This course is a real throwback to the days of when "Golf was "Golf". There are no frills at this place, which still maintains some of the one interesting and admirable practices you will see the world over. For a start women are not allowed on the property, if a wife wishes to drop her husband to the club, she must leave him at the entrance and he must walk up to the clubhouse. Secondly when entering the clubhouse one must wear a jacket, being from GB&I this was not new to me as this practice is quite common among our more traditional clubs and it is something I respect. Therefore I arrived in my jacket, coupled with long pants and collared shirt, however when I arrived I was greeted with the sight of men wearing boat shoes and pink shorts sporting blazers of all colours! Already I was in love with this place and I hadn't even set foot in the door.
GC Mens(as it is affectionately known) is a shrine to two greats of American golf, Walter Travis (a top amateur player in his day) and Devereux Emmet. Once you enter the club you are overcome with a sense of history, the clubhouse is like a museum and for all intents and purposes the Locker room still looks as though its th early 1900s, tremendous tradition. Once I settled down within the club I realised that it is a quite simply a club for men to socialise with one another over one common interest.....Golf! This is not the place to go and talk business, this is raw, pure golf at its finest.
The first 3 and last 2 holes play within an area directly in front of the clubhouse and are surrounded by houses on both sides, giving an almost modern feel to the place. But it is when you reach the fourth tee that your breath is completely taken away, it is almost like another planet, a huge expanse of heath type land and if one let the mind wander you could be mistaken for thinking you were on the Surrey sandbelt. The next thirteen holes are mind blowing, containing an exceptional mixture of challenges. Shot par 4's with small greens, par 5's which tempt the golfer to take chances which are one shot away from disaster(the 4th) and a great blend of par threes encompassing in my opinion an example of each type of veritable short hole. A medium length one over water(18), a short one to a small angled green(2) and a long one to a large green guarded by sand.
The course possesses no trick shots or gimmicks, good shots are rewarded and poor ones punished. The intelligent player should be quick to notice that many of the greens are open at the front and relatively flat, thus accepting a running onto the surface.
Gadren City Golf Club is a very special place, it embodies all that is central to the game of golf, camaraderie, respect for the game, dignity etc. It is a Club that doesn't look for praise or publicity and I feel we should respect this, but it doesn't need to, for anyone lucky enough to see this Club, its actions do the talking. Nick