In the last few months, I’ve made a concerted effort not only to play a bit more golf, but to go and visit courses I haven’t seen before, an activity that always brings plenty of interest and variety to the golfing diet.
These new visits tend to be to places that have been mentioned or enjoyed by a few other people whose opinions I trust, or that have had some degree of media or ranking coverage of late, but while I enjoy the prestige and architectural pedigree of the internationally renowned courses as much as the next hacker, it is often the unexpected delight that makes this sort of exploration so enjoyable.
Late last year, for example, I “climbed the Hill”, battling against a strong wind to marvel at the rugged layout and spectacular views of Cleeve Hill, on whose exposed slopes the work of Old Tom Morris and Alister MacKenzie appear magnificently preserved despite the elements, and I drove home elated at that stark reminder of how much fun golf can be on the kind of courses that don’t get built anymore.
Another day I finally made it to Hayling, and came away inspired by the artistry of Tom Simpson, who always seems to create strategically interesting holes that also look stunning, as if he had painted them in and amongst those dunes; the soft, flowing lines of his contours at home in the shifting sands of the coastal linksland.
These journeys are always worthwhile, for they remind me of the breadth and depth of golf in the UK. We have hundreds of fine courses in many different categories, from historic links to heathland, parkland to moorland, cliff top to chalk downland. Some are on a grand scale, others far more intimate, but everywhere I go there is a story to be learned, and I intentionally refrain from doing much in the way of advance research, as I find it helps me to see the course with fresh eyes, and limited expectation.
We all have our own preferred tastes, and favourites haunts, but every so often I will come away from this experience of seeing a course for the first time beguiled by the extent of the golfing value that I have found, wondering why I never tried it before.
And so it was with Stoneham (here). Sitting in a nook a few miles from Southampton, this Willie Park Jr design, which opened in 1908, had been on the periphery of my golfing awareness for a few years, but some major developments on and off the course had been mentioned in the golfing press which caught my eye, and so into the satnav is plugged the postcode, and off I go, with clubs and shoes in the van, and a childlike excitement in the air.
I find these first impressions so interesting. There are courses for which it was love at first sight - New Zealand and Royal St George’s for example - and others where I was marginally less enchanted on first impression, but where subsequent visits layered on further appreciation for the course, such as Worplesdon and Hankley Common. A few courses I could probably get around blindfolded after one visit, each hole clear in the mind from the outset, but most of the time I will remember certain shots or views, and long to return soon to get to know the course better, as subsequent visits will often expose further, subtler layers of complexity and appeal.
My first impressions of Stoneham left me smiling, but definitely wanting a return visit, which is always a good sign. The turf, sitting high up in the fresh air but on clay soil, was healthy and well-drained, and the maintenance practices that were in evidence around the course that day are clearly working well, for the conditioning was excellent for the time of year, and suited the design of the course so well.
The routing feels like an adventure to me - you head out into the rolling hills, working your way through eighteen fine holes that seem to change direction and tone with every new assignment. After some well-planned and necessary forestry work in recent years, the remaining woodland within the property is attractive and provides both visual definition and a sense of the wider environment that is so important in the fabric of the experience of playing here.
There are patches of strong heather, and many of the spectacular bunkers - some of which would feel at home in a Walton Heath or a Sunningdale - are clad with it, but the number and position of these hazards never feels oppressive, but rather thoughtful.
There are some interesting carries to be made, but none of these are overly demanding to the average golfer (that’s me on a good day); rather, they appear mouth-watering as you step up to hit the shot, adding to the challenge. Around the greens are fewer bunkers than many modern courses have - usually a good thing - and instead the greenkeepers maintain some wonderfully contoured run-offs and gullies at a short height of cut, which gives plenty of options for recovery strokes of all sorts. Or, if you have my pitching technique, lots of very long and hilly putts.
There are a few greens that slope away from play, or where the surface is slightly angled to favour an approach from a given side of the generous fairways, and false fronts protect several pins from timid shots. It feels as if you have to commit to a brave form of golf at Stoneham, for while there is nothing tricked up anywhere on the site, it is a pleasantly demanding course, as befits a club towards which most of the local talent gravitates.
If there was one thing that really struck me about the architecture, it would be the green sites. One after another, the putting surfaces would be hugging a bank or perched beside some cavernous hollow, and yet they never feel contrived. The architect must have looked first for the prime green locations across this large and gorgeous landscape, and worked back from there, as almost without exception the short grass would appear in what looked the only natural spot in a given area. Some were huge and heavily contoured, others - notably the short par four thirteenth, with its hourglass-shaped green and stunning hollows to protect it - were harder to find but appropriate in size and challenge for the shot being attempted.
Stoneham is a very good walk, too. You don’t seem to notice the change in elevation in your legs until the end, as the golf is enthralling and the hills are climbed in keen anticipation of the next shot or view, but by the time you take a seat in the bar, at the end of a suitably demanding closing hole, you know you’ve been out there. It’s the sort of place you could wander around every day of the year and not feel stale, as the fresh air, exposure to the wind, and the integrity of the layout must present in different ways every time.
This course will challenge - but not crucify - every aspect of your game, and so I was not surprised when we looked at the new practice area - a state of the art short game facility next to a wonderful, technologically refined range, designed by James Edwards of EDI Golf (here) - to find it full of golfers eagerly working on their games ahead of their next exploration of the course that opens up before them from that spot.
For a club with a good deal of fascinating history, it seems to be straddling the delicate line between tradition and development, between a glorious past and the future, so well. The recent investment not just in the practice ground, but also irrigation and drainage upgrades, woodland management, and some ambitious strategic planning are all testament to the vision and ambition of the club in this phase of its existence, and they are building a strong team to deliver it all. Alongside this is a clear commitment to environmental stewardship - the GEO certification process well underway - as befits occupation of such a beautiful piece of golfing land.
Stoneham has enough to challenge and improve the elite player, but its architectural heritage combined with the thoughtful maintenance presentation leaves plenty of room for the improving golfer to get it round. But it isn’t surprising that this is, in the local area, the only course for the keen golfer to aspire to. It is a cut above the rest, and by the way things are going at Stoneham at the moment, it will deservedly stay there.
So, another first visit to a course - another first impression - and I left with only two key thoughts in mind. Firstly, “when can I have another go at Stoneham?” It was so much fun, and I loved the experience of turning up with next to no knowledge of the place. Having been bitten by this wonderful, rugged golf course that oozes charm, I have spent the few days since that debut learning more about the history and pedigree of the place, and can’t wait to get back and explore the bits I’d missed on first acquaintance.
Secondly, and I can think of no greater confirmation of the strength of an initial interaction, “do they have a Country membership?”. For it is this sort of feeling I am looking for when visiting a new golf course, or picking up a book to read, or listening to an album I’ve not heard before. The desire to make stronger the initial connection, to continue the dialogue, to share a little more of my time with those words, that music, or those glorious golf holes.
Until the next time, Stoneham! And thank you, Willie Park Jr. What a gift you left behind in the rolling hills of that stunning little pocket of Hampshire.
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I've not played Stoneham since I was a lad when my dad and I went to the Dell (Crystal Palace I think, maybe Man Utd or Derby. Anyway, I do remember we won 2-0 and the great Steve Moran got one). I seem to remember the course had more of a parkland look and feel and I don't recall any heather. Maybe I'm just not remembering it right, but the images I've seen of it recently look very different. It looks fantastic.
Yes it’s an example of not needing length to have a great course.