Located at Thorpe Bay near Southend, Thorpe Hall Golf Club dates back to 1907, when K. Costley-White leased part of Thorpe Hall Farm for the purpose of laying out a golf course with the help of the Bert Batley, the club’s first professional. Shortly after construction, it was described as being “on fine old meadow pasture, the turf being excellent. The hazards consist of ditches, ponds, whins and artificial bunkers.”
The Southend handbook of 1931 later described the course in the following manner: “At first glance, this seaside course appears easy, as Harry Vardon thought when he started out in a final some years ago. After taking a seven at the first and a seven at the second, he altered his opinion and wrote an article in Golf Monthly about the false impression Thorpe Hall gives”.
Interestingly, two of the club’s members have gone on to become secretary of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews. Sir Michael Bonallack served in the position from 1983 to 1999 before being succeeded by former Captain of the Cambridge University team, Peter Dawson, who remained in post until retiring in 2015.
Surrounded by housing on all sides, the course extends to a modest 6,242 yards from the back markers, with the front nine routed in a clockwise direction around the perimeter of the property, enclosing the back nine in the middle. It’s a parkland track but because it’s located so close to the Thames estuary, fickle sea breezes often play havoc with scoring.
Highlight holes include the double doglegged 6th (rated stroke index 1); the 136-yard 13th (the shortest of the five testing short holes on the card); and the left doglegged 17th, which is a really tough par four to face so late in the round.
It’s also a good idea to maybe leave the driver in the bag on quite a few holes as there are a number of hazards to negotiate, including out of bounds areas, ditches and ponds. Accuracy rather than length will pay dividends on the intimate tree-lined holes at Thorpe Hall.
