Water’s Edge Golf Club, Colombo – Sri Lanka-Sep 18th 2007.
Arriving recently in Sri Lanka after a long and tiring overnight flight, at the tail-end of an exceedingly well spent holiday, I was more than pleased, despite the lack of real rest, to get a chance to play a round with some friends at “Water’s Edge Golf Club”.
Again, as seemed to be fast becoming a habit with me, strategically steering the dear wife off to the tender mercies of some Retail Therapy at Odel, Noritake and Crescat Boulevard, I vanished in a cloud of dust and small pebbles to beat the ball off the tee at Water’s Edge!
This being the last leg of our holiday and faced with the immediate and not-so-welcome prospect of going back to work from the very next day onwards (somewhat the same feeling as at the end of the school holidays), I was very keen to make the most of our last day and play and enjoy this course. Additionally, the last time I had visited Sri Lanka, only 11 of its 18 holes were open for play and it is only in April this year (2007) that all 18 holes were readied.
Located in the Capital City of Sri Jayawardenepura, a mere 20 minutes drive from the Colombo city centre, this is a massive MICE resort facility set in about 200 odd acres of lush green landscape and targeted at Corporates, Institutions and the Wedding business.
The Emerald Green Island of Sri Lanka numbers just Four Golf Courses amongst its varied attractions, two of these being in Colombo proper; the traditional and classy Royal Colombo Golf Club and Water’s Edge with the other two being Victoria in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya in the Hill country respectively. However, each of these four courses embodies considerable differences in character and “feel”.
Adjoining the luxurious club house and spa etc at Water’s Edge is an 18 hole, par 72, 6500 odd yard golf course. Apparently this entire area was a lowland swamp in the not too distant past and this fact can readily be believed if one were to consider the extensive water bodies all over the course.
My friend Jehan had very kindly arranged with his Brother Senaka and two other friends, Raju Chandiram and Chanaka (fondly known as Casper the Friendly Ghost), to take me around Water’s edge. The round was great fun, though pretty chaotic for all of us in the foursome comprising the three Merry Islanders and myself.
Playing off the black markers, the first hole is an interesting Par 4 360 yard devil, with a water body ahead and another long strip of water between the fairway and the green, where the ideal play would be to lay up and smoothly cross the strip to get on the green for a decent score.
Senaka having kindly purloined a beautiful set of his father’s clubs (a complete set of forgiving Taylor made R7 Irons, an dreamboat of an Odyssey 2 Ball Putter, a couple of Oil Can finish Cleveland Wedges, a Ping Rapture Rescue, a Regular Flex Ping G 2 Driver with the additional choice of a wicked Nike SQ monster, I was completely spoiled for choice and it certainly would be very bad form to blame my scores on the tools given to me!)
I observed here that after holing out, it was a bit of a walk to the next tee, which went on to a longing 376 yard par 4 where the urge was to pull out the Big Dog, to complete, un-utterable, indubitable destruction!
The fourth hole of Water’s Edge is a lively Par 3 of some 214 yards – with the Wind in evidence that afternoon, some of us hauled off and trashed the ball with the Three wood but electing to play carefully, I preferred a four Iron, but only for a bogey unfortunately.
All sorts of dangers abounded on this course, not the least of which were the bulrushes abutting almost all the fairways – fuelled and fed by the abundance of water, these serve as superbly laid lurking traps for the wayward balls which most of us are guilty of clobbering.
Meandering along laughing, joking and generally having ourselves an afternoon of fun, I don’t think any of the four of us would willingly confess to the scores we racked up on our cards. Even our caddies were surreptitiously sworn to silence lest they unwittingly let the cats out of the bags!
There is really no signature hole as such on this course – it having been entirely designed by the firm of architects who were instrumental in building the main resort itself, but having said that, with the exception of the excessive criss-cross which could prove a bit of a walk, the course itself is scenically very beautiful and a near perfect setting for a leisurely round where time means nothing.
Moving up to the 8th hole, another Par 3 of 142 yards, we found ourselves faced with the usual water and rushes but didn’t do too badly with Bogey, considering…
The front nine ends quite close to the clubhouse, with a bit of a walk up from there to the actual terrace, where we sat for a while, sipping a soft drink and giving our caddies a drink too.
