Coombe Hill - A Case Study in Golf Course Renovation by Ken Moodie



JF Abercrombie designed Coombe Hill in 1911. Although he only designed about six golf courses in his relatively short career he was well respected by his peers for his ability to work with nature and create very natural features. This is evident in the setting and gentle shaping of the greens at Coombe Hill which is one of the great strengths of the golf course. The contouring of the putting surfaces is a key element to the strategy of many of the holes since it is important not just to be on the green but near the flag in order to be confident of two putting.

Prior to renovation the course, and in particular the bunkers, had fallen into a state of decline and nature had taken over by the steady ingress of trees.

The open heathland character of the course had been lost and the greens suffered from shade and a lack of circulation. Fortunately an enthusiastic Course Manager and a forward thinking Greens Chairman both wished to see the golf course restored to its former glory. A consultant agronomist was appointed to advise on the improvement of the playing surfaces and at the same time a woodland and environmental consultant was brought in to produce a plan to manage the woodands and to re-establish areas of heathland.

"A report was developed which reviewed the strategy of the course, and of individual holes in more detail, in order to make proposals for improvement. It was clear that the framework of the course was sound and there were 18 strong holes to be re-discovered."

The trees had grown to such an extent that they had fundamentally altered the strategy of the original holes. Some key bunkers had become hidden and the shot options from many of the tees reduced to one, namely straight-down-the-middle.

The thinning and removal of trees not only brought some of the key bunkers back into play, and restored the spirit of many of the original holes, but also exposed weaknesses in the bunker layout which had occurred due to the advances of modern club and ball technology.

For this reason Creative Golf Design were commissioned to advise on the redevelopment of the bunkers and improvement of the strategy of the holes on the golf course. The Club had suffered with poor and inconsistent bunkers for a number of years and recognised that they at least required to be rebuilt. However, it also realised that consideration needed to be given to bunker siting given the passage of time since the original design had been conceived.

A report was developed which reviewed the strategy of the course, and of individual holes in more detail, in order to make proposals for improvement. It was clear that the framework of the course was sound and there were 18 strong holes to be re-discovered.

Already the course contained four top-class par 3's which could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the very best in golf. These only required relatively minor tweaking during the bunker remodelling process to repair wear and tear and accentuate the finest qualities of the holes.

The three par 5's at Coombe Hill, like on many courses of the same vintage, suffered from a lack of length with no room to increase them significantly. The 4th and 15th holes both possessed downhill drives and were therefore very reachable in two-shots.

This was not considered a bad thing, since the opportunity of a birdie or even an eagle, adds greatly to the excitement of the game. However, it was felt that two good shots should be required to reach the green so hazards, in the form of a bunker on the 4th and a grass hollow and mounds on the 15th, were placed short of the green on the line for the approach for a long second shot.

These hazards would not unduly challenge the golfer playing a short 3rd shot to the green but would add some distance perception difficulties to the task by creating an area of hidden ground on the approach.

Coombe Hill possesses a fine mix of par 4's. The changes in elevation throughout the course provide some dramatic drives from elevated tees and also lengthen the three uphill par 4's beyond their measured yardage. Two of the uphill par 4's - the 8th and the 16th - were identified for more radical change.

For both holes the impression from the tee was that they climbed steadily straight up the slope. This gave them a similarity which detracted from the golfing experience. The solution was to dogleg both holes slightly in opposite directions by the careful placement of bunkers, some judicious removal of trees and the reshaping of the fairway. With relatively minor changes the holes have been transformed giving them an individual identity they previously seemed to lack.

The 7th hole allowed the opportunity to create a strategically testing short par 4. The framework of the hole was already very good but the test for the better player had been lost. The ingress of trees had diluted the strategy of the hole and hidden the approach to the green from the tees.

For what is a driveable par 4, visibility of the green and at least the approach is essential to the drama of the hole. With the subtle realignment and remodelling of the existing bunkers, addition of a new bunker at 260 yards on a direct line to the green, and the placement of mounds on the opposite side of the fairway to narrow the approach, four distinct landing areas were provided to accommodate all abilities of golf and levels of risk.

Trees were removed to allow the front of the green to be seen from the tee. In addition, a new challenging pin position was created by extending the green at the back. The best position for the drive will now depend on where the flag is placed on a given day.

An important aspect of the proposals was the decision to retain a number of the shorter drive and approach bunkers. Although no longer relevant for the better golfer, they provide a challenge for other members and add greatly to the composition of the golf hole. If all the bunkers were to be shifted to the 230-260 yard range the fun would be lost for a large proportion of the membership who would no longer be able to reach them with their drives and would be well past the bunkers with their second shots.

The construction work, which consisted of 15 new bunkers, 52 remodelled bunkers, a number of grass hollows and mounds, two green extensions and the drainage of the three poorest performing greens began in October 2003 and was completed in early February 2004.

The golf course architects visited on a weekly basis to advise on the shaping of the new features and to ensure that the Specification was being followed. This was very important to ensure that the design plans were realised successfully and allowed minor on-site modifications to be made to improve the end product.

It was truly a team effort with Contractor, Agronomist, Greens Chairman, Course Manager, Woodland Consultants and Golf Course Architects coming together for regular meetings to discuss progress, specification issues and further improvements which could be made to the planned design. Coombe Hill has benefited greatly from taking professional advice and a pragmatic approach to the development of the course.