Piltdown – Golf Course Review

Golfer’s Tips

• Matching the quaint feel to the club as a whole, practice facilities are somewhat on the more basic side, so don’t expect Trackman and pristine practice bunkers, but you can expect a beautiful little clubhouse nestled within a pretty Sussex countryside village.
• The course feels like it suits a fade, many of the longer holes tend to turn that way, but don’t get caught trying to cut too many corners as heather and grassy mounds await!
• On the daunting par-3 4th hole (see below), the bail out is definitely short left and the carry is not as extreme as it appears from the tee! It is played downhill and the heather tails off on the downslope towards the green.

Signature Holes

• 3rd – a classical but challenging sharp dog-leg, with OOB right and heather left, before an approach shot requiring a carry over a stream and heather into a bowled green at the top of the hill.
• 4th – a strong downhill par 3, requiring a 180-yard carry over two banks of heather. Not for the faint hearted and a potential card-wrecker pretty early into your round!

Review:

A beautiful setup and a very high quality heathland course, all in a quaint Sussex village with the friendly clubhouse a converted old country house overlooking the practice putting green and the 1st tee.

How Piltdown is not talked about more (either in the context of the stronger courses in the local Kent/Sussex area or just generally!) is beyond me, but I’m guessing their members don’t mind!

The course is playable but with its challenges. Fairways are typically fairly generous for a heather-lined heathland course, but some holes require good carries and well directed shots to avoid the heather which when hit will definitely cost you a shot.

Standout holes are definitely the strong par 3 4th, which is a daunting 180-yard carry over two clumps of heather (but thankfully does afford some space in and around the green if the distance is hit), and the long par 4 17th, which is played from an elevated tee to a dogleg left, cambering around the corner with patches of heather lined by mature trees with the approach rising to another undulating green.

Some might point to the single par 5 and perhaps the par 3s being a little same-y in terms of distance (aside from the 4th as noted above), and this might hold Piltdown back when compared against some of the bigger names in the Top 100 list. The wider club facilities are definitely on the ‘quaint’ side, although you could argue this plays into the very friendly feel of the place.

A lovely setup, highly recommended.

• “Top 100” Ranking: 90th (England)
• Golfer View Rating: 79%

https://www.piltdowngolfclub.co.uk/

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