Then it was on to the second half of the course, wherein the 10th hole lies completely in a different direction and the whole back nine bears a completely different aspect to the front. For all of us it was completely unknown territory, since as mentioned before only 11 holes were first opened and the remaining 7 were opened for play only in April 2007. Consequently, all of us were playing that bit for the first time and making if I may say so, pretty much the same wrong judgements of club and distance.
The feel of the round was more like a familiarization exercise than anything else – however, this fact was more than compensated for, by the lovely setting in which we were.
Notable on the back nine is the 15th hole, a long and difficult par 5 which Senaka and Chanaka, made par on, the rest of us having fallen prey to the various hazards that infest that area.
Indeed, at one point Raju, even informed me sotto voce that a well known reptile research scientist had even released a few baby crocodiles into the water bodies on this course and this was done some time ago. Therefore, it may well be that one of our average wayward shots, might have been found if at all, reposing in the giant maw of a fully grown Saurian! (We didn’t however; see any such denizens and I can tell you quite categorically that this knowledge served to cure completely any urge that one might have had, to chase after mis-hit golf balls!)
By way of compensation for our lost balls and generally guffy golf was the lovely sight and photo op, of a pair of beautiful “Blue Coot”, water fowl, which were flapping about in one of the Water bodies along the Fairway. Apparently Water’s Edge is home to several varied species of birdlife, which will delight the nature and wildlife enthusiast. I’ve never seen this particular species before and they are really very pretty I may tell you.
The mantle of darkness was coming upon us as we were going over to the 17th which is a 193 yard Par 3, ideally met with a Three Wood if one is an accurate hitter or with a Number four if one wishes to control the ball better. At least this wasn’t a complete botch up!
The 18th and final hole is another long Par 4 of 441 yards – tough, because one has to again carry some water on one’s second shot, though the fairway is wide enough for a Driver off the Tee. With the fast failing light and the 18th green being lit up by the reflected lights of the clubhouse garden lamps, we finished a rather long round of over four and a half hours.
Meeting Mr. Billimoria, the amiable Pro, at the clubhouse, we were told a few home truths about this course – it would certainly not seem so daunting if one were to play percentage golf, carefully using one’s irons off the tees rather than horsing around with the Big Drivers etc. In hind sight (as with most other things in life), I realize that if one were to play humble as it were, one would be able to play to one’s handicap or even better it because though long and winding, the course per se is not really a monster!
Having said all this, I still do believe that it would be difficult to stage a tournament here, like for example the Sri Lankan Airlines Golf Classic, which has over 200 golfers on shotgun start on the course at any given time, because of the huge amount of criss-crossing that one has to contend with.
However, it would still prove to be an interesting and worthwhile challenge if they were to at least stage one of the practice rounds here, to show all those International Wolves that a healthy respect for Water bodies and the bulrushes at the Water’s Edge (Pun Intended), is absolutely necessary, for low scores!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
MidSummer Midlothian Golf Edinburgh Sep 7-07
Mid-summer Golf in the Mid-Lothians, Scotland.
Prestonfield Golf Club, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Edinburgh, Capital of Scotland, famed as the “Athens of the North” and the home, amongst many other things, to the Great Edinburgh Castle, Greyfriars Bobby, Mid-Lothian Single Malt Whiskies, the Holyrood Palace and interestingly, to the first ever officially formed Golf Club, the “ Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers”.
Prestonfield Golf Club (formerly known as Priestfield) is a little jewel of a club, located as it is a short taxi ride from the Edinburgh City Centre and the enticing temptations of Princes Street and the Royal Mile. Nestled in a nice hollow amongst lovely parkland it is bounded on one side by the breathtaking and towering presence of the volcanic “Arthur’s Seat” and on the other three sides by Holyrood Park, the grounds of Prestonfield House, Braid Burn and Peffermill Mansion. Painstakingly laid out over 6200 odd yards, this James Braid designed; Par 70 course offers lots of challenges for golfers of varying abilities, as I found out at first hand.
It seems that Priestfield was first recorded in a Royal Charter of 1153 but apparently the present day Mansion only dates back to 1687, when it was built by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh in replacement to an earlier building destroyed by fire. The club itself was originally established in 1920 and the course was extended twice, in 1928 and again in 1933 when they acquired more land.
