Links 2003 Upham Hall Golf Club

Upham Hall Golf Club by Lez Marwick CLIPNOTES Description Fictional, woodland course Location None given by the designer. Despite the apparent sound of an English country estate course, this is rather reminiscent of some of the New England courses. Conditions The designer's recommend M/F* are good. I prefer M*/M*. Concept 6/10 A no-nonsense course from a currently prolific designer, Upham Hall is a bit difficult to pin down thematically. The styling is nothing that we haven't seen before in a dozen pine-needled courses, and there is an uneasy balance between a 'local', Par-69 course and some championship hole-lengths and stylings. It's perhaps lacking in anything quite as memorable as its immediate predecessors and successors. Appearance 7/10 No problem here, and planting high-level and long-visibility forest such as this is always a test of a designer's skill and patience. The course buildings look overly familiar, and there's a lack of 3D. Planting aside, it all feels a bit workmanlike and routine, without sufficient originality to commend it. There's an odd line in elevations, as well: the course feeling quite hilly without playing that way, and I wonder if the pano has been set a little low. Playability 5/10 I struggled with the course, to be honest. Not in terms of challenge, but simply to motivate my way through 18 rather identikit and routine holes. There's plenty of subtlety, it's true, but that comes at the cost of making a round at Upham Hall compete for all the other exciting things you could be doing. Challenge 4/10 With most of the green complexes relatively unprotected, a shortage of deep rough, and no elevations worth speaking of, you can create much of your own luck here and the course length is much less of a deterrent than it would be elsewhere. Expect at least a couple of eagle opportunities, even though there are only a couple of Par 5s all the way around. Technical 9/10 Although the course may leave something to be desired, Lez continues to turn out an excellent selection of styles, visuals and hole designs. Upham Hall is a turn away from his more fantastical creations, and proves that he can do realism very well. Overall Perhaps not Lez's finest hour. A perfectly solid course that struggles to get noticed. CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson