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Daniel Frickelton’s guide to the finest golf courses in Sussex. This month Wellshurst Golf & Country Club
It is difficult to say exactly why our round at this beautiful Sussex golf course was right up there among the three best golfing experiences we have had all summer. Maybe it was the view from the first tee on thisgorgeous late autumn day with the gobsmacking colours of the trees reminding me of all my favourite comfort foods: a huge oak dressed in Rogan Josh, others dripping with honey, caramel and banoffi toffee. It might also have been the improbably glorious weather with which we were blessed. Old Mother Nature can be a harsh mother indeed, but on this October day she gently wrapped us in her warm, reassuring coat of many colours and promised us that everything would be just fine.
Hard to pin it down, but it could also have been the hearty, friendly greetings from passing golf addicts and club staff at Wellshurst. Or maybe it was the “waggle factor”, the incomparable view of GG, the Golf Goddess, as she settles into her first drive demonstrating the benefits of her well fitting golf trousers. My heart soared like an eagle… Then again, it could have been the fact that we both played unusually well. In fact, I finished fully six strokes below my handicap and went home with my head full of fantasies about winning the championship on the GT circuit. That would be the Geriatric Tour, if it existed.
“Maybe it was the “waggle factor”, the incomparable view of the Golf Goddess, as she settles into her first drive, demonstrating the benefits of her well fitting golf trousers”
At 5,618 yards off the yellow tees, Wellshurst is not the longest course we have played this year. Good bunkering and an interesting layout nevertheless combine to provide a fair and exacting test of golf skills for players of all skill levels. Golf professionals/instructors would find this course ideal for tuition. Many fairways are forgiving enough to accommodate driver shots of less than pinpoint accuracy, while others will grind a thumb into your eye for taking the wrong club out of the bag. The 334 yd par 4 fifteenth comes to mind. This sharply rightdoglegging hole wraps itself cutely around a Conservation Zone of smartly dressed (see above) deciduous trees. This means tall, and this spells trouble. It’s so simple, really: all you have to do is pop one straight out to the corner with a mid to longish iron, and then look tothe right for the pin. I left myself 10 or 15 yds short of the corner, which left me with no view of the green at all. I could waste a shot laying up to the corner or hazard a six iron over the trees towards the invisible green. Given the magical feeling about this day, I chose the latter, and the fact that my ball plopped obediently onto the green speaks volumes about the kind of day we had at Wellshurst. A Magical Mystery Tour.
Afraid of water? Your pro would march you straight down to the 422 yd par 5 sixteenth. No, I didn’t get the par wrong: it really is “only” five on this lovely hole. What the yardage marker doesn’t tell you is that your tee shot has got to carry the invisible canal dissecting the fairway if you want a view of the green for your second shot. Now, I have no idea what your views are concerning the relative merits of V-grooves vs. Cgrooves, nor do I have a clue which type my Mizunos carry, but I can assure you that Wellshurst clearly prefers the V-type for their canals. My canal was dry on this occasion. In any case, your pro would probably bypass all this nastiness and let you drop a couple of balls just short of the small lake guarding the green on this meltingly pretty signature hole.
That way, when you have predictably knocked your first attempt straight into the lake, spontaneously shouting “Oh no!” as your brain and eye track the ball’s fateful course, the pro can give you a real life lesson in the relationship between mind and body in golf in your pursuit of golf perfection. When your second attempt lands fifteen feet from the pin with a satisfying plop you will be giving the finger to the unseen boys on the neighbouring hole who burst into uncontrollable laughter when they heard your shout. More importantly, you will be smiling, feeling a tiny bit more perfect, and you will be enjoying golf.
Forget the tired old balls on the driving range; overlook the lack of a compressed air shoe cleaner. These will all materialise in time. Meanwhile, addicts, get yourselves out to Wellshurst GC and give your habit some serious food. Despite the fact that they are currently getting into winter mode, the course is playing very well and the greens running straight and true. See you there real soon.
Wellshurst Golf & Country Club
Wellshurst Golf & Country Club, North Street, Hellingly, East Sussex, BN27 4EE.
Tel (Pro Shop) 01435 813456
www.wellshurst.com
