» Rustington in the rain
Daniel Frickelton’s guide to the finest golf courses in Sussex. This month Rustington Golf Centre
The summer golfing season has been unusual for a variety of reasons, not least among them that we have not had to interrupt a round of golf due to wet or extreme weather even once all season, amazing when you consider the tiny number of sunshine days we have enjoyed between May and September in our grassy isles. So unaccustomed was I to even thinking about such trivia as weather conditions that I nearly forgot to bring my club cover along to Rustington, and when the Sussex winter weather finally defeated my protective charm and began to unload its pent up fury on me as I practised my putting, I struggled to remember how to attach the damned thing…so many snaps! I made a dash for the shelter of the pagoda adjacent to the first tee where my playing partners, the Golf Goddess and BB (a.k.a. Big Boy, Boyd Brain, and Bunker Bait) were huddled against the storm.
The nice people at Rustington G C had prepared us for possible delays because we were teeing off on the heels of a morning Texas Scramble tournament. Golfus interruptus is an insidious malignancy, resembling Coitus interruptus in significant ways, but far more damaging to your golf score. The scramblers ahead played at their own snail’s pace and we scrambled…to stay warm and loose. Course Marshall Pete did his admirable best to ride herd on his sluggish dogies*. By the time we had reached the tenth, we had left the scramblers behind, the sun was shining wanly but warmly, and life was good. The boys at Rustington have a great attitude about golf: they want us to have more of it, and they want us to enjoy it. It therefore came as no surprise when Pete assured us that they were currently working on new scramble rules for future tournaments.
It’s amazing how many decent golfers love a testing 9-hole course, and Rustington G C is a sparkling example of the type. Tight lies, tantalising pin positions and a full array of hazards on this pretty 2774 yd course (5548 yds for eighteen off the yellows) guarantee a truly enjoyable round of golf whatever your skill level. Better golfers will benefit from playing this visually pleasing and technically challenging parkland course. Every hole offers its unique problems and pleasures. For example, take a driver off the 480 yd first, but not if you are a congenital slicer: this will put you out of bounds on the right, and you will now struggle to make par on this otherwise generous par 5 hole. Far better to do as one of the boys in the Rustington pro shop does to guarantee a par on the first hole: he whacks three seven irons from tee to green and two-putts for his five. That’s using your head rather than more southerly body regions to make golf decisions. If you managed to hit a truly great drive, your next decision will be whether to lay up in front of the small lake guarding the green or to try and put it up there in two. Decisions, decisions… Everyone has a favourite hole at Rustington. This is one of ours, but find your own and tell us about it.
Considering the ferocity of the cloudburst which preceded our round, the course was playing magnificently. Most other golf courses are using temporary tees and greens at this time of year, and some are so covered in fallen leaves that it can prove well nigh impossible to find your ball even when you think you know exactly where it ended up. It can be difficult for addicts to cultivate their habit, and there are too many excuses for staying on the sofa during the winter months. Sound familiar? Rustington will make you smile, addicts. Their greens conform to the high standards of the USGA, and as we discovered on this wet November day, even large amounts of water drain quickly away from greens and fairways. This is quite simply one of the best courses to play in the winter time. But don’t take my word for it: go and see for yourself… and don’t forget to check out the pro shop while you’re there. Speaking of which…
If Carlsberg did pro shops, they would probably all be like Rustington G C. Manager James Latter and his capable, friendly crew must have the best selection of golf gear, clothing and accessories on the south coast. I recently bit the bullet and decided to retire my old driver. James quickly ascertained that I would benefit from a model with slightly more loft, provided me with several suitable options and with all the free range balls I needed to get familiar with each on Rustington’s covered, flood-lit, all swinging, all glancing state-of-the-art multi-bay driving range. No pressure, just friendly expertise and a fair trade in price for my traitorous old driver. Ka-ching went James’ till, and down went my scores the next couple of times I went out with my new stick. But then James’ surname, Latter, means “laughter” in Danish (you probably thought I was just another Bunker Brain), and by the look of it at Rustington G C he surely has plenty to be laughing about. Get on out there and find out why.
Dogie = Western American and Canadian word meaning “motherless calf”.
