The
Grove ****
Chandlers
Cross, Rickmansworth,
WD3 4TG
Nearest main town:
Rickmansworth
American
course designer
Kyle
Phillips created a links classic at
Kingsbarns in the
kingdom of Fife a few
years
back, and now he's produced another class
act -
this time just off
the M25!
Construction
at the multi-talented architect's latest
high-profile UK layout started in June 2000,
though the course itself didn't officially open
until the end of summer 2003. Phillips wanted to
make absolutely
certain that
everything was in place
and
just right, and the wait has truly
been worthwhile.
He's produced a stunning 7170-yard, par-72
layout
in 300 acres of
mature parkland on the former estate of the
Earls of Clarendon.
It simply looks
as though it's been around forever, rather
than just a matter of
months. It's that good and it's going to get a
whole lot better too.
The people
at the Grove may seem a tad biased when they
claim their venue is 'one of the most exciting
golfing developments in the UK for many years',
but, to be fair, they're not too far off the
mark.
The
course is an
absolute baiter with a host of superb holes, of
which the par-4 3rd, where the green is guarded
by the appropriately named Hell's lake, is
arguably the most demanding and memorable of
them all. But what you'll probably remember most
are the greens, which are incredibly fast and
true.
So the next
time you're stuck in traffic on the dreaded M25
with your clubs in the boot, you know where to
head for!
Secretary: Ms M. Twyman
(Administration)
Tel:
01923 296103
Fax:
01923
221008
Professional:
Mr B. Reid
Tel: 01923 296100
Playing: Midweek: round £65.00-£95.00; day
n/a. Weekend:
round n/a;
day
n/a.
Facilities:
Bar:
Mon-Thurs 11 am-11 pm, Fri/Sat 11 am-12 midnight, Sun 11 am-10.30pm.
Food:
Mon-
Thurs
11.30am-10.30pm, Fri 11.30am-11 pm,
Sat 7 am11 pm, Sun 7am-4.30pm.
Comments: Just
as good as the designer's Kingsbarns classic...Hard
to believe you're just a booming driver away from
the dreaded M25 ... A new course with a rosy
future. . . It's one of those courses you've just
got to play - and play...It's expensive but well
worth the outlay...The greens were magnifique ...Also has three swimming pools and a
30,000-square-foot luxury spa.
Hanbury Manor Golf Club ****
Funridge, Ware, SG12
0SD
Nearest main town:
Ware
Creating the
perfect country-house retreat is a tricky business.
Sometimes the quest for authenticity clouds the
issue and often does the opposite, making for a
feeling of falseness - almost a film-set atmosphere
rather than the real thing. Hanbury Manor was an
ambitious project, turning a former convent into a
luxury hotel with a championship golf course in its
grounds, but it has been more successful than most.
There is no
doubting the expertise that has shaped the golf
course. It may not have been Jack Nicklaus himself
who crafted the beautifully lush and intriguing
holes, but his son Jack Jnr has done an excellent
job, under the guidance of the great man. It is
tough, uncompromising, yet picturesque, mixing an
open and undulating front nine played on the edge of
a valley with a wooded and winding back half. Its
conditioning is first class, far superior to a glut
of excellent new courses nearby including Hadley
Wood and the Hertfordshire.
The tone for
the round is set at the 1st, a drive-able par-4,
protected by a ravine in front of the green. There
are plenty of other do-or-die holes on the layout,
and some excellent par-5s, specifically the 9th, a
long three-shotter that snakes up to the clubhouse,
and the 17th, where you must be careful of the lake
on your approach to the green.
Hanbury Manor
has an excellent reputation, having hosted the
English Open in the past, and the hotel more than
matches it - an exquisite restaurant and superb
off-course facilities. It is probably Hanbury's
stone's-throw location from London that keeps the
cost on the highish side, but if you do have the
clout, you cannot deny that a lot of life's
pleasures are here to be indulged in, and thoroughly
indulged.
Secretary:
Mr I. Mclnally
(Director of Golf)
Tel:
01920487722
Fax: 01920487692
Professional:
Mr I. Mclnally
Tel: 01920463474
Playing: Midweek:
round prices on application; day n/a. Weekend: round
n/a; day n/a.
Facilities:
Bar: Hotel guests and members only. Food: Hotel
guests and members only.
Comments: Not
as good value for money as you would
expect...Fantastic around the English Open... Two
contrasting nines. . . Beautifully manicured course.
. . Fairways better than some club greens... Great
course in a lovely setting...Five holes with water
and two with greens on the edge of water...
Refreshment at halfway was welcome...Jack Nicklaus
II design of great character ... Some holes based
on original Harry Vardon design ... Book a room at
the hotel to play this course Greens fast and true
each time I go back.
The Grove and Hanbury Manor Golf Club,
Hertfordshire - England