Golf in London

Tudor Park Golf Course is a 9 hole golf course open to the public, close to Monken Hadley Common in North London Borough of Barnet.  East Barnet Golf Club (the link is from the scorecard, but doesn’t seem to work for me) has a clubhouse at the course and provides membership, handicaps, and regular competitions. It seems like a friendly club and I think it’s open to new members.

THE ENTRANCE TO THE COURSE FROM CLIFFORD ROAD

Tudor Sports Ground
Clifford Road
New Barnet
London
EN5 5NY
Tel. 020 8449 2366
Google Map

The monastic name has its origins in a gift of the land to the monks of Walden Abbey by the Earl of Essex, whereas ‘Hadley’ means a heathy clearing in a wood. Well, there you are then. It’s neighbouring golf courses are Trent Park to the East, Hadley Wood Golf Club to the North, Seve’s Shire and Old Ford Manor to the West, and South Herts to the South.

The common was once, like large swathes of the green open spaces in the north and north west of London, part of the monarch’s hunting ground called Enfield Chase. There’s not quite so much to chase these days. The only time a boar is seen these days, is in a sausage.

Tudor Park belongs to Barnet Council. It’s a square piece of land, mostly occupied by the golf course but with a cricket pitch in the middle. The park is bordered by woods to the north, a railway to the east, and surburban housing to the south and west. Just a short walk from the Hadley Hotel on Hadley Road. It’s a fine setting for a golf course.

Half of the land settles on a gentle hillside, with the 1st, 7th, 8th and 9th almost all providing blind shots over the slopes. The remaining holes: the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th are predominently flat, with bunkers and trees providing the hazards.

The greenkeeping staff have to contend with the twin threats of teenagers and bunnies, and a shotgun is not always the answer. The sustainability of Barnet youth must take precedence. They cannot simply be culled just because golfers prefer a true putting surface. Signs are one gentler alternative, although a sign telling people not to nick the signs has not been 100% effective.

Bunnies represent the greater risk. These horny nose-twitchers love to burrow you see. When they’re not burrowing into each other, they content themselves with a hole in the ground. No sooner has a green been repaired than these insatiable furballs go to work. A quick flurry of paws and earth later, and hey presto, one underground condo. No doubt with mirrored ceilings, open fire, and shagpile carpet. There’s no such thing as Metrosexual Bunny, they’re all unreconstructed bonker bunnies.

BUNNY AT REST.

The greens survive though. That what’s left is so good, must mean they were were excellent once. There’s lots of tiers and substantial slopes, and they are being looked after.

Bunkers are large and well positioned, but very shallow. So much so that a putter is sometimes an option, but they do come into play and you’re likely to find at least one of them on your way round.

This course is a real surprise to me. I was expecting a pitch and putt, but there’s a good size 9 hole course here at Tudor Park. And it’s set apart from other short courses in London by its testing long par 3 holes, which aren’t an average feature of public courses in municipal parks.

Good use is made of the trees surrounding the park, with several holes hugging the borders (the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th all have out of bounds marked by the treeline close to the fairway and greens). The trees are also a central part of holes 6 and 7. The sixth is a very short par 3 played over tall trees in front of the green. The tee shot must be a high wedge with little margin for error. Apparently one member regular plays a low runner between the trees, over a bridge which is only 6ft wide.

The seventh is a manufactured dog-leg left, where the fairway makes a 90 degree turn about 160 yards from the tee. The trees make you think twice about attempting to cut the corner, one club member reports that one of the club’s local rules prevents you trying. A tree out wide to the right will bring any slice or push down quickly.

VIEW FROM THE 7TH TEE

The first hole is a blind, straight par 3 of 230 yards played over a hill. There is out-of-bounds all the way along the left and behind the green. The green is comparatively small and on two tiers, with a bunker protecting the right edge. It needs a low running shot with a 5 wood or hybrid, braving the left hand side of the fairway, to run down to the green. But there’s no shame in a four here.

VIEW LOOKING BACK UP THE FIRST HOLE

APPROACH TO THE 1ST PAR 3. YOU CAN SEE THE STEEP UPWARD SLOPE OF THE GREEN.

The second is a gentler downhill par 3 of 218 yards, with a bunker waiting to catch a pushed tee shot, and out-of-bounds waiting all down the left. There’s not much room for error on the left, and the fence, there to protect you from golfers playing the first and from hitting players on the 8th green, narrows your view even more.

THE TEE AT THE SECOND HOLE

The third is around 185 yards, to a flat, narrow green protected by bunkers to the front, left and back, and a tree to bring down pulled shots.

THIS IS A VIEW FROM THE 4TH HOLE, LOOKING ACROSS THE 3RD GREEN.

The fourth is a short par 4 , slightly uphill, with a ditch running across the hole and out-of-bounds all down the right. It’s reachable from the tee, but the trees and railway are tight to the right hand edge of the fairway.

VIEW FROM THE BACK OF THE FOURTH GREEN

The eighth is another testing par 3 of 208 yards. Almost blind, again played over the same hill as the first. It’s a similar shot, but with the ground sloping away more steeply to the right, a large and well-placed greenside bunker on the left, and a two-tiered green. There’s no out-of-bounds threatening your tee shot here though, so the way is open to play a mid to long iron.

VIEW FROM HALF WAY UP THE FAIRWAY, LOOKING DOWN THE 8TH GREEN.

The 9th is blind once more, another long par 3 with a large bunker dominating the fairway at the crest of the hill.

VIEW FROM THE 9TH TEE, WITH 7TH GREEN TO THE LEFT AND 1ST FAIRWAY TO THE RIGHT.

Par 3s of over 200 yards, especially with blind shots from the tee aren’t particularly friendly to beginners or handicap golfers, but they are enjoyable and challenging to play. Some courses would make the first a par 4, and I’m glad this hasn’t happened here.

The condition of the course is OK. It could be a lot better. The teeing areas have mats and grass tees. The markers for the tees and flagsticks often go AWOL. The greens have suffered at the hands of teenagers, and the fairways are quite long. But for all that, it looks good, and is a real pleasure to play. It’s also a stiff challenge for golfers of all abilities.

There is the possibility to play from a different teeing area on some holes if you’re playing 18. The fourth can be played from close to the trees on the right, or from a more acute angle on the left. The sixth can also be played from two different angles over the trees. The 8th has a raised tee which gives you a view of the top of the flag, but can also be played blind from a different area.

A fiver well spent. Go and find out for yourself.