Woodhall Spa Golf Club Hotchkin Course Review - The Hotchkin is a classic, heather-lined heathland loyout where a premium is placed on accurate ball striking
Woodhall Spa Golf Club Hotchkin Course Review
Green Fee Range: £55-£95
Medal Tee: Par 73 – 6,925 Yards
Visitor Times: Every day, subject to availability
Website: www.woodhallspagolf.com
Woodhall Spa Golf Club Hotchkin Course Review
Ask any golfer who’s played the famous Hotchkin course what they most remember, and there’s a fair chance that they’ll instantly fire back, “The bunkers!”
Yet while they are indeed among the most visually attractive, strategically magnificent and deepest in the land, this heathland layout in the Lincolnshire spa town is about much more than just its hazards.
The club dates back to 1891, but the first two nine-hole layouts both ceded to residential expansion as the spa town flourished, and it wasn’t until 1905 that the club moved to its present Harry Vardon-designed Horncastle Road site.
JH Taylor was enlisted to help with the bunker placement, with Harry Colt then redesigning the layout in 1914.
What we are left with is one of the UK’s very finest inland courses, with many holes playing over relatively open heathland, and others, especially on the back nine, venturing in among the trees a little more.
There are doglegs, heather and pines at nearly every turn, but the real key to scoring is to avoid the deepest of the traps, nowhere more so than on the modest par-3 5th, where first-timers have the slight mental advantage of not knowing just how crucial it is to hit the target.
There are many, many good holes, but the long par-3 8th to an elevated green sets up particularly magnificently from the tee.
Woodhall Spa is famous for its wildlife and it’s quite possibly to encounter squirrel, patridge and pheasant during a round.
The Hotchkin may be a little off the beaten track, but those who make the effort will not be disappointed.
Woodhall Spa Golf Club Hotchkin Course Review – Golf Monthly Verdict
Testing and long heathland course that demands strong hitting
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