Somewhat coincidentally, earlier that day, my wife and I were on a guided tour of the City, visiting as we were on our Honeymoon and when we were driving around near Arthur’s Seat, Davy, our guide, pointed out various bird’s eye views of the meandering fairways and silver white bunkers of the Prestonfield Golf Club which of course I duly photographed. While the views were pleasing enough, they served only to whet my appetite for a round there in the latter half of the same day. After all, Honeymoon notwithstanding, Golfing in Scotland, the home of Golf, is the cherished dream of every Golfer and indeed I was more than happy to indulge that dream!
My wife having elected to give herself up to the spiritual pursuits of a “Whisky Tour” that afternoon, I trundled along to Prestonfield at about 1230 pm that Friday and introduced myself to Mr. John Archibald, the General Manager, who in turn connected me up with Russell McIntyre, the Pro. Russell was most helpful in kitting me out with a set of Muscle Back Cleveland Irons and a Ping G 2 Driver but I was faced with the prospect of going around the course as a Singleton till a couple of Members turned up for their tee time of 130pm.
I was lucky that both these gentlemen, Ken Craig and Robert Fletcher, very kindly invited me to join them and thus, we set off along the first fairway in a companionable manner, conversing, joking and generally enjoying ourselves!
I happily bogeyed the 277 yard Par 4, first hole, “Crag End” and the next, which is a short, 125 yard Par 3 called “Hunter’s Bog”. Robert, whose official handicap is 24 and who also, like me, was playing this course for the very first time, performed very creditably making par on both these, while Ken had a complete wild card, going off the fairway on the second, but getting back in there for a bogey!
The true challenge and character of this course lies partly in the Wind which can be rather treacherous, as I found out to my cost a couple of times. This is simply due to the fact that the course itself is set in a hollow or shallow valley which acts a bit like a Wind Tunnel, considering the higher ground all around it forming a perfect natural funnel for the wind to blow up and down!
Each hole at Prestonfield is interestingly and varyingly named from “Crag End”, through “Peffermill”, to “Little France” and “Arthur’s Seat”! It is a very quaint idea and ever so apt, given the setting which is simply gorgeous. Nature at her very best, a lovely nip in the air, warm sunshine and golf – no man can ask for more. The best thing is that the air is so pure and clean, I was trying to take deep breaths and fill my lungs to capacity with each breath.
The third, “Wells O’ Wearie” is a 528 yard Par 5, which doglegs sweepingly to the left and where I was extremely happy to make par, with Ken going down in a double and Robert for Bogey. It is very important to place your ball so as not to go OB on this hole and I suppose it was beginner’s luck with me!
Going on to the 6th, “Pentlands”, which is a Par 4, 352 yard journey, I managed a Bogey along with the others, holding my own I think! Not a very difficult hole, with a fairly wide fairway.
Ending the front nine is “Peffermill”, a Par 3, 140 yard beauty, which I simply botched up and bogeyed by under clubbing with a 9. I can’t imagine what possessed me to use a 9 when a 7 would have left me with enough margin for error. Ken, despite his local knowledge also ended up with the same score while Robert, our friendly bandit, made par yet again!
Unlike our typical weekend rounds in India, we did not stop after the 9th for a breather – also occasioned by the fact that the 9th is not a clubhouse green.
Going straight onto the back nine, I was surprised by the change in the lie of the land so to say – this course had more surprises in store for the unwary golfer! The forepart has the aspect of rolling parkland, gently undulating landscape with vistas of green as far as eye can see. Moving into the middle of the course, one is beset by large-ish, older and mature trees which can trap the over confident golfer!
Indeed I hit a wayward shot off the tee on the 12th (Little France) which is a nice par 4 of 400 yards and unfortunately hooked into some mid-sized bushes there. Hunting for the ball, peering under the shrubbery I observed that it had come to rest at the foot of a thick shrub. I didn’t feel like taking a stroke penalty and a drop so I chose to get down on my knees and get creative, playing the shot horizontally with the toe of my 7 iron to hit the ball back on the fairway and thus resume play!
The 14th which is aptly named “Dog Leg” is a pretty daunting 337 yard Par 4, which I can loosely compare to the 7th Hole at the Army Golf Course in Bangalore! If one is a bit of a Wolf, one would tee it up high and smash it with a three wood over the trees on the left hand side, to get a clear approach to the green – if I’d had access to my trusty V-Steel, I would probably have chanced it but as it happens, playing with relatively strange clubs and in the company of new partners, I chose to be humble and drive straight with a number four. Despite the cautious approach, I ended up with a double as did Robert. Only Ken made Par and I bow here to local knowledge. He played this hole brilliantly, perfectly placing his tee shot and his second and putting like a master!
