Minchinhampton Old Course Review

Former Ryder Cup player, Peter Dawson, who represented Great Britain & Ireland in 1977, continues his series of reviewing golf courses for Golfshake, this time visiting The Minchinhampton Old Course in the Cotswolds.

Back on 1st July, mistakenly having entered the wrong coordinates on the satnav, an old grey stoned building appears through the mist. This turns out to be the Old Lodge Hotel and Restaurant that sits alongside The Minchinhampton Old Course clubhouse. Both sit atop a small incline softened by trees and surrounded by hectares of common land. My first impression was of flags poking above the long grass, with cows and dog walkers wandering the landscape.

Intrigued, I am back today intentionally to discover the club that was set out on this open plateau in 1889. It is on land of biological and geological importance and is owned and managed by the national trust. 

I passed a young man putting a dozen new Callaway balls into his bag, my paper round did not pay that well! Looking at the course and the length of the rough I began to worry, maybe he knew something. 

The 1st tee is in front of the clubhouse, a par five 482 yards in length. The course is shared with walkers and cattle so do not expect pristine manicured fairways and greens. Expect an uncomplicated natural experience and a feeling of how golf was played a century ago but without the hickory shafts.

Fairways/semi rough can only be up to 40 yards wide, a water bowser is the only form of water, which on hectares of land corresponds to a thimble full, no chemicals are used here, only the natural fertiliser of cow dung. The latter is classed as GUR on the fairways, and temporary water on the greens.

On the 6th I waited for five or six cows to wander across the green and my mind wondered back to the sign by the pro shop informing us that the average number of pitch marks made on greens per round is eight per golfer, assuming there are 130 rounds each day then there are 1,040 impressions per day, 31,000 per month, etc.

Having a Yorkshire sarcastic sense of humour, I asked myself if cows weighing between 400 to 800 kilos are walking across these greens to no effect, my second or third shots will not even bruise the grass! In winter conditions things might be different, but this is July and they were hard! 

‘It is a legal requirement’ not to play a shot from an area just off to the right of the 7th green that is an ancient monument.  Approaching the green I look out for this and find a small mound which I guess is the monument but markings are vague.  Afterwards I find out that this is where a preacher called Whitfield used to stand and deliver regular sermons. Years gone by I would only have been interested in birdying this 367 yards hole, now it is just an opportunity to discover such things.

From afar the rough looks like a swaying field of barley but on the day I played close up it was wispish, the cows are doing a good job. Do not be deceived this can still lose you a few balls especially as it is difficult to judge distances with limited points of reference.

Four or five greens had post and wire fencing around them roughly 75 centimetres high as a way of protection from the cows. At my age I found this amusing but the day may come when going over may prove a hazard to me as well as the cows.

The 11th hole has the main road very close to the green on the right and even closer to a small feeder behind and on the left, I am left wondering how many cars get hit by the approach shots?

On the next hole, the par 5 12th I counted 31 cattle of different ages and sizes on the fairway just where my drive should land, vegans look away!

My second shot with a 3-wood landed in the middle of another group of 10 just short of the green.

By the 15th I’m used to the jeopardy of pitching the ball short of the putting surface only to witness it bounce in unexpected directions. But this is the nature of this kind of course at this time of the year.

There are no bunkers on this course, so you might think the sand wedge is of no use, wrong! Take it for those little shots around the green. The course protects itself by having small, hard to find greens.

The par 3 16th hole 167 yards in length is a green difficult to hit and getting there over the humps and hollows with the electric trolley pulling in all directions was a challenge. There must have been a pathway somewhere? 

Crossing the road from the 17th green to the final hole, I had seen signs warning drivers of cattle on the road but not of lumbering golfers. 

Minchinhampton Old Course has wonderful 360 degree views from this elevated common, and it is a golfing education reflecting bygone years. As Gary Player would often say when visiting a club, it is the best of its kind.