Ashridge – Golf Course Review

Golfer’s Tips

• The course feels well suited to a right-to-left tee shot, so a right-handed draw is perfect. That being said, fairways are often running down valleys and are therefore shaped to hold the short grass, even if the shot shape doesn’t mirror the fairway angle.
• A minor quibble, but the stroke indexing of holes feels inaccurate throughout, making Stableford scoring an interesting task. Short par 5s with limited danger find themselves amongst the lower indices, whilst some holes that are perhaps shorter yet significantly more difficult are afforded much higher numbers. All quite confusing.
• Left is your friend on the longer par 4 12th hole. All of the danger is right, and any pulled shot will meander its way back down the hill. Shortening the hole by seeking to fly the longer grass and encroaching trees on the right is not advisable.

Signature Holes

• 8th – the best of the par threes, beautifully framed in front of woodland with carefully manicured hedges and heather in front. The green is a highlight due to its significant undulations, steep roll-off areas and well-positioned bunkering.
• 12th – a fine par four, played down to a fairway that slants to the right, sitting in front of a hill upon which the clubhouse is handsomely perched – look out for ‘Cotton’s Patch’ shaved into the longer grass on the right-hand side. The green is a narrow one, with no sand, instead reliant on swales and collection areas for any misdirected approach.

Review:

A delightful traverse through lush, mature woodland – Ashridge is a course with a pleasant, peaceful feel that also hits the mark from a quality standpoint.

Stepping out of the excellent clubhouse, centrally positioned within the course, you are met with what feels like a mini ‘golfing village’, with four tree-lined holes and a practice area all visible. The course is a set of holes that run through mature woodland, with the shape of each hole often dictated by the route that small valleys take between the trees.

This is very much the case with the first two holes, both turning right to left (as several holes do) with high-banked fairways that funnel the ball back centrally. Green complexes are a major defence – the putting surfaces are fair and run superbly, and there is sand in places, prevalent on the challenging fourth hole, for example, but there are subtle run-offs around many greens that prevent a poor approach from reaching the target.

The back nine includes three par fives, all of which are relatively modest in length, and the greens are reachable in firmer Summer conditions. Avoid disasters on the 14th, which is a longer par 4 turning right to left into a green with an incline at the front, and 16, which is a mid-length par 3 with a pond and overhanging beech tree on the right-hand side, and the back side feels like it can be attacked if tee shots are kept in play.

Both nines finish with excellent par 4s descending down hills to the centralised collection of greens and tees sitting in front of the clubhouse. The ninth is a particularly fine shorter hole, with a fairway that feeds the ball down the slope, the resulting approach has deep bunkers awaiting short left and right of a testing green which slopes from back right to front left.

The quality of all golfing surfaces is without question, and there is a tranquillity and an Englishness to the holes carving through the dense green trees. The course played relatively kindly in Summer – I had read that some of the long grass was far more penal in times gone by, but the generous shape of many holes and the gettable length of the par fives mean that a score is available.

Overall, Ashridge is a very pleasant place to visit – the golf course offers just enough intrigue to challenge, and at the same time enjoying the serenity of a stroll through rolling English greenery.

• “Top 100” Ranking: 3rd (Herts), 80th (England)
• Golfer View Rating: 75%

https://www.ashridgegolfclub.ltd.uk

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