Tom,
There are a number of factors why I think it has lost its bite for me. The main ones are:
Removal of trees - for makes the tee shots generally less intimidating - I don't have real issues getting out of heather however if trees are in the way its an issue. Number of examples are:
Hole 1 - Off the tee hitting left was not the ideal opening shot however the trees removed and replaced by bunkers has made it easier and the trees surrounding the green at the rear used to be more intimidating for the player not to hit the ball too long now it is more playable from the rear
Hole 2 - the chute from the tee has now disappeared and opened up the vista making the fairway bunkers more visible however it makes the fairway looks wider
Hole 4 - Any hooks were punished now its mostly heather which is more of a hit or miss in terms of the lie however there is more chance to hit the green
Holes 6, 7, 8 and 9 - Looks so much wider and less intimidating
Hole 13 - used to be the hardest driving hole on the course however with the tree removal on the right it has made the hole more forgiving of the tee even though bunker have been restored here
Holes 14, 15, 16 and 17 - used to be tight now it is all opened up so again less intimidating off the tee.
Hole 18 - feels shorter from the back tee as a number of large trees at the corner have gone and replaced by bunkers.
Bunkers - The access to the bunkers are more sensible from a health and safety standpoint which in other ways makes it less intimidating compared to going down a ladder or small steps on steep banks.
Some bunkers have been pulled away from the green allowing for easier maintenance and access to entrance to greens feels wider so some greens feel less tight.
Widening the fairway - I do understand the reasoning of this to try and get the ball into the heather however it makes more drives go further as long as they don't get in the heather
Playing angles - 5th hole tees now moved to the right hand side of the 4th green i think has increased the width of the green than playing off the old tee on the left hand side of the 4th green which made it look narrow.
The current state of golf - Woodhall has not been lengthened for a long while and when I first played it it was a shade over 6900 yards in the 1990s and that was long. At 7080 yards (early 2000s) of the tips and 6500 off the yellows it doesn't feel as long as it used to be thanks to the ball and the large headed drivers.
I am for tree removal if the playing surface and natural environment will be improved, sensible access to bunkers from a health and safety standpoint which is the case at Woodhall which is now a more forgiving and fairer golf course in general.
However for Woodhall to get its bite back as a championship course I feel that some holes need to be lengthened and tightened up to bring the intimidatory factor back like the drives on 6, 9, 11 and 13 feels like it needs more hazards nearer the centre line - bunker or a grassy hollow with heather faces etc. Hole 14 is intimidating off the tee with all the heather as an example. Golf courses evolve over time and I feel that a few minor tweaks are still required at Woodhall. This is just a personal opinion having played it numerous times over the last 25 years - others may be different.
Also the Bracken course needs reworking IMO and I am wondering will Renaissance Golf be working on it in the near future?
Ben
Ben:
I'm curious how you think the course has lost any of its bite. We added about 15 bunkers and the main point of widening the fairways was to let balls run to the heather. I suppose clearing back trees on a few holes has made recovering for a bogey easier, and you shouldn't get as many gnarly lies on bunker faces, but that was the goal of the whole exercise.
We couldn't teally make the bunkers any deeper on 14, there's not much sand down there before you reach clay.