Today, 18th Oct 2012, I attended another Pine Trees Society Day (Roger Akerman's), the venue was at Pyecombe, West Sussex.
Pyecombe Golf Club is well over 100 years old, a few miles North of Brighton & situated in the heart of the South Downs National Park. One can see groups of happy ramblers climbing up the hill to the famous windmills Jack & Jill. It is peaceful, magnificient, inviting: all the holes are very attractive, one wants to eagerly play the next one to discover more hills, more valleys, more views, so much so, that our 4-balls did just that, we played 19 holes... we enjoyed the scenery & the company that somehow we got a little mislead. The last 3 holes have been recently been re-designed (we went wrong at the 16th), maybe the new sign was in the wrong place?! The members behind our group happily waited for us to climb back to the correct hole & appreciated that we enjoyed their golf course. A very friendly bunch of “not so young golfers”.
The course is vast, reminds me of a links course at times, made up of valleys, hills, lots of mature trees, some younger ones, bushes, goarse & rough where one does not want to venture. Natural vegetation & habitat all well managed, so is the golf course with an excellent drainage, playable all year round. Some pretty water holes. Quite a lot of pleasant walking (not just ramblers do the walking), a buggy can be useful but it will have be kept on the designated paths/areas. There are a number of wooden shelters (I counted 8) along the way, I suppose to offer protection from the weather, or when one waits at the Tee box, or for a picnic or just a rest to admire & take in all the wonderful scenery.
Pyecombe GC will please golfers of all levels, the challenge is always present: some blind holes, interesting dog legs, some rough areas between fairways & greens. It will be difficult to pick a few holes to describe, as they all have an individual attraction & challenge, even the 1st hole that looks hazardless going uphill has a sloping green awaiting the unaware: we saw what the undulation/slope did to our respective golf ball & the wind did not help, in fact as soon as your ball is on that green, you should rush & mark it quickly! All the greens were quick, very well cut & challenging, nice shapes & undulation/slope. A good idea to practice “for the feel” before the game.
It is a course I would return to again & again, I believe all the golfers attending the Society day enjoyed their rounds, some very good scores were attained with nice prize rewards. We were all given “2for1” vouchers which I shall happily use/ post a game, so why not join my game, you will receive a very warm welcome from the ProShop which stocks chic & trendy clothing, from the Clubhouse, light & pleasant with a large log fireplace, warming & glowing today, attractive & well organised changing rooms (Ladies, don’t know about the Mens). Excellent practice facilities (in fact our wrong 16th described above, was a practice hole, Par 3/4, just like a real one, well we thought it was!). The Members & staff are all very friendly. It is very easy to find the location with GPS, parking is plentiful (but do not park under the tree on the right hand side or your car will be decorated with unsavoury bird’s stuff, I did, but realised soon enough & moved it).
A very enjoyable place to play golf. Highly recommended. Thank you Roger for organising such a lovely venue & well done on your win!
Sadly THE END.......
Date Friday, 19, October 2012
