecture is bad, however quirky.
In June I will be riding the first three stages of this year's Tour de France route for charity.  630km (394 miles) in three days, with 7800m (25,600 feet) of climbing for the William Wates Memorial Trust (https://rideleloop.org/the-charity/) which supports underprivileged young people.

Bill_McBride

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #34 on: October 06, 2011, 02:55:42 PM »
Sean, that aerial of #13 looks a lot like the hilltop Iron Age fort at Painswick.  Parallel trenches make the fortifications.

Hard to believe, but Cleeve Cloud looks even more quirky than Painswick!

Jason Topp

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #35 on: October 06, 2011, 03:27:41 PM »
Sean:

You must hold some kind of record for dodging the most sheep droppings of anyone on this site.  Thanks for the tour.

Sean_A

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #36 on: October 07, 2011, 12:07:04 PM »
Ace

Cleeve Cloud is Painswick light as there is no course on earth as quirky as Painswick. 

Mr Topp

I don't always avoid the sheep dip!

Ciao
« Last Edit: May 19, 2020, 03:53:07 AM by Sean_A »
New plays planned for 2024:Winterfield & Alnmouth,

Sean_A

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD
« Reply #37 on: March 31, 2012, 05:10:36 PM »
The Winter Tour concluded today, please take a look at the slightly updated tour.  The wind was 180 degrees to the last time out and the course played just as well.  In fact, it was most impressive.  The course holds up quite well to the bangers, even the smooth swinging cranker, Ben, couldn't break 75 in a mild wind of 12ish mph. 

Previous stops:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51629.0.html  Painswick

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,25590.0.html  Droitwich

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35050.0.html  Blackwell

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,42178.0.html  Stratford

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51420.0.html  Saunton West

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51415.0.html  Saunton East

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51321.0.html  Sutton Coldfield

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,32228.0.html  Huntercombe  

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,35648.0.html  Whittington Heath

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,40029.0.html  Edgbaston

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50805.0.html  Sherwood Forest

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,32655.0.html  Woking

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50427.0.html  Berkhamsted

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,46538.0.html  Coxmoor

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,37725.0.html  Temple

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,38973.0.html  Little Aston

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,30965.0.html  Beau Desert

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,33988.0.html  Notts

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50088.0.html  The Old Course

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50086.0.html  The New Course

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50078.0.html  The Castle Course

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,30926.0.html  Kington

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,37526.0.html   Harborne

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49998.0.html   Worcester G&CC

Ciao
 
« Last Edit: April 01, 2012, 03:34:37 AM by Sean Arble »
New plays planned for 2024:Winterfield & Alnmouth,

Ben Stephens

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2011/12 Winter Tour
« Reply #38 on: April 01, 2012, 03:47:40 PM »
Sean (or should it be Fidel? with a red cap and a cigar! ;D),

Firstly for the game of golf 'Walking in the Clouds' I had a hoot walking up and down the 'Himalayan' course at Cleeve Hill

Secondly for the updated photo thread which included me in that blasted ditch on the 18th - my ball just caught the top of the bank and came back in the ditch and rolled downwards from right to left by 30 yards!!

Thirdly for mentioning that I did not break 75 - I actually got 76 (with no birdies and would have had 74 hadnt I not missed that little tiddler on 17th and not been in that ditch on 18!) the holes are a tough birdie but an easy par at times!

Really enjoyable course with the widest fairways I have ever seen in my life with lovely green surroundings and setting!

Cheers
Ben

Tony_Muldoon

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2011/12 Winter Tour
« Reply #39 on: April 01, 2012, 04:55:44 PM »
I'd forgotten it was CC that generated that debate and started the process for this past excelelnt weekend.

Now I've played it I have to say it's clearly a superior course to Epping but I still don't know how 'good' it is.  Still I think everyone should see it for themselves and if you don’t enjoy your day it’s probably because you’re dead.

