CourseProfiles England /

Isle of Purbeck
The drive at the 5th at the Isle of Purbeck is the closest (in real terms) to one of those fantasy golf hole calendars you will ever play. You stand looking back at Poole and Bournemouth, and try keeping your ball out of the English Channel (should you possess golf balls that can fly a few miles). On a perfect English Summer’s day, the detail of the landscape in front of you, and to the right, and left (from the nine hole course Swanage is the other perfect vista) appears so close, so touchable, so easy to find. On the other hand, when the weather is more capricious, you could still be trying to find the fairway this time thrashing a driver (or two) to find the green. The views might be more Turneresque on this weather occasion – it would still be a reason why Purbeck has a place on any golfer’s list of places to play.
Parkstone
Set on the hillsides and in the valleys of what is the site of the region’s most prestigious (expensive) homes, the approaches, the clubhouse, the first views of the course is all you will expect. Peter Allis has made the ‘occasional’ mention of a club which is possibly his ‘home’ throughout his broadcast career, though if you take time to look at the Clubhouse walls before you play, you will find mention of lots more famous people.
Stoneham Golf Club.
Back in the mid 1900’s, the Dunlop British Masters (now the Daily Telegraph Damovo) came to Stoneham. The players back then would have faced much the same challenge as that you will face if you add Stoneham to your list of golf tour courses. This is perfect golf land, rolling this way and that and covered in trees which have been around for hundreds of years. Its a design which only has three pairs of holes running in the same direction – the 1st and 2nd, the 6th and 7th and then the 12th and 13th. Every other tee shot switches direction and for the holes which follow each other (in direction) its 5 then 3 (twice) and a 5 then a short par 4. You are going to be asked lots of questions about your game and you can only enjoy the views and the challenges that start from the 1st tee.
Meyrick Park
If this were a private club, and had a few extra yards, it would be described as a classic. As it is, it’s a ‘municipal’ and so some would not consider it worthy of their presence. How simply some fools would look to protect their prejudice or justify quality by price – this is less than £20 a round and its well worth it.
Woodhall Spa - Monument, Mausoleum or just Magnificent?
Buy any course guide these days and the promotional slant is often towards the new Championship courses, many of which are part of hotel and leisure complexes. These are courses built with and for modern technology (supposedly), with US standard greens, lots (and lots) of length, and bucket loads of water to go with beaches of sand. This review makes reverant acknowledgement to how the most popular car TV programme deals with the bland, the overstated and the ridiculous. It asks the question about the course rated the best inland course in the UK (by many), whether it is a monument to classical course deisgn, or a Mausoleum of fashion to be noted (and rejected) or is it just damn magnificent?
The Windmill Course at Hawkstone Park
Many of you will have heard of Hawkstone and probably been there to play the acclaimed Hawkstone course itself. If that visit was a few years ago, its time for another trip to play one of the most spectacular vista courses in the UK, and to enjoy what has become one of the leading ‘traditional’ resort hotels for a short break. The first thing you will notice as you go up the Hotel drive is the styled and impressive new clubhouse. Its very functional, offering all the quality facilities you will expect to find had impressive views over both the old and the new, the ‘new’ being the Windmill Course, designed by Brian Huggett and opened in 1995.