Walmer & Kingsdown in Kent gets the skysports.com review treatment.
Kent course gets the skysports.com review treatment
Sitting on top of the famous white cliffs around Dover, Walmer & Kingsdown offers some magnificent views over the English Channel and golfers can even cast their eyes over to France in the right conditions.
Located just ten minutes down the coast from the triple links tests of Royal St George's, Prince's and Royal Cinque ports,
skysports.com tried out Walmer & Kingsdown as part of a golfing package trip to Kent as it offers a different challenge and change of pace to the links courses down on the coast.
A downland course, Walmer & Kingsdown measures in at 6,471 yards and does play a bit easier than the exposed links courses nearby, but it offers its own problems and it soon became apparent here too course knowledge was king.
Designed by James Braid, the course is still a good one and offers value for money in the shadow of its more illustrious links neighbours down the coast.
At only £33 a round during the week, and even just £180 for a fourball during the week of the Open at St George's, value it most certainly is, and these prices are even up for slight negotiation according to my sources at the club.
New holes
Opened in 1909, the course redesigned in 1974 by John Lawrie, who created three new holes in the 11th, 12th and 13th while combining six of the originals to lengthen the course but retain its charm and character.
With views from the sea on every hole, the seventh is the signature view as you look right out to sea from the top of a hill and you can even get a glimpse of France on a clear day - sadly there was a spot of mist and fog when I was playing but I was assured by my playing partners it was there.
My partners, veterans I'm sure even they'll admit, showed that course knowledge was vitally important, especially after a dry spell when the ball ran for an age on the fairway and flying a normal short iron onto the green and stopping it proved almost impossible.
The fact 77-year-old Bernie reached the turn just one over illustrated that the veterans had talent as well as course knowledge though - on the eighth in particular I raised an eyebrow when told to aim miles right but watching the ball run all the way down the hill back to the green showed how you could get this course all wrong.
Greens ran a bit slower than on the links courses I'd played, but this came as no great surprise, unlike finding one of the numerous small pot hole bunkers that lay in wait on some fairways and are desperately hard to see from the tee.
Dry slopes
There are some nice holes on the course - the dryness meant some drives were very tough as the ball simply flew down the slopes - as was the case on the 16th when my iron down the right rolled over 50 yards and into the sand, it's fair to say I was not pleased with that outcome.
Emerging from the path to the 16th tee though does offer another spectacular view, one of many around the course and these alone are worthy of a visit and are something I personally particularly enjoy during a round of golf.
Having met chairman Alan Rutherford and playing with past chairmen and captains on my round I can vouch for the club offering a warm welcome to all, although I cannot sadly back-up Stan's (the course oracle) claim of the halfway house offering 'the best sausage baps in the world', as it was not open!
Apart from that, the course definitely backed-up its value for money claim, it offers not a championship test but a lot of fun - and also offers its own challenges without bordering on the impossible as some links courses can in poor weather.
I'd include it on any trip to Kent, whether for the Open this summer or just a summer jaunt, and with the views it's definitely a course to have your camera handy.
