This club is famous for… Weird and wonderful hole names
Mannings Heath declare themselves as a “golf club like no other” and you only have to take a brief scan at the scorecard to know this may not be an ideal boast.
I’m not sure how to feel after playing Sodom and Gomorrah, but experience these twin ‘delights’ you must if you take a trip to the Horsham course.
For they are the names of the first two holes on the championship Waterfall, just a couple of the weird and wonderful syntax that is used to describe your round at the 36-hole complex.
Now exotic titles for holes are far from unusual. Willow Valley, in West Yorkshire, call their 14th on the south course Daniel’s Dare.
It’s a name drop to Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe, who was rumoured to have spent some time roaming Brighouse in the early 18th century.
Himalayas is a popular refrain for any hole with a bit of a hump in it, the 5th at Prestwick and the famous St Enodoc bunker on the 6th taking that moniker.
Neither look particularly like the formidable Asian mountain range.
Can anyone shed any light on what A Still No Ken, the title for the 6th at Eyemouth, is all about?
It all seems fair enough if you consider that golf hides behind jargon that largely confounds and confuses the beginner. Anyone know what a rainmaker is?*
But at Mannings Heath you are left in no doubt about the fate that awaits simply by taking a peek at some of the descriptive names.
Hell Corner, Decisions Decisions and Hummocks are all pretty illustrative, although I’m yet to work out the significance of John Jones.
Does your club boast bizarre names for their holes? Tell us all about them in the comments section, or email [email protected]
* A rainmaker is when you sky the ball, sending it into orbit but no distance whatsoever
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
