Welcome to UK-GolfGuide's page which contains feedback from site users who have played at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club (Old Course).

Whilst UK-GolfGuide.com attempts to turf out the more unhelpful or just plain daft contributions, some may slip through. If you have played the course or hold a different opinion to those of the contributors, feel free to use the Add your Comments icon to provide a broader spread of views. If you have a gripe with the club then take it up with them directly - please don't use this facility for airing grievances!.

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'Young P' (England) 04/07/06

Forged from the land without any artificial embellishment whatsoever, this is a wonderfully natural course. The hazards here are all God's work: streams, grassy pits, hollows, heather, bracken...

However, if I was to be critical (which, let's face it I am, otherwise why bother writing this) I think there are a few weak holes here – particularly 3, 4, 15 and arguably the 1st as well.

A lot of architectural and design praise also seems to get heaped on the short par 3 sixth hole nicknamed the 'Island Hole' (and no it's not surrounded by water), which I can't really understand. For example, it's nowhere near as good as the similarly short par 3 sixth at North Wilts, but then I imagine that's because the latter is a much less high profile course.

The best sequence at RAF is just after the turn, at the highest point of the layout where the views are superb: the 10th is a fantastic par 5 that plays predominantly uphill and with a green that is ludicrously shallow at just 18 yards! At the other end of the distance scale, the next is a brutal 249 yard par 3 but downhill and playable with a good wood. The 11th is the most famous of the par 5s, with carries over heather needed on both the tee and second shots and a tricky third too; actually, though, I preferred the tenth.

However, I would contend that the best hole on the course is the 17th: one of the greatest and most challenging par 4s I've played. It could well be the longest par 4 in the UK (486 of the whites, a mere 472 off the yellows) and has a blind drive and then a downhill approach over a rough-filled valley to a speck of a green in the distance. A truly wonderful golf hole.

We played in unbelievable humidity but I can imagine this is a lovely course to be out on in the winter, with a cosy old-fashioned clubhouse to return to.

Finally, it's not really worth £70 per round at the weekend but I can understand they want to keep this one for the members.

9/10

'Young P'

Value for Money	4
Challenge	7
Off Course	8

Owen Neville (England) 18/02/05

This is an absolute must play. Its great to know that a course despite being over the century old without bunkers can still leave my rather cocky single figures handicap partner tearing their card up. This course oozes class I can see why its in the top 100 GW courses. The greens are fantastic and the fairways first class. My only tip would be to those new to heathland golf to keep your eye on the ball at all times because when it goes in the heather it can either be teed up for a driver or sunk so low that you can barely get a wedge to it.

Some of the holes are truly memorable in particular the 17th although my favourite was the 5th a real death or glory par 5 with a wide gullied stream in front of the green.

The pro and assisstants were polite and helpful and I felt none of the snootiness that I had been warned about from the members in fact the opposite was the case.

If you are ticking off your list of courses played then add this course to your list, pay the heavy but worth it green fee and enjoy

WOZZA, CHART HILLS G.C. (ENGLAND) 14/04/03

I AM NEW INTO THE WORLD OF 'HEATHLAND ' COURSES ( SUNNINGDALE, ST GEORGE'S HILL ) BUT I HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS RUNS SUNNINGDALE VERY CLOSE TO THE TOP SPOT IN MY FIELD OF THREE. AN EXCELLENT LAYOUT, WITH NO TWO HOLES EVEN REMOTELY SIMILAR.....POTENTIAL CARD-WRECKER ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM AS WELL, MINE BEING THE PAR 3 ( S/INDEX 18 ) THAT SOMEONE ELSE MENTIONED ON THIS PAGE. IT AMAZES ME THAT SOMEONE COULD DESIGN A COURSE THAT CAN STILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME OVER 100 YRS AFTER IT WAS CREATED. THE GREENS RAN VERY TRUE BUT WERE STIMPED UP TO THE HILT WITH THE RECENT DRY WEATHER.

MY ONLY TWO GRIPES WITH THE COURSE IS THAT THE STROKE INDEXES NEED ADDRESSING; CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW A 245 YD PAR THREE IS S/I 6. ALSO THE PAR 5 12th ( OR 13th? ) IS AN UNFAIR HOLE AND NEEDS ADDRESSING. I CUT A GOOD DRIVE ONTO THE FAIRWAY AND IT RAN DOWN INTO THE ROUGH. BEING NEARLY 600 YDS LONG, IT WAS DIFFICULT TO PAR AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO BIRDIE AFTER HACKING OUT OF THE ROUGH FOR MY SECOND SHOT.

APART FROM THAT, AN EXCEPTIONAL COURSE WITH A SPECIAL MENTION TO DOUG ( RAF SECRETARY ) WHO ENSURED OUR DAY OUT WENT BY WITH NO PROBLEMS.

Tod (UK) 25/06/01

I am a big fan of heathland courses, such as Sunningdale, Walton Heath, Berkshire, Woking, etc. I had been wanting to play Royal Ashdown for many years and when I did last month I was not dissappointed. The charm of the course is greater than that of the ones listed above. Perhaps its the relatively short length, occasional blind shots, and lack of any sand bunkers, but certainly the peace and quiet, scenery and mostly short walks between green and next tee make this a very special place. With modest length and no sand bunkers, it still manages to provide a very difficult challenge. The short 6th hole looks innocent enough, but anywhere left (water) or right (down a swale with a pitch back towards the water) make this tiny par 3 a very real potential for danger.

Saying it is a short course is also not exactly correct. The 245 yard par 3 11th and 460+ yard par 4 17th (with a blind tee shot) come to mind (these are the standard mens tees!). While these are long, they do play fair and downhill. 17th in particular is a stunning hole.

One downside when I played was the state of the greens. They were not up to the standard you would expect from such a name, however I was delighted to have the greenskeeper pull up while we were putting on the 16th to come and inspect the greens. He said the greens are nowhere near where they should be. I was glad to see they were concerned and doing something about it. I would reccomend calling ahead before you go to inquire about the condition of the greens. Even so, this course is a must play.

My friend and I finished our round, went into the clubhouse and sat down for a drink on the upper terrace, looking out over the 1st and 18th holes. We decided we had to do it again sometime. And 5 minutes later we were back on the first tee for a late 18! Absolutely a fabulous place.

Tony (UK) 15/05/01

This has a big reputation, as one of Golf World's top 100 courses, and it didn't disappoint. Having negotiated the slightly intimidating clubhouse and members, it was a relief to find an easy short par 4 as the first hole. But after the first few holes, the course gets distinctly harder, characterised by many carries of 150 yards plus over heather and gorse from the yellow tees; more heather and gorse lining fairways and protecting greens; some streams; and many sloping greens. The par 3s are outstanding and extremely difficult. This is definitely not a course for high handicappers, and even mid handicappers will struggle if they are not fully on their game. But if you are playing well, it's great fun. And of course there's the stunning scenery. The quality of the greens was poor on the day we played (May 2001), but hopefully this was a result of the appalling winter and spring we've just had.