The course takes on an undulating though open aspect around here, where the 16th heaves into view – Named “Arthur’s Seat” this is a lovely hole a 193 yard Par 3, which has a nice green closely guarded by bunkers. There are some great views to be had all around which compensated for my bogeying this hole while only Robert made par!
The 18th – a 328 yard par 4, somewhat prosaically if aptly named “Home” after all the other interestingly named holes is a lovely hole with a sweeping aspect from the tee, slightly curving through the left. Bounded by trees on the right side, the sensible shot to play is slightly to the right placing one’s self at the edge of the trees for the second approach shot avoiding the lurking menace of the bunkers guarding the green.
Here it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention the brilliant play by Ken, who missed an Eagle but got a Birdie by simply thrashing the ball with a Driver off the tee, avoiding the bunkers and right onto the green! Unfortunately he two-putted to make a very respectable Birdie while Robert made Par and I bogeyed, thus ending the round!
Thanking Ken and Robert for a thoroughly enjoyable round I took my leave since I had an evening of unbridled Scottish Revelry to look forward to, complete with several “wee drams” of the “Water of Life”, of which, like Golf, I am very fond too!
Prestonfield Golf Club, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Edinburgh, Capital of Scotland, famed as the “Athens of the North” and the home, amongst many other things, to the Great Edinburgh Castle, Greyfriars Bobby, Mid-Lothian Single Malt Whiskies, the Holyrood Palace and interestingly, to the first ever officially formed Golf Club, the “ Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers”.
Prestonfield Golf Club (formerly known as Priestfield) is a little jewel of a club, located as it is a short taxi ride from the Edinburgh City Centre and the enticing temptations of Princes Street and the Royal Mile. Nestled in a nice hollow amongst lovely parkland it is bounded on one side by the breathtaking and towering presence of the volcanic “Arthur’s Seat” and on the other three sides by Holyrood Park, the grounds of Prestonfield House, Braid Burn and Peffermill Mansion. Painstakingly laid out over 6200 odd yards, this James Braid designed; Par 70 course offers lots of challenges for golfers of varying abilities, as I found out at first hand.
It seems that Priestfield was first recorded in a Royal Charter of 1153 but apparently the present day Mansion only dates back to 1687, when it was built by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh in replacement to an earlier building destroyed by fire. The club itself was originally established in 1920 and the course was extended twice, in 1928 and again in 1933 when they acquired more land.
Somewhat coincidentally, earlier that day, my wife and I were on a guided tour of the City, visiting as we were on our Honeymoon and when we were driving around near Arthur’s Seat, Davy, our guide, pointed out various bird’s eye views of the meandering fairways and silver white bunkers of the Prestonfield Golf Club which of course I duly photographed. While the views were pleasing enough, they served only to whet my appetite for a round there in the latter half of the same day. After all, Honeymoon notwithstanding, Golfing in Scotland, the home of Golf, is the cherished dream of every Golfer and indeed I was more than happy to indulge that dream!
My wife having elected to give herself up to the spiritual pursuits of a “Whisky Tour” that afternoon, I trundled along to Prestonfield at about 1230 pm that Friday and introduced myself to Mr. John Archibald, the General Manager, who in turn connected me up with Russell McIntyre, the Pro. Russell was most helpful in kitting me out with a set of Muscle Back Cleveland Irons and a Ping G 2 Driver but I was faced with the prospect of going around the course as a Singleton till a couple of Members turned up for their tee time of 130pm.
I was lucky that both these gentlemen, Ken Craig and Robert Fletcher, very kindly invited me to join them and thus, we set off along the first fairway in a companionable manner, conversing, joking and generally enjoying ourselves!
I happily bogeyed the 277 yard Par 4, first hole, “Crag End” and the next, which is a short, 125 yard Par 3 called “Hunter’s Bog”. Robert, whose official handicap is 24 and who also, like me, was playing this course for the very first time, performed very creditably making par on both these, while Ken had a complete wild card, going off the fairway on the second, but getting back in there for a bogey!
