Rushmore – Golf Course Review

Golfer’s Tips

• The fairway cambers significantly to the right on the first hole, not immediately obvious from the tee, so left fairway is definitely preferred in order to avoid the handsome old trees lining the right hand side.
• In the Summer months the pond is comfortably within reach for most on the excellent 3rd hole. A tee shot that typically goes 170-180 yards, passing the trees in the centre of the fairway, leaves a better yardage to hold the green with a fuller approach shot.
• The short par 4 16th hole is drivable for longer hitters that can turn the ball right to left, and there is little to deter that decision. Miss the large tree on the left of the fairway and, even if the putting surface is not found, there is likely to be a fairly routine pitch into a green without any major bunkering.

Signature Holes

• 4th – an excellently crafted par 3, playing over a pond on the front left corner of the green, but with sizeable bunkers on the right to catch those that steer clear of the water. All with fine views of the Dorset countryside over your left shoulder.
• 8th – a very strong par 4. The tee shot is daunting as you attempt to thread a drive between a dense copse of trees on the left and the fenced boundary on the right. The approach into the green is far more open, but requires a well judged shot to clear the water and find the correct tier on a perilous green that slopes devilishly from back to front.

Review:

Rushmore, a quaint parkland course set within a large country estate on the Dorset/Wiltshire border, is at times superb, yet at times frustrating.

Venturing into the fine country estate of the same name, winding through the plentiful rolling grounds, you are met with a quaint club sitting amongst a copse of trees with all of the necessary golfing amenities proudly evidenced.

The course starts with two mid length back-and-forth par 4s, the first more picturesque playing into a fairway lined with mature trees, with the green guarded by a strong incline at the front.

The course then finds a fantastic section, crossing the border between Wiltshire and Dorset in the meantime. The third is a nice short par 4, playing downhill towards a pond that is easily reachable in the Summer months. The approach is then played into a green with the pond looming in front, but a fine view of the Dorset countryside beyond. Following thereafter is an excellent short par 3, cleverly designed with another pond short left and a large bunker cut front right for the resulting bail out.

The next few holes are more open and reach out to the perimeter of the plot overlooking the rolling North Dorset hills. The 8th, rightly the toughest hole on the course, is a long par 4 that at first looks inviting, that is before you realise the narrow gap between trees left and fenced OOB right. Negotiate this and there is an attractive approach into a testing tiered green on the upslope of the valley, with another pond lurking at its base.

The middle holes feel slightly lost and claustrophobic by contrast, including a pretty baffling traipse back down a hole just played to find the next tee, where the hole quality and intrigue also suffers. Some simple routing tweaks could surely improve a section that lets Rushmore down.

After the par 5 twelfth, which falls and then climbs back up the hill that the eighth originally descended, with a green sat among three separate water hazards, there is the pleasant 13th which feeds down towards a green handsomely protected by a well-barricaded pond.

The onward section includes a set of holes that gradually feed back towards the clubhouse, with mature trees dotted among some fairly open landscape that makes scoring easier.

The finishing hole is fairly underwhelming, a par 4 that is short of length with no real interest, running along the back boundary of the golfing land.

Overall, Rushmore is a confusing course – some real highlights with holes that would sit well within courses of significantly higher stature, but there are also some mundane and clumsy sections that soften the overall experience. Room for some improvement – perhaps in more ways than one given the generous land area the club possesses.

• “Top 100” Ranking: 12th (Dorset)
• Golfer View Rating: 62%

https://www.rushmoregolfclub.co.uk

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