Ben you must have been nailing your shots.  Trying to figure out the wind and the slopes, on a day I was hitting it indifferently, did for me.   I think you have to be much more focussed and precise here than at Minchampton.  Sometimes an average drive finished 50 yards off line , the net effect was often just to make the hole play a good deal  longer but still...

Sean I liked the green on 8 but I am at a complete loss as to what you like about the 10th?







Hit and hope to a bland green partly obscured by gorse.  I thought you disliked both drop shot par 3’s and gorse? What gives?  IMO easily the worst hole on the course.


The course to compare this with is Minchampton.   Due to the extreme slopes this is a better test off the tee and has some stunning holes; but I thought the best green sites at Minchampton were better than  anything here.

Very cool mini tour. Thanks Adrian for superb organisation  and I do suggest anyone wanting to play in this area contact Adrian for beautiful accommodation and superb value.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2012, 05:29:33 PM by Tony_Muldoon »
Let's make GCA grate again!

Sean_A

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2011/12 Winter Tour
« Reply #40 on: April 01, 2012, 06:23:26 PM »
Spangles

I think all three of Painswick, Minch Old and Cleeve Cloud are totally different in their designs and more importantly how they feel.  Thinking on that, the similar age of all three on similar soil - this is quite remarkable. 

I disagree concerning green sites.  Cleeve Cloud has some terrific sites in #s 5, 6, 12, 13 and 17 with the fifth being awesome.  The best sites at Minch Old are 5, 8, 10, 11 and 16.  I don't see any discernible difference in quality between the two.

#10 is interesting because of the wind and ground conditions.  I might also add that it is highly unusual being in the seam of a valley.   

Having thought on it some, I still prefer Cleeve Cloud to either Painswick or Minch Old.  The fantastic views and space sell it for me.  That said, I like all three and would go back to all even if I don't think I would recommend folks go out of their way for a game at Minch Old.  I highly suspect that Quirky Cotswolders will place Minch Old #3, although, I really like the multiple use of the land and it is what I think of as true common land. 

Ciao
« Last Edit: May 19, 2020, 03:55:15 AM by Sean_A »
New plays planned for 2024:Winterfield & Alnmouth,

Robert Thompson

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2011/12 Winter Tour
« Reply #41 on: April 01, 2012, 08:31:49 PM »
Ian Andrew and I have spoken for a while about doing a UK trip that doesn't take in any big names. Cleeve looks exactly like a course one would like to see --- but wouldn't be on most lists. Kind of like our visit to Delamere Forest a couple of years back -- great golf. And there's so much of it throughout England that is rarely discussed.

Thanks for the tour Sean.
Terrorizing Toronto Since 1997

Read me at Canadiangolfer.com

Ben Stephens

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2011/12 Winter Tour
« Reply #42 on: April 02, 2012, 04:40:21 AM »
Ian Andrew and I have spoken for a while about doing a UK trip that doesn't take in any big names. Cleeve looks exactly like a course one would like to see --- but wouldn't be on most lists. Kind of like our visit to Delamere Forest a couple of years back -- great golf. And there's so much of it throughout England that is rarely discussed.

Thanks for the tour Sean.

Robert,

There are a few more quirky courses within a 100 mile radius of Bristol, other than Painswick, Cleeve Cloud and Minchinhampton there are also:

Stinchcombe Hill which I thought was an enjoyable 5800 yarder on top of a hill and it is close by.

There is also West Monmouthshire in Wales for quirkiness and further North there is Llandrindod Wells and Kington.

Also further west there is Southerndown and Pyle + Kenfig which are a must play.

Birmingham area (Arble's blighty backyard) is an hour away
 
If you need accomodation please IM Adrian Stiff as he has fantastic facilities available - I am sure Tony will also testify.

Cheers
Ben


Tony_Muldoon

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2011/12 Winter Tour
« Reply #43 on: April 03, 2012, 07:35:15 AM »
This was the most testing of the three with a reasonable bit of wind thrown in.   Note: dress well when up there it quickly chills you. For some reason it had the least grass on it of the three.