The true challenge and character of this course lies partly in the Wind which can be rather treacherous, as I found out to my cost a couple of times. This is simply due to the fact that the course itself is set in a hollow or shallow valley which acts a bit like a Wind Tunnel, considering the higher ground all around it forming a perfect natural funnel for the wind to blow up and down!
Each hole at Prestonfield is interestingly and varyingly named from “Crag End”, through “Peffermill”, to “Little France” and “Arthur’s Seat”! It is a very quaint idea and ever so apt, given the setting which is simply gorgeous. Nature at her very best, a lovely nip in the air, warm sunshine and golf – no man can ask for more. The best thing is that the air is so pure and clean, I was trying to take deep breaths and fill my lungs to capacity with each breath.
The third, “Wells O’ Wearie” is a 528 yard Par 5, which doglegs sweepingly to the left and where I was extremely happy to make par, with Ken going down in a double and Robert for Bogey. It is very important to place your ball so as not to go OB on this hole and I suppose it was beginner’s luck with me!
Going on to the 6th, “Pentlands”, which is a Par 4, 352 yard journey, I managed a Bogey along with the others, holding my own I think! Not a very difficult hole, with a fairly wide fairway.
Ending the front nine is “Peffermill”, a Par 3, 140 yard beauty, which I simply botched up and bogeyed by under clubbing with a 9. I can’t imagine what possessed me to use a 9 when a 7 would have left me with enough margin for error. Ken, despite his local knowledge also ended up with the same score while Robert, our friendly bandit, made par yet again!
Unlike our typical weekend rounds in India, we did not stop after the 9th for a breather – also occasioned by the fact that the 9th is not a clubhouse green.
Going straight onto the back nine, I was surprised by the change in the lie of the land so to say – this course had more surprises in store for the unwary golfer! The forepart has the aspect of rolling parkland, gently undulating landscape with vistas of green as far as eye can see. Moving into the middle of the course, one is beset by large-ish, older and mature trees which can trap the over confident golfer!
Indeed I hit a wayward shot off the tee on the 12th (Little France) which is a nice par 4 of 400 yards and unfortunately hooked into some mid-sized bushes there. Hunting for the ball, peering under the shrubbery I observed that it had come to rest at the foot of a thick shrub. I didn’t feel like taking a stroke penalty and a drop so I chose to get down on my knees and get creative, playing the shot horizontally with the toe of my 7 iron to hit the ball back on the fairway and thus resume play!
The 14th which is aptly named “Dog Leg” is a pretty daunting 337 yard Par 4, which I can loosely compare to the 7th Hole at the Army Golf Course in Bangalore! If one is a bit of a Wolf, one would tee it up high and smash it with a three wood over the trees on the left hand side, to get a clear approach to the green – if I’d had access to my trusty V-Steel, I would probably have chanced it but as it happens, playing with relatively strange clubs and in the company of new partners, I chose to be humble and drive straight with a number four. Despite the cautious approach, I ended up with a double as did Robert. Only Ken made Par and I bow here to local knowledge. He played this hole brilliantly, perfectly placing his tee shot and his second and putting like a master!
The course takes on an undulating though open aspect around here, where the 16th heaves into view – Named “Arthur’s Seat” this is a lovely hole a 193 yard Par 3, which has a nice green closely guarded by bunkers. There are some great views to be had all around which compensated for my bogeying this hole while only Robert made par!
The 18th – a 328 yard par 4, somewhat prosaically if aptly named “Home” after all the other interestingly named holes is a lovely hole with a sweeping aspect from the tee, slightly curving through the left. Bounded by trees on the right side, the sensible shot to play is slightly to the right placing one’s self at the edge of the trees for the second approach shot avoiding the lurking menace of the bunkers guarding the green.
Here it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention the brilliant play by Ken, who missed an Eagle but got a Birdie by simply thrashing the ball with a Driver off the tee, avoiding the bunkers and right onto the green! Unfortunately he two-putted to make a very respectable Birdie while Robert made Par and I bogeyed, thus ending the round!
Thanking Ken and Robert for a thoroughly enjoyable round I took my leave since I had an evening of unbridled Scottish Revelry to look forward to, complete with several “wee drams” of the “Water of Life”, of which, like Golf, I am very fond too!
