Dale Hill Golf Club (& Hotel), is located in Ticehurst, Sussex!
There are two 18 hole courses, ie
(1) the Old Course, often referred to as the members course, &
(2) the Woosnam, a longer tougher course designed by Ian Woosnam and named in his honour!
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I played the Old Course in early October 2019 in a 4BBB Seniors Team Open competition, best 2 of 4 scores counted on each hole!
The weather was bright and moderately windy! The course was very playable after yesterday's substantial rain but would not have been if it hadn't stopped raining overnight!
The event was originally intended to be staged on the Woosnam course but was switched (some weeks ago) to the Old Course because of damage caused by leatherjackets!
Personally, having played the Woosnam course a few times before, and finding a new and different type of style, I was very pleased with the switch to play the Old Course for the first time!
(Club management announced that the damage to the Woosnam course has now substantially been rectified!)
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Summer weekday visitors green fees are £various, ie £45 list, £35 peak, £22.50 County Card, £20 Members Guest, £25 Twilight, etc!
My competition entry fee of £40, included coffee and bacon roll, 18 holes, a two course post match meal, coffee and prizes! A great vfm package!
The buggy hire was £30, ie £15 each! There is a £20 special rate for the two competitions held on the Woosnam course in 2020 if pre-booked!
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The Old Course
The course occupies a former dairy farm, opened in 1973!
The original layout of the course was modified in 1995 - 1997, ie new 9th and 17th holes, to accommodate the construction of the Woosnam course!
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It is a par 69, 5,856 yards off the white tees, 5,512 yards off the yellow tees and a par 70 off the ladies red tees!
The SSSs are 68, 66 and 70 respectively!
The par 69 comprises 5 par 3s, 11 par 4s and 2 par 5s!
The course is an undulating walk in places, some significant uphill slopes! I had the help of a buggy which means I can't make a proper assessment of it as a walking course!
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The greens are small to moderate in size, undulating and multi tiered, are receptive after recent rain, are beautifully maintained! They are not as fast as Cherry Lodge, putts need striking rather than caressing!
Three of the greens on the back 9 have no bunkers!
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The 5 par 3s are a very interesting mix of holes!
The 9th and 17th are moderate length 140ish yarders, the 9th is 141 yards (index 18) uphill tee shot carry over a front left deep bunker to a large green! Avoiding also 2 right hand bunkers!
The 17th is a tricky 144 yards (index 17) tee shot over 2 ponds halfway, to a small green with a pot bunker front right!
The 2nd is a 216 yards (index 8) downhill left to right, bunkers front left and right! Par is great, bogey is good!
The 7th is a 202 yards (index 14) downhill left to right, large bunker short left, with a large pond wide right! Par is OK!
The 15th is a 177 yards (index 11) tee shot across a tree lined ravine to a high level tiered green, bunker short front right! The most daunting looking par 3 tee shot!
The very difficult 2nd and 7th holes could be 'easier' for a natural controlled drawer of the ball!
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The 11 par 4s are a very wide variety of challenging holes! Only 4 are on the front 9!
The course opens with a 338 yards, index 10, 'dive bomb' tee shot down to a sharp left to right dogleg, trouble down the right, with a double fairway target option either side of a row of trees!
The 3rd is a short 297 yards, index 16, with an uphill approach to a 2 tiered green, bunkers front right and left!
The 5th is a tough 393 yards, index 2, uphill left to right dogleg to a raised green, pot bunkers front right and left!
The 6th is a 380 yards, index 6, downhill tee shot, a fairway bunker left, and an approach over a roadway and ditch, to a large tiered green, with a front right bunker to carry!
The back 9 opens with 5 consecutive par 4s, holes 10 to 14!
The 10th is a short 301 yards, index 15, slightly uphill, with an approach over a pond to an unbunkered green!
The 11th is a 365 yards index 7, right to left dogleg, with a blind tee shot along a tree line on the left, with a downhill approach to a green with bunkers front right and left!
The 12th is a long 445 yards, index 5, downhill right to left dogleg to a green with bunkers front right and left! This is a genuine bogey hole for most club golfers! Longer hitters may seek to shorten the hole by cutting the corner of the dogleg!
The 13th is 349 yards index 13, tee shot to a tree lined ridge, leading to a short downhill approach to a bunkerless green! Right or left leaves a blockout!
The 14th is 376 yards, index 1, (our first hole in a shotgun start), a tee shot carry over a ravine, to an upsloping dogleg fairway, heavily tree lined along the right to the dogleg! An uphill approach to a tiered green, pot bunker front right! A truly tough index 1 hole! A bogey would have been a great score!
The 16th at 390 yards index 3, is an uphill right to left dogleg, about a 200 yards carry to clear the corner, and a long approach to the bunkerless green! A bogey is very good!
The 18th, a short 331 yards, index 9, a right to left dogleg, with a tight left line carry over 3 closely grouped left side fairway pot bunkers! A drive centre right should lead to a par or birdie opportunity!
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The two par 5s are on the front 9! Both are dogleg holes but one is infinitely more of a challenge!
Firstly, the 4th, 471 yards, index 12, is an inviting scenic downhill tee shot to a significant dogleg left of a copse of tall trees, to a moderately sized green protected by a large bunker front left! Reachable in regulation with a good drive and layup!
Secondly, and the more difficult, the 8th, 540 yards, index 4, a significantly uphill right to left dogleg, with the most challenging tee shot on the course, with a 200 yards carry to the corner of the dogleg, against a fairway sloping right to left towards trees or the rough! OOB right is all the length of the tee shot! I almost went OOB, blocked myself out, a couple of poor ball-strikes and a missed hole-able putt ended in a blob 8! My worst hole of the round! Even after the blocked out drive a bogey 6 was possible!
The Round
Our team score was only 71 points, way off the top three prize winners!
It was a shotgun start, we started at the index 1 14th hole!
Individually I got a gross 85, +16 (8 pars, 5 bogeys, 4 double bogeys, and a triple bogey), +3 above handicap; 33pts! 2 blobs!
My total putts was 33, (ie 5 singles, 11 doubles and 2 triples)! Very good but could have been a couple better!
Customer Service
The club members and officers organising the competition were excellent hosts!
The post match 2 course meal was excellent!
Date Thursday, 03, October 2019