- I have to say that I haven’t liked any of the
Marriott run courses I have played in the past and I was
hoping this would be the exception; my problem with them
is they seem to concentrate on the hotel part of the
business. Having said that the food and service offered
to us on the day we played our match against Brihota was
awful to the point that the opposing teams captain felt
he had to apologise for his choice of food. It was just
as well that we stopped on the way to the course and had
a bacon roll at a roadside van parked by the Chichester
roundabout it only cost £2 and was delicious. The hotel
charged £6 for ham egg and chips, you could count the
number of chips on one hand the two eggs were not cooked
properly and the ham well I have tasted better plastic
To top it off I spent most of the rest of my time before
the match looking for the bar staff, or maybe it was me
that they didn’t want to serve me in case I
complained!
- We had eaten our lunch by 12.45am and wasn’t due to
tee off until 2pm most of the tee1up team were taking
the match very seriously and were already out on the
putting green and in the nets fine tuning their games.
The Brihota lads being taxi drivers were all still in
the bar so I was told. We were approached by the starter
who for some reason decided he wanted to get us off
early from the tenth not sure why he asked maybe he was
bored with sitting in the hut along side the first,
needless to say we decided to wait for our opponents to
arrive. We were playing accumulated team stableford
score best of ten from twelve to count, as two of the
Brihota players hadn’t made the day we had already
gained an advantage.
- The day we played the course the wind was quite strong
and gusty added to the well-mowed fairways and deep
rough it really made the course a real challenge.
-
- The first hole called Goldings Dip was straight into
the wind and as it was the second hardest hole on the
course it was a tough opener, it took me three good
shots to get it the green only to met by a tough put on
a fast undulating green. The second Silver Birches is a
long par three around 200 yards the first part of the
tee is sheltered by trees on both sides which makes you
think it is closer than looks. Twin Oaks the third takes
you straight back into the wind but it’s a short par
three at 372 yards. The next hole Cedar Line is again
anther short par four at only 341 yards however there
are a couple of bunkers which make your choice of club
from the tee interesting. Hole five Racecourse View the
first of three par five holes on the course and is
probably the easiest chance of a birdie you will get
looking on paper but when you get to the green you will
see if you manage to get to stop without it running of
the back you will have a tricky put.
The sixth Paddocks is a very short par four at
285 yards not boasting but you can hit this one with a
three if you are straight. The seventh Cottage corner is
only 352 yards but you have to middle fairway and past
the trees on the left to attack the green. Number eight
Bluebells is a short walk away and another par three
only 157 yards long but all up hill and a undulating
green sloping back to front. The ninth Green keepers
Rest takes you back towards the first tee and is a
fairly short par four the tee shot favours the left side
for a shot into the green protected on both side by
trees, there is also a small dip in front of the green
to catch anything short. Kestrels Oak the tenth is a
339-yard par four only thing I liked about this hole was
the view of the house mind you I played it badly. The
eleventh Emperors Knoll is a very hard par three 182
yards and the club you choose and a bit more the green
is also very difficult. Hole twelve Cathedral View
straightforward par four keep to the left hand side for
the best view of the green. The thirteenth Pigeon Copse
another short par four 330 yards. Fourteenth Deep Leap
is the second of the par fives another chance of a
birdie. Fifth teen Flying Field is a lovely par four the
fairway is protected by OB on the right and a ditch all
along the left. The sixteenth Hurricane Stretch a nice
dog leg left tee shot is everything get to the right
side of the fairway as there is a tree just before the
green on the left hand side plus its nightmare green
don’t leave it a the front if the pin is cut at the
back. The seventeenth called Ha! Ha! is a lovely driving
hole just make sure you are well away fro the right hand
side as nearly all the balls end up in a large ditch
that runs down the right. The last is Kitchen Garden
superb finish with a shot to the green in front of the
club and the pond at the rear of the green.
-
- The match I am pleased to say was won by tee1up
however, we did have the advantage of picking best 10
from twelve players as they had only 10 players that
turned up. The score was 274 to 266 points with the best
individual score on the day going to Colin Giles 36
points.
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- Kevin Burnett-Whalley
- tee1up
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