| BY DESIGN
with
At One
Nature
Architect Paul Jansen pays homage to the Old Course at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club, a timeless layout that is entirely devoid of bunkers.
Courtesy of The Els Club; courtesy of Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club
B
Bunkerless beauties: the Old Course at Royal Ashdown Forest (right); the recentlyopened Els Club (below) on the Malaysian island of Langkawi 40
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unkers are an essential part of the game of golf. They give the architect an opportunity to create strategic and visual interest – at the same time. Many of our modern golf courses – and some of our old – would hardly be the visual and strategic treat they are today without sand. If you want to improve the visual aspect of your golf course then start with bunkers – at least until you get a grip of the cost of building and then maintaining them. For most of us it would be hard to imagine a golf course without sand given how frequent it is used in modern design, and I bet few of us have had the opportunity to play a golf course of this nature. Most recently Ernie Els opened a golf course on the Malaysian island of Langkawi without any bunkers – instead his team chose to focus on using what existed on the property in helping achieve the strategy and provide visual drama. Whilst this golf course may be one of the only courses in Asia – at the minute – to have no bunkers there are a few golf courses spread throughout Europe and the Americas that have not so much as one sand trap. One such golf course is a personal favorite of mine. Royal Ashdown Forest, situated in the southern English county of East Sussex – and within an hour’s drive of the London metropolis – is the setting for the “Winnie the Pooh” stories but also home to one of the most quaint and unique golf courses in the land. The Old Course at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club, which writer A C M Croome said, "Must rank in character
with St Andrews, Prestwick and Westward Ho!", has not one sandy hollow throughout, yet remains riveting from start to finish. It is indeed a treat and this is further substantiated by the illustrious golf scribe Bernard Darwin, who wrote of the course: “It is only at the end of the round do we realise with a pleasurable shock that there is not a hideous rampant on the course, or so much as a pot bunker." Royal Ashdown Forest is protected by Acts of Parliament restricting any alterations to the land without approval from conservators. With that in mind the golf course was made to sit on the property with little disturbance and this in itself gives it appeal. Instead of mining bunkers for strategic and visual interest, other features that exist on the property are used to great effect to create the drama and determine the play. For instance, waves of heather and native vegetation eat into the corridors of play at strategic moments throughout the round. Interesting humps and bumps and general contours bound many of the green complexes and dictate some of the landing areas. To go with that, many outstanding trees frame the holes and are very pleasing on the eye. In addition, there are pleasant stream systems across the site that meander in and out of the course at opportune moments and add to the danger. The topography – severe at times – gives the course added variety and on many occasions allows the golfer to survey the splendid surrounds. Royal Ashdown Forest is somewhat of an unconventional golf course as well in that there HKGOLFER.COM
Little about the Old Course at Royal Ashdown Forest seems contrived, artificial or forced. It melds naturally into its environment and because of this has a real sense of place and a character all its own. is the odd blind shot to go with crossing holes at the start and finish. This is all infused with some fascinating green complexes and a solid routing that makes good use of the land. It certainly is a treat to look at and play. What is interesting is that without any bunkers the golf course seems even more entwined with its surrounds – almost at one with nature. It fact little about the golf course seems contrived, artificial or forced. It melds naturally into its environment and because of this has a real sense of place and a character all its own. It is a delight to play – forgiving at times, fun, interesting and strategic as well. Not over maintained or wanting to be anything more than it is. I suspect when most golfers finish a round at Royal Ashdown there is no longing for sand. Come to think of it sand would have hardly made the test any better, but it would certainly have made it much worse … there is a lesson in this. Paul Jansen is the principal architect for Jansen Golf Design. For more information visit his website at jansengolfdesign.com HKGOLFER.COM
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