Chart Hills – Golf Course Review

Golfer’s Tips

• The 1st is a tough tee shot, and one where perhaps sand is less to be avoided than on other holes – the long grass waiting to swallow up the ball pulled left, away from the traps, is more than likely worse than finding a spot in some fairly shallow bunkers, where a simple shot knocking down the fairway leaves a 3rd into the green on a sub-500 yard, downhill par 5.
• An intriguing tee club choice on the short par 4 14th may be dictated by a player’s shot shape. For someone that moves it right to left then an iron for safety may be the play, keeping it away from the plethora of bunkers up the left on driver distance, allowing a longer approach shaping up and around the end of these traps to the green at the top of the hill. For a fader then a longer club to clear the stream may be more plausible, leaving a shot in from the right fairway further up, which could take the sand traps out of play.

Signature Holes

• 5th – a relatively short par 5, but one with the enormous “Anaconda” bunker that snakes up the right half of the fairway for 200 yards, prior to cutting across the short grass at wedge distance.
• 13th – others might bode for the 17th (island green) as a standout hole, but for me the 13th is a beautifully designed hole. A challenging par 4 which doglegs left, with a a stream and small pond running down the left to catch any pulled tee shots. The approach is then threaded into a long green down the right hand side, where the contouring will bring the ball into the centre and thus avoid the bunkers below on the left.

Review:

A potential monster in the Summer, but played in the Winter from forward tees – Chart Hills is relatively new but a well thought-out course at a club offering the premium service.

Set out across rolling hills, with an abundance of tactically placed bunkers throughout (including a couple of monsters lining an entire fairway), Chart Hills has the feeling of immense space and a very well thought out course.

The club itself is very much of the more modern, American-style golfing destination (think the Grove for the UK equivalent) – very much geared towards corporate entertainment and society days, there are dedicated cart paths and first-class facilities throughout.

The first four holes are a fantastic start, and there are several clever par 4s where tee shot placement is of the utmost importance, so that you can avoid the aforementioned bunkers, deep rough and a fair amount of water offering a good challenge throughout.

I would suggest that the par 3s could be stronger, definitely the weakest element of the layout with the 5s (and many 4s) excellent. The 17th may draw plaudits for the island design, but it is stationed in a less attractive section of the course and in fact does not align with the rolling contours and general attractiveness of some of the other sections of the round.

Those attractive and clever qualities are also exemplified on the challenging 13th, which arches around a pond and stream on the left, and the 16th, another par 5 on the shorter side but playing up hill and then along an undulating fairway littered with bunkers.

Having played in Winter off forward tees it felt in some ways that the course was easier than it might be in Summer – with the extra length and the natural narrowing of target areas due to some pretty deep rough growing thicker in the warmer months, it does feel like it could be quite tricky to navigate. 

• “Top 100” Ranking: 94th (England)
• Golfer View Rating: 73%

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