East Sussex National (East) - Sussex - England

East Sussex National’s East course built by a Canadian and designed by Bob Cupp, is not surprisingly, an American style course. I decided to play this course because it held an European PGA tour event twenty-five+ years ago. I suspect it held the event as a way to gather notoriety and was able to do so as it has the length and land for large crowds. This is very much a “manufactured” golf course with very little natural about it. The fairways are generous, particularly on the par fives and the longer par 4’s, and the wayward shot usually has a chance of a putt for par unless the grass is high or a ball finds the water.

I do not have the game for the back tees.at over 7100 yards and even the next set of tees at nearly 6800 yards is a bit long. The white tees at 6050 is too short. As with several other courses I have reviewed, I wondered why there is not a set of combo tees creating a 6400-6500 yard course. It isn’t very difficult to do this.

From those 6050 tees the course is definitely too easy as most of the challenge of the course is taken away given the width of the fairways and the shortness of the par 5’s and many of the par 4’s. The white tees have two par 5’s at 460 yards and nine par 4’s under 400 yards.

We did our own combination and played the blue tees for the par 5’s and par 3’s and moved up to the white tees on any par 4 over 420 yards (#5, 9, 15, and 17) which created a course of approximately 6540 yards. We did not move up on #18 as the yardage was nearly 100 yards shorter with the white tees at 330 yards which we felt to be unfair.

The fairways are generous except for a few holes. One could argue they are too generous. However, if one plays the correct tees for your game, then the course provides options especially on those longer holes. The routing works it way down from the clubhouse and then back up a bit for both the front and back nine. There is good use of water as a defense beginning with the first hole where a stream is at the front of the short par 4 green. The long par 4 fifth hole has a ditch that should not come into play but has to be considered. Water is nearby on other holes but not really in play. The tenth and sixteenth has water fronting the green. Seventeen seems to have water everywhere whether as a stream or a pond.

The greens are large and defined less by subtleties to their breaks than by larger slopes. They are good greens. Putts longer than 30 feet will require an equal focus to pace as to the line as they can end up well short or roll out too long. A few holes such as the fourth and ninth holes have a bowl/ridge in the green. Some of the greens are crowned such as the eighth or raised like the fourteenth and seventeenth. Several of the downhill holes have their greens sloping front to back or slanted to one side or the other such as the seventh, eighth, or eleventh. This leads to good variety in the tilts of the large greens. Near the greens are a good placement of bunkers, mounds, run-offs, or valleys fronting the greens

The par 5’s for the longer hitters are a good mix of length and birdie opportunities. The second hole is only 517 yards from the back tees playing downhill so a good drive will leave an iron for the approach shot. The tenth plays at only 510 yards. The other two par 5’s play 575 yards from the championship tees.

The short par 4’s such as the downhill sixth also represent a strong birdie chance for anyone, with the longer hitters easily being able to reach the green with their tee shot, perhaps even with a 3 metal.

There is appropriate use of bunkers such as going down the right side of the fairway on the long par 4 third hole and the four bunkers surrounding the fifth green. The greenside bunkers can be fairly deep and many of the fairway bunkers have a raised lip. The only hole where I think there is an overuse of bunkers is on the mid-length eleventh where there is a cluster of them on the left side of the fairway and two on the right. These bunkers pinch the fairway a little too much.

It starts and ends with holes that are fun to play with the first being a short par 4 downhill with a stream fronting it and a skinny green while the eighteenth is uphill and well bunkered left of the green. They are both fun holes.

The best holes on the golf course are the long par 4 fifth hole, followed by the short eighth par 3 with its difficult green. The long ninth is fun to play despite its difficulty due to length and a very undulating green. I liked the dogleg right shorter par 4 eleventh hole. I thought the fourteenth to be the best par 5 on the course due to the dogleg, the pot bunker in the middle of the fairway for the approach shot and four bunkers surrounding a tilted green. Seven is also a nice long par 5.

I did not like the second as I felt it lacked any drama. Also I did not like the sixteenth, a mid-length par 3 where I thought the green to be too skinny. I also did not care for the seventeenth, a long par 4 that has a tree in the fairway on the right and more coming in from the right nearer the green combined with a stream crossing the fairway, a pond, and the stream near the green. The seventeenth errs too much towards defense.

What I like about the East course at East Sussex National is that the course does not seem to be forced or contrived. When I played The Oxfordshire and especially Chart Hills I feel like those courses are overly manufactured in its routings and defense as if they are trying to do too much whereas at East Sussex National East the course is more straightforward. In terms of courses attached to hotels in England that I have played, I would likely come here before Forest of Arden, Hanbury Manor, or The Oxfordshire but I would not debate it too much. Simply put, I like the views and the walk better here.

After watching the East course on Sky Sports for the Euro Pro Tour, we were very excited to finally be playing the course and in great conditions. We were greeted off the elevated tee by a friendly martial who settled our nerves with some gentle banter.

