A NEW GOLDEN AGE

Rob Smith reflects on the golf courses to have opened in the UK&I in the 21st century and is suitably impressed with their quality and variety

- Rob Smith

In the 1980s, golf entered a remarkable boom time, spearheaded by the success of Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer and others. Suddenly, everyone wanted to play, and The R&A reported that we needed a great many new courses in the UK&I to fulfill potential demand and grow the game. Several hundred were built before the new millennium, and while a good number have stood the test of time, many have fallen by the wayside. Within a few miles of my home in Kent, the likes of Austin Lodge, Broke Hill, Cranbrook (aka Hemsted Forest), Deangate Ridge, Kent National (aka Moatlands) and Woodlands Manor have all closed their doors in the last few years. The oldest of these only dated back to 1969, so it’s sad to think that they never really made it to full maturity.

Since the turn of the century, for so many social and economic reasons, we have seen far fewer new-build courses. Those that have seen the light of day have largely benefited from far greater resources and thought, as well as modern construction methods and materials. The result is, arguably, something of a new golden age in golf course architecture. We now have an excellent crop of what appears to be something of an oxymoron – the instant classic.

Quality versus quantity