I have to admit I underestimated the challenge of this course.  With everything looking so wide open I kept firing away to little effect.  You get some pretty extreme lies here and trying to hit a mid long iron off them in a cross wind is little short of folly, when an average shot can run 70 yards down and away.

A final thought.  There are a few too many blind tee shots.  It’s not much fun repeatedly aiming at a direction pole, but it’s hard to see what else they could have done. 

Having said all that I can’t wait to go back.

The 13th is as Sean says astonishing, but I can’t help dreaming about bringing it forward a little and putting a Biarritz style swale in the that green where it runs between the two parralel mounds.  Watching the ball run down hill, disappearing and then reappearing would be magic.


 
 

I realise this is making a tough hole harder but I can’t help fantasising about it.
Let's make GCA grate again!

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2011/12 Winter Tour
« Reply #44 on: April 03, 2012, 09:12:57 AM »
Spangles

I too wonder how the grass was so short all over the place.  I presume animals were involved (I did see some in the summer) as I can't imagine the course being mowed to such width.  Mentioning the width, it is incredible how wide so many of the holes are and yet how easy it is to be out of position.  One has to pay attention to the wind in setting up for approaches.  Remember, the wind was only about 12mph, but from the northeast.  Our group had only one birdie!  As I say, Cleeve Cloud is a totally different animal to Painswick.  Painswick is a MUCH more prescribed (tighter and far more forced carries) course where the real choice off the tee is about laying up or going for it.  In the end, as it is with all golf, both are target courses (stupid phrase really), but what matters is how one gets to the target. 

You are right, there are too many blind shots at Cleeve Cloud, but they are nearly all inconsequential because of width.  I think Painswick has too many greens running steeply away from downhill fairways.  It gets old trying to figure out where one can land a shot and the consequences are far greater than the blind shots at CC.   

I wonder if the club can further alter the 13th green? 

Ciao     
New plays planned for 2024:Winterfield & Alnmouth,

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2012/13 Winter Tour
« Reply #45 on: February 03, 2013, 01:08:40 PM »
Its been a dreadful tour to date - only seven venues visited - the weather has been that bad.  Last Friday we headed up the hill for a game hoping for dry conditions and for the most part we were successful.  Though there were several squelchy areas which could have used a good mudder plodding about.  Anyway, an updated tour.  

Previous stops on the 2012/13 Winter Tour

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,37725.msg777627.html#msg777627  Temple

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,30965.0.html  Beau Desert

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,36467.0.html  New Zealand

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,54349.0.html  West Berkshire

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51321.0.html  Sutton Coldfield

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,42178.0.html  Stratford upon Avon

Ciao
« Last Edit: February 03, 2013, 02:53:12 PM by Sean Arble »
New plays planned for 2024:Winterfield & Alnmouth,

Phil McDade

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2012/13 Winter Tour
« Reply #46 on: February 03, 2013, 02:42:30 PM »
Thanks Sean, for bringing this course back to the forefront; it's one of the more fascinating course yours I've seen posted here.

Neil White

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Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2012/13 Winter Tour
« Reply #47 on: February 16, 2013, 10:32:13 AM »
I had the pleasure of joining Sean for a game at Cleeve Cloud and came away with a pretty high estimation of the course, especially when compared to both Church Stretton and Kington. 

Whilst not as hard a test of golf than either Church Stretton or Kington, Cleeve offered up an alternative challenge dictated on the whole by the amount of room available and numerous sidehill approaches, that I imagine in the summer would need plenty of skill and luck to find the necessary angle into the green sites. 

I also found it an 'easy' walk despite the number of climbs that I felt were punctuated perfectly with descents which came as a welcome break throughout the round.

I took the liberty of taking a few photos during the round - some may be duplicated from Sean's collection so please forgive me.

No. 1 - A blind drive leads to an approach into a green best taken on from the left - this photo shows the view coming in over an approach bunker on the right.



From the right of the green you can see a small rise created to make an approach from this side more problematic.



No. 2 - A fantastic green site - and one of only a few on Cleeve Cloud that are more akin to those found on Church Stretton and particularly Kington.  This photo also gives an indication of the steep slopes encountered at Cleeve.