Finchley Golf Club, London Sep 3rd 07
Finchley Golf Club – Suburban Heaven.
The chill, bright morning of 3rd September dawned, the third day of our Honeymoon Holiday in the UK.
Donning my kit, I bid a hasty though fond farewell to my dear wife. (Choosing a round of Golf over the dubious prospect of half a day’s meandering around mouldy museums, was for me a foregone conclusion.) Leaping jauntily into the Tube, I meandered from Paddington to Finchley Central, in the North West of London, to meet David Brown, the estimable and amiable Pro at Finchley Golf Club.
Arriving at 730 am, after about an hour’s silent subterranean communion with my fellow commuters (I now know how a mole or a miner probably feels!), I found rather to my chagrin that there were no obliging local cabbies around to take me to Frith Lane, the lovely wooded parkland area in which the club is located. David was most kind when I called him and very obligingly drove over to pick me up.
Kitting me out with a nice set of Ping Eye 2 Irons, a G2 Driver and a Course Planner booklet was the work of a moment and we turned to the next job of finding me a partner. Luckily Sydney Levy, one of the members drove up just then and I was able to join him and the members of his regular company to make up the fourth.
We decided to play partners with the stakes for the round being a Golf Ball each to the winning twosome. Tossing our Golf Balls, it panned out that Sydney Levy and Leon Smith would be partners and that I would partner Derick Petter. It was rather enjoyable to be a part of the easy camaraderie of these three gentlemen of middle years, all of whom are sportsmen in the best traditions of the game of golf! Walking down to the first tee, I was seized with the familiar addictive feeling of playing hooky from school, on a Monday morning, running off as it were, to play Golf!
Located in Frith lane since 1930, Finchley is a challenging par 72 course, designed by the great James Braid and laid out over some 6000 odd yards in beautiful, rolling landscape once belonging to a Victorian stately home, now converted into Finchley’s well appointed clubhouse. It is a picturesque course and being bounded by great trees and numerous shrubs, quite easily gives one the illusion of being deep in the countryside whilst actually being located in the middle of a great city.
The beauties of Nature bathed in the morning sun were apparent all around us and adding to our enjoyment was that ever-so-slight nip in the air – crystal clear atmosphere, birds chirping, the fragrance of freshly mown grass and all the other intangibles that go to make up a truly wonderful morning golf experience.
The first hole is an interesting Par 4 of 282 yards – a pretty straight approach with no lurking dangers so we had a net five, losing to our opponents.
I hadn’t frankly had time to refer to the course planner and was quite literally flying blind as it were, but I am of the firm belief that those of us who play golf for the camaraderie, fun and exercise enjoy ourselves much better when we judge the lie of the land for ourselves, without relying on the more modern aids. Of course, it is not so often that one gets a “second chance” as it were and this fact is nowhere more evident than on the golf course where one must try and make each shot count, but having said that, I enjoyed myself so much on the course, that the scores didn’t really matter very much!
The 126 yard par 3 third hole is a sheer joy to play, thramming the ball with a Pitching Wedge to land on the edge of the green for a chip, a putt and a par. Very satisfying indeed!
The beauties of James Braid’s design became more and more apparent when we saw that not one fairway criss-crossed with any other, the whole course being laid out in a clear forward progression with each tee and fairway being set away from the previous one.
I must pause here to compliment the quality of maintenance of the fairways and greens. Having played most of my golf in India, it genuinely was a pleasure to play through the “roughs” at Finchley whenever it was occasioned by a mis-hit, because apart from the lurking dangers of some few Gorse bushes here and there, the roughs are certainly so much more civilized than the ones I am used to!
Worthy of mention is the quality of the green-keeping – while the pin positions were quite straightforward, the greens are very lively indeed, with all sorts of hidden dangers from sudden slopes, different breaks and extremely slick surfaces!
The 7th hole, a pretty testing Par 3, 198 yard hole, was well tried with a 4 Iron for accuracy and coming down in four, I didn’t feel too bad, because I was pleased with the way I had judged the tee shot and then approach wedged the second onto the green.
Finishing the front nine are the longest hole, the par 5, 505 yard, 8th where I am pleased to have had a bogey and an equally daunting 470 yard par 5, 9th where we went down for par!
