TRAVEL: Water Notts

OUTSIDE of Surrey and Berkshire’s glorious sandbelt, British inland courses of the very highest class are few and far between.

In Scotland you have the likes of Gleneagles and Blairgowrie, and in England there's Woodhall Spa, Ganton, Alwoodley, Pulborough, Little Aston, Royal Ashdown Forest, Moortown and Sherwood Forest. Notts, more commonly known as Hollinwell, undoubtedly belongs in the same breath.

More than anything else, it is the turf. This is what sets these courses above all others. There is no shortage of inland golf in Britain and some of it is excellent. But for all the exciting water features, charming surroundings and modern layouts on offer, it is almost impossible to recreate that firm, springy, sandy, quick-draining soil that is such a delight both to walk on and play your iron shots off.

In the summer – or at least any apart from last year’s – all the above courses turn that gorgeous pale gold colour that lets you know the fairways will be running and the greens quick and true. And at Hollinwell – named after a holy well that is situated next to the 8th fairway – all this becomes abundantly clear before you have even left your car. It is hard to think of any other inland venue that sets the pulse racing at quite such an early stage.

Hollinwell is set in a secluded valley and from the moment you turn down the drive it is impossible to believe you are within just a couple of miles of the M1 between Mansfield and Nottingham. The clubhouse lies in the distance, with the 18th to your left and the 3rd green on the right. If this does not put you in the mood to play, then nothing will.

The club itself is over 120 years old, though it only opened on the present site in 1901. Willie Park Jr, whose hands also shaped Sunningdale, is credited with the design while JH Taylor was consulted with regards to the bunkering. Then, in 1920, Tom Williamson’s idea of moving the opening three holes to the other side of the entrance road was adopted.

This, apparently, significantly reduced the amount of climbing involved in a round here though Hollinwell remains a course where very few holes are perfectly flat. Nor are blind shots absent, most notably at the 12th where both the drive and approach require total commitment. Often the greens are swathed by gorse and that means they can appear less generous than they actually are.

The 10th, a highly awkward par four that denies you a clear view of first the fairway and then the green, is perhaps the most obvious example of this. Actually, these are classic design principles which modern architects like David McLay Kidd often build into their creations.

The idea is to intimidate the unthinking golfer but reward those who trust the design – and sure enough good shots seldom go unrewarded at Hollinwell.

Perhaps the abiding memory from a visit here is the strength and variety of the par fours. Five of them are very much of the ‘muscle’ variety. At the 2nd, the temptation off the tee is to try to cut the dogleg but this merely leaves a blind second. Better to play straight and leave a fractionally longer approach with a clear view of the green.

The 4th plays uphill and measures over 450 yards but a generous fairway means a five should not be beyond your grasp even if finding the green in regulation is. The aforementioned 12th first travels up and over a hill then down into a valley, with the green located beyond the next peak.

But perhaps even more testing still is the 15th. Here, you must find the right half of the fairway for a view of a raised green surrounded by gorse. All but the strongest players would be well advised to treat this as a par five.

Finally, the 18th is everything a closing hole should be. Downhill all the way and strongly bunkered, Hollinwell’s imposing clubhouse stands behind a green that welcomes a bold approach but is unsympathetic to weak ones.

Alongside these testing holes are other par fours of great subtlety, such as the 16th. The temptation is to play directly towards the green but in fact the wiser route is down to the left off the tee to set up a short iron down the green.

But if any hole stands out above the rest it is surely the par-three 13th. Stretching to 241 yards from the very back tees, it plays much shorter as it is downhill all the way. It is definitely the hole to save your best shot of the day for.

As a regular venue for Regional Open Qualifying and the English Amateur, Hollinwell frequently gets the chance to welcome players of the highest quality. And it deserves them because it is a course of a similar standard.

Notts Golf Club

Hollinwell
Derby Road
Kirby-In-Ashfield
NG17 7QR

Tel: 01623 753 225
Fax: 01623 753 087

www.nottsgolfclub.co.uk

Green fees: £70 per round; £100 per day