And from the rear with a tricky greenside bunker set a good 3 or 4 feet above the green.



No. 3 - Another photo showing the topography of the site - this time just after the drive up onto a plateau which holds the green.  My drive went right of the post and left a tricky chip into the green.





No. 4 - The view from behind the fourth green shows the openness of the course - from right to left are the fairways of the fourth, fifth and seventh.



No. 5 - An interesting green location set in between gorse bushes.  Your drive wants to take the slope and leak to the right, leaving a blind second - however to be able to see the green requires a drive that flirts precariously with the gorse on the left, as I found out to my cost.



No. 6 - A hole with a certain 'wow' factor.  Only a flick with a mid to short iron but anything coming up short or right is dead.



No. 7 - Another stunning greensite.  From the fairway you get no indication of what lies immediately behind the green.



The green also slopes severely from back to front making any recovery from the rear ever so awkward.





No. 8 - A drive straight uphill - again giving indication to the space afforded to you when playing Cleeve.



No. 9 - As is the case on many of the holes at Cleeve finding the wrong side of the fairway can make your approach tricky.  This photo is of the green from the 10th tee and suggests that coming in from the right is virtually impossible due to the steep slope and bunker.




Neil White

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2012/13 Winter Tour
« Reply #48 on: February 16, 2013, 11:26:45 AM »
No. 10 - Whilst not as visually dramatic as the other Par 3's on Cleeve the tenth is still no shrinking violet.  Unable to see the green due to gorse blocking your view you get no indication just how much room there is to the right of the green.  Using the left route as an approach is complicated by longer grass which will hold up your ball.



No. 12 - Yet another blind drive up a steep hill this time leaving a mid-iron approach into a green set further up the hill.  The green is benched into the hill side and has a dramatic fall off at the front.  This photo taken from the rear also hides the fact that at the front right is a deep grass bunker making any recovery from there very difficult.



No. 13 - Cleeves standout hole due to its green location within the earthwork of an old fort.  Everything on Cleeve is large in scale - the same goes for the 150 yard markers which are hewn out of huge pieces of quarry stone.



The 'bridge' as Sean refers to it that connects the fairway to the green is very narrowly cut out of the earthworks - anything right or left of this leaves an almost impossible recovery shot onto a steep front to rear sloping green.







No. 14 - After a further blind drive over the crest of a hill the fourteenth presents itself with a greensite that runs along the spine of the hill.  Left is best into this green as a grass bunker and narrow swale sit between you and the green on the right hand side.





No. 15 - The first of two par 3's on the bounce which make good use of 'dead' ground between tee and green.  On this occasion it is a deep quarry.





No. 16 - And on this one it is some wonderful naturalised former quarry land....... Just shy of 200 yards and uphill to boot too.



No. 17 - A downhill par 4 where the fairway narrows severely between two immense quarry pits.  I took 3 wood off the tee and was left with a decent view into the green.  The right hand greenside bunker sits perfectly where you want to run your ball into the green so an aerial shot is required or you accept your approach leaks left with the slope.



No. 18 - A mid-length par 4 to a greensite benched into the hillside.  Short and left of the green reminds you again of the type of land on which you have played at Cleeve.



I had very little in the way of expectation with Cleeve - whilst nowhere near as tight as either Kington or Church Stretton it had its own appeal and is a definite replay in the summer when I imagine the challenge will be heightened by faster and firmer conditions.

Another big plus is that it was only £13.00 to play with a county card.  Stunning.




Neil White

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Quarries of CLEEVE CLOUD: 2012/13 Winter Tour
« Reply #49 on: February 17, 2013, 08:36:28 AM »
Absolutely heavenly. Thanks Neil - amazing pics, especially 16!

Thanks Brian.

It really was an experience to behold - the views on the day we played were fantastic with near 100% visibility 360 degrees round.  The course really does deserve the 'Cloud' in its name as you feel you are playing at the foot of heaven.

Neil.


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