Moving on to the back nine, I must mention the 12th Hole in particular, as this is considered to be the real signature hole of the Finchley Course. A wicked 152 yard Par 3, with terrifying Pines and Conifers bounding the right side of your approach will surely cause any but the toughest minds to quail!
However, the terror of this hole is amply compensated when you walk up to the steeply sloping green and behold the imposing view of the Club house behind it! My partner Derick and I made a 4 on this, which we promptly forgave ourselves for!
I had been warned that the fairways were narrow and one might get a bit tangled up in the tall trees which abounded, but to my mind, the fairways seemed much wider than those at our Bangalore Golf Club!
Throughout the round, my three playing partners kept each other and me regaled with much good natured ribbing. I was witness, at regular intervals to their strange battle cry of “hot cheese” whenever one of their esteemed number landed in one of the numerous bunkers around!
The 122 yard Par 3 15th hole is also a joy to play off with an 8 iron to get one sufficient distance coupled with the necessary loft.
The course has its ups and downs, with rolling fairways and some decent climbs, but all in all, it is a relatively “user friendly” course, which doesn’t tax one too much in the physical sense.
Of course those of us who play regularly in India and Asia, need to get used to the fact that there are no caddies and so on, but truth be told, pulling one’s own trolley along, judging one’s own distances, choosing one’s own clubs and figuring out one’s own putting line are very good things, since one learns immense self reliance and at the same time, begins to appreciate the little things which one takes for granted here at home in India!
Finishing the 17th, another Par 5 of 442 yards in 6, we meandered along to the 18th and final hole of the day, a deceptive Par 4 of 412 yards. You are required to place your shot well to the left, in order to guarantee reasonable success being on the clubhouse green in two. While the green is a decent sized one it is not always true that “the bigger the target the easier it is to hit”, as I found out to my cost. Going down in 5 we bogeyed our last hole that day to lose a Golf Ball each to our opponents!
In the best spirits of sportsmanship the four of us repaired to the 19th and had ourselves a couple of tall glasses of tissue restorative tonic each prior to exchanging email id’s and parting ways. A fitting finale indeed, to a good round of golf and for me a highly enjoyable experience!
I will wholeheartedly endorse Finchley’s claim to being one of the friendliest clubs in North London – they certainly are very welcoming and make a visitor feel completely at home there!
The chill, bright morning of 3rd September dawned, the third day of our Honeymoon Holiday in the UK.
Donning my kit, I bid a hasty though fond farewell to my dear wife. (Choosing a round of Golf over the dubious prospect of half a day’s meandering around mouldy museums, was for me a foregone conclusion.) Leaping jauntily into the Tube, I meandered from Paddington to Finchley Central, in the North West of London, to meet David Brown, the estimable and amiable Pro at Finchley Golf Club.
Arriving at 730 am, after about an hour’s silent subterranean communion with my fellow commuters (I now know how a mole or a miner probably feels!), I found rather to my chagrin that there were no obliging local cabbies around to take me to Frith Lane, the lovely wooded parkland area in which the club is located. David was most kind when I called him and very obligingly drove over to pick me up.
Kitting me out with a nice set of Ping Eye 2 Irons, a G2 Driver and a Course Planner booklet was the work of a moment and we turned to the next job of finding me a partner. Luckily Sydney Levy, one of the members drove up just then and I was able to join him and the members of his regular company to make up the fourth.
We decided to play partners with the stakes for the round being a Golf Ball each to the winning twosome. Tossing our Golf Balls, it panned out that Sydney Levy and Leon Smith would be partners and that I would partner Derick Petter. It was rather enjoyable to be a part of the easy camaraderie of these three gentlemen of middle years, all of whom are sportsmen in the best traditions of the game of golf! Walking down to the first tee, I was seized with the familiar addictive feeling of playing hooky from school, on a Monday morning, running off as it were, to play Golf!
Located in Frith lane since 1930, Finchley is a challenging par 72 course, designed by the great James Braid and laid out over some 6000 odd yards in beautiful, rolling landscape once belonging to a Victorian stately home, now converted into Finchley’s well appointed clubhouse. It is a picturesque course and being bounded by great trees and numerous shrubs, quite easily gives one the illusion of being deep in the countryside whilst actually being located in the middle of a great city.
The beauties of Nature bathed in the morning sun were apparent all around us and adding to our enjoyment was that ever-so-slight nip in the air – crystal clear atmosphere, birds chirping, the fragrance of freshly mown grass and all the other intangibles that go to make up a truly wonderful morning golf experience.