The first hole is a par 4 straight down a gentle slope to a green beyond a brook running just prior to the front of the slender but wide green. It's a really good first hole because it's a welcoming drive, but a thoughtful approach. The 2nd is a tempting par 5 with a slight dogleg to the left which has a tree on the right hand side of the fairway, potentially blocking out glory

The 5th is a charming par 4 down a hill to a green just beyond a little brook. The 7th is an engaging par 5 which snakes round to the left arriving at a green framed by trees. The 10th hole is a cracking par 5 which when you get over the crest of the fairway from your tee shot, you look downwards to a picturesque risk or reward 2nd shot as the green has a slope at the front, which runs into a watery trench. There are also trees which can potentially block your chance at reaching the green in two.

The 11th can create some drama with bunkers and a steep drop off to the right of the green. The 12th is all about making sure you are in the right hand side of the fairway sufficiently to avoid the large tree on the fairway to the left. The tree will dictate what kind of approach you have.

The 15th hole starts the beginning of a really good stretch of finishing holes. It is a relatively straight par 4 uphill all the way to the green where the pressure is getting some good distance off the tee. The 16th is a scintillating par 3 with water leading up to the right hand side of the kidney bean shaped green with bunkers front right and at the back. The green is also framed in an American style fescue which provides a visceral contrast. The 17th is an excellent 2 parter. The tee shot forces you to lay up short of the water before the approach shot over water to an elevated green. The beauty of the hole is that you want to be as close to the water as possible or you will have a long shot into the green. The final hole is a good finishing hole. You tee off to an invitingly generous uphill fairway which then winds its way to the left and up a fairly steep slope to a thin, but long slanted green. You will probably only have a short iron in to the final hole with the impressive clubhouse in the backdrop, but it is the bunkers on the left you will want to avoid.

We stayed at the East Sussex National and only played the East course but we really enjoyed the the whole experience and thought the American resort style course was more than interesting enough to hold our attention. The course was in very good condition and the greens ran perfectly to make for a thoroughly enjoyable day.

24 of us stayed and played at East Sussex National a few weeks ago and all agreed it was a great place for a society. The service in both the hotel and golf areas was excellent. Our clubs were cleaned and loaded on the buggies every day and nothing was too much trouble. The practice facilities are also very good. The East course is the longer more difficult of the two. Plenty of length off the tee needed to leave easier shots to the greens but most of the par 5's were reachable and good birdie chances. The par 3 16th is a stunning little hole, played over water into the wind to an angled green, it was tough - if you walk off with a 3 you should be pleased.

I think the East course is a little tougher than the West here at the East Sussex National and although not as pretty probably hangs together very well - I imagine the better golfers would give the East the nod over the West. Great first hole which for some bizarre reason made me think of a parkland version of the famous opening hole on the Old course at St. Andrews - with a fairly easy drive but with water in front of the green ready to swallow anything short. I had a 'groundhog' moment at the 8th tee that I had the previous day on the West course's 16th tee - a very disppointing par-3, this is a little longer (104-149 yards) but feels out of place on a decent course. Once the 8th hole has been played, it could be easy to mention every hole in a good way... The 10th is the best par-5 on the whole 36-hole complex, blind-drive, downhill lay-up and a pitch over more water - quality. Variety of holes like the West is memorable, only three times are you presented with back- to-back holes with the same par which is a huge positive - I know courses that have a run of 11 par-4's! As well as having my favourite par-5 this course also has my choice of par-3 - the 16th is over water, over a bunker to a narrow green. The stay and play experience here has to be recommended - the staff and the service are really good and in all honesty it is difficult to be negative at all.

Got stuck behind two fourballs for 5 hours who refused to let us through. A nice course but staff and marshalls arrogant. When we finished our round there was 'no one availabIe' to complain to. Sent an email to them to complain and never received a response - conjusive of their attitude. At £65 I was very disappointed.

Un joli parcours avec de belles infrastructures, trés bien entretenu... a noter l'excellence et la gentillesse du personel...

I think this course is underated due to the more famous West course here. This is a great course aswell with lots of well placed water and bunkers. The condition of the course was fantastic from tee to green. Some great risk and reward par 5's that offer up good birdie chances. Received great service at the hotel too, nice touch that they clean your clubs for you too!! Well worth a weekend away, 2 great courses, great service and a super modern hotel.

Played both the East and West courses with an overnight stay at the attached hotel. Thought the West course was significantly better than the East specifically the back nine which was very good. Service within the pro shop and clubhouse was excellent, sadly this can not be said of the hotel which was truly dreadful

Good but nothing special. Its ranking seems right! I dont understand why its so popular! I think its reputation had made it seem bigger and better than it really is. Worth playing but theres plenty better courses elsewhere in Sussex. West Sussex, Royal Ashdown Forest and Rye!

Played both courses here on a package day, but slightly preferred the West course, however if I could pick out my favourite holes of the day, the majority would be from the East course, this course just doesnt feel quite as polished as the West and isnt quite as pretty.Dont let that distract you though, I would honestly go as far as saying this is in my top 10 in Southern England. Excellent value and very friendly.