 |
Old Thorns Golf Club
- Old
Thorns Golf Club tee1up played it on Tuesday 13th March 2008
- There but not
many courses leave you with a lasting memory of a particular
hole or shot !!
- tee1up rating 9/10 .
- Probably the best course we have
played as a society and probably one of the best courses
in Hampshire, certainly a five star venue. The course is
situated just off the A3 near Griggs Green and just
behind a pub which is also not too far from the Longmoor
camp where regular army exercises with Chinook
Helicopters.
- As this was our Captains Day we
decided to play a Texas Scramble in the morning over
nine holes to warm everyone up for the main event in the
afternoon, this was won by the Captain Andy Webber and
his team with a score of three under. In the afternoon
we played full handicap Stableford over eighteen holes
for the Captains Cup which was won by Derek Plumstead
with 38 points, second was Colin Giles on 37 points and
third was Andy Clarke with 35 points.
|
|
|
|
|
- I am sure you will agree every course
has something you will remember about your day there but not
many courses leave you with a lasting memory of a particular
hole or shot well it sure to happen to you when we visit
this course and for those that have been there I am sure you
know which hole I am referring to the par four fifth. A
sheer joy to play of the back tee, I watched my ball balloon
up over the right hand side of the trees and feed back
towards the green and land some eighty yards short in the
middle of the fairway. The
lead up to this hole is impressive as well starting with a
tricky short par four which dog legs right past a very large
oak tree located just off the right hand side of the
fairway. The second a long par five with a sharp dog leg off
your tee shot needs an accurate tee shot to get a position
to play up to the raised green. The next hole will take you
breath away as there is a long nearly vertical march up hill
to reach the tee, then you are faced with a good drive to
take you over the platoed fairway to the valley beyond for a
wedge to the green at the top of the hill. The fourth a
lovely par three with a vicious green that slopes back to
front you will need to take an extra club hear as the
surrounds make the hole look very short. While you are on
the green look to your right and take note of the pin
position on the fifteenth. The fifth the most picturesque
hole on any course I have played and off the top tee it will
make you knees tremble, A stunning par four which needs a
accurate tee shot to have any chance of hitting the green
with your second shot and if you are too far right you are
faced with a large fir blocking your way on along with a
pond lying alongside the left of the green, If you are too
far left you can be completely blocked out. After a short
walk through the woods to the sixth tee you are face with a
very tricky club selection but you would be wiser to go with
an iron as the ditch comes into play off the tee you are
then left with a tight second shot down a narrow avenue to
this par five green. The seventh is a picturesque par three
over water to a green the slope from back to front
everything seems to shorter than it looks of the tee so take
more club to be safe. Another
short walk to the eighth tee and you are faced with a large
lake on the right hand side of the fairway, your tee shot
should be just right of the tree on the left hand side of
the fairway but don’t be left as there is a hidden pond to
great any wayward shot. Depending were you land your and
where the pins is located on the green your next
- shot will more than likely be over the
water. Ninth hole allows you to open your shoulders your
drive should favour the left hand side of the fairway to
have a decent chance of hitting this narrow green.
- The back nine starts with a long par
three over water which lies mainly on the left hand side of
the approach there is also a bunker sitting on the right
hand side of the green to catch any ball that is not cleanly
struck. The eleventh a tricky par four with the large lake
on your right hand side and the narrowing fairway pushes you
to hitting a conservative shot to ensure you have a chance
of hitting the green, but realistically there is plenty of
room to hit a wood from the tee. The twelfth another fairy
long par four dog leg with a teasing
shot over the bunker on the right hand side will
leave you set up for a fairly easy iron into this large
green. The thirteenth accuracy is everything I played a
three iron straight down the left hand side of the fairway
which ran out to the middle of the fairway leaving a wedge
over the bunker to the green. The fourteenth par five with a
pond on the right and a reachable second shot if you are a
big hitter but to be honest hitting the green in three is
hard enough. The fifteenth another lovely hole witch needs
an accurate iron shot to the left side of the fairway then
you are faced with a shot right to the top of the hill to a
green that has steep tier in the middle you will understand
the importance of seeing the pin position when you are on
the fourth green. This is followed by a testing par three
down hill and across a valley to the green that is carved on
the decide of the hill in the distance if you hit the green
make sure you are shot of the pin as the green slopes from
front to back. As you make you way up the hill after playing
the par three you have an elevated tee shot down the fairway
on this par five three sets of bunkers come into play on the
left hand side and there is a pond on the right to collect
your second shot. The last hole has an equally tight tee
shot and the fairway is marked by a big oak on the left hand
side beyond this is a pond if you squirt it too far left you
will also be lucky if you hit the green in two.
-
|
|
|