The first hole is an interesting Par 4 of 282 yards – a pretty straight approach with no lurking dangers so we had a net five, losing to our opponents.
I hadn’t frankly had time to refer to the course planner and was quite literally flying blind as it were, but I am of the firm belief that those of us who play golf for the camaraderie, fun and exercise enjoy ourselves much better when we judge the lie of the land for ourselves, without relying on the more modern aids. Of course, it is not so often that one gets a “second chance” as it were and this fact is nowhere more evident than on the golf course where one must try and make each shot count, but having said that, I enjoyed myself so much on the course, that the scores didn’t really matter very much!
The 126 yard par 3 third hole is a sheer joy to play, thramming the ball with a Pitching Wedge to land on the edge of the green for a chip, a putt and a par. Very satisfying indeed!
The beauties of James Braid’s design became more and more apparent when we saw that not one fairway criss-crossed with any other, the whole course being laid out in a clear forward progression with each tee and fairway being set away from the previous one.
I must pause here to compliment the quality of maintenance of the fairways and greens. Having played most of my golf in India, it genuinely was a pleasure to play through the “roughs” at Finchley whenever it was occasioned by a mis-hit, because apart from the lurking dangers of some few Gorse bushes here and there, the roughs are certainly so much more civilized than the ones I am used to!
Worthy of mention is the quality of the green-keeping – while the pin positions were quite straightforward, the greens are very lively indeed, with all sorts of hidden dangers from sudden slopes, different breaks and extremely slick surfaces!
The 7th hole, a pretty testing Par 3, 198 yard hole, was well tried with a 4 Iron for accuracy and coming down in four, I didn’t feel too bad, because I was pleased with the way I had judged the tee shot and then approach wedged the second onto the green.
Finishing the front nine are the longest hole, the par 5, 505 yard, 8th where I am pleased to have had a bogey and an equally daunting 470 yard par 5, 9th where we went down for par!
Moving on to the back nine, I must mention the 12th Hole in particular, as this is considered to be the real signature hole of the Finchley Course. A wicked 152 yard Par 3, with terrifying Pines and Conifers bounding the right side of your approach will surely cause any but the toughest minds to quail!
However, the terror of this hole is amply compensated when you walk up to the steeply sloping green and behold the imposing view of the Club house behind it! My partner Derick and I made a 4 on this, which we promptly forgave ourselves for!
I had been warned that the fairways were narrow and one might get a bit tangled up in the tall trees which abounded, but to my mind, the fairways seemed much wider than those at our Bangalore Golf Club!
Throughout the round, my three playing partners kept each other and me regaled with much good natured ribbing. I was witness, at regular intervals to their strange battle cry of “hot cheese” whenever one of their esteemed number landed in one of the numerous bunkers around!
The 122 yard Par 3 15th hole is also a joy to play off with an 8 iron to get one sufficient distance coupled with the necessary loft.
The course has its ups and downs, with rolling fairways and some decent climbs, but all in all, it is a relatively “user friendly” course, which doesn’t tax one too much in the physical sense.
Of course those of us who play regularly in India and Asia, need to get used to the fact that there are no caddies and so on, but truth be told, pulling one’s own trolley along, judging one’s own distances, choosing one’s own clubs and figuring out one’s own putting line are very good things, since one learns immense self reliance and at the same time, begins to appreciate the little things which one takes for granted here at home in India!
Finishing the 17th, another Par 5 of 442 yards in 6, we meandered along to the 18th and final hole of the day, a deceptive Par 4 of 412 yards. You are required to place your shot well to the left, in order to guarantee reasonable success being on the clubhouse green in two. While the green is a decent sized one it is not always true that “the bigger the target the easier it is to hit”, as I found out to my cost. Going down in 5 we bogeyed our last hole that day to lose a Golf Ball each to our opponents!
In the best spirits of sportsmanship the four of us repaired to the 19th and had ourselves a couple of tall glasses of tissue restorative tonic each prior to exchanging email id’s and parting ways. A fitting finale indeed, to a good round of golf and for me a highly enjoyable experience!
I will wholeheartedly endorse Finchley’s claim to being one of the friendliest clubs in North London – they certainly are very welcoming and make a visitor feel completely at home there!
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