For non-stop beauty, a round in amongst the heather and pines at West Hill is hard to beat
West Hill Golf Club Course Review
Green Fee Range: £105-£130 (Winter rate range £65-£75)
Medal Tee: Par 69 – 6,457 Yards
Visitor Times: Weekdays, and some summer weekends after 14:00
Website: www.westhillgc.co.uk
West Hill Golf Club Course Review
It’s a delight that although the three W’s border on one another, they are all so different. Here, tall pines encircle the course and there are undulations, heather, streams and ditches that provide constant interest and variety.
Designed by the club’s first professional, Cuthbert Butchart, the layout has remained largely unaltered over the last 100 years.
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Lined by soaring Scots pines, the springy fairways demand precise hitting from the tees. Combine that with the threat of heather, clever bunkering and the brook of Brookwood on six of the holes, and the strategic challenge presented by West Hill becomes clear.
A programme is currently underway to re-instate the original look and feel of the course. As such, a number of trees are being removed and the heather encouraged to bed in.
By modern standards, the course appears reasonably short on paper at just under 6,400 yards from the whites.
But with a par of 69, and with five testing par 3s to negotiate, playing to handicap here is a significant challenge. The quality of those par 3s is worthy of note.
From the 193-yard 4th with its hugely sloping green, to the very difficult 211-yard 15th where, again, the green is extremely testing because of a hog’s back running through its centre.
In general the greens at West Hill are challenging. They can become incredibly quick through the summer months and, with some fairly significant undulations, your putting can require considerable care and attention.
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Course changes since previous ranking
Removal of 2,500 trees, addition of new driving range, refurbishment of all bunkers
Proposed course changes
Plans to accelerate heather regeneration and new planting programme, new tee to be built on 18th hole, old paths removed and grassed over, new back tees added on 5, 10, 11 and 18
Golf Monthly Verdict
Traditional heathland golf that has benefited from regular, subtle improvement.
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