If it’s charm that you are looking for, then you need look no further than West Hill Golf Club. This is a truly delightful golf course.










If it’s charm that you are looking for, then you need look no further than West Hill Golf Club. This is a truly delightful golf course.










5
West Hill is one of the most charming courses I have had the pleasure of visiting and playing.
While many Americans cross the pond for the famed links of Scotland and Ireland, the heathlands of Surrey have been the one place that has been at the top of my list of overseas destinations. In my first visit to the greater London area, West Hill was easily the star of this trip.
Having to find some last minute tee times for this trip, my round at West Hill was more circumstantial of my schedule rather than a pre-ordained course to visit during planning. Taking the train from central London and the short stroll from the station to the front gate was a new, and very cool aspect of visiting the club. Then walking up to the pro shop to check-in provided an expansive view of the property and the aspects of exactly what I was expecting from a visit to the heathland.
After a warm invitation to join a couple of members instead of playing as a single, the round started with a definite high. The first was a wonderful opener with blind tee-shot needing a long iron or hybrid. The open fronted green also provides a welcoming approach that can be ran up from the front of the green. Another great hole in the second might look simple from the tee, but centerline fairway bunker and canted landing area require a precise shot to find the short grass.
The third at West Hill takes a step up in difficulty and charm. Another blind teeshot over a berm of heather obscures the landing area and asks commitment of the player to pick a line just off center from where the eyes might lead. The crossing ditch 60 yds from the green front makes another great visual hazard that feels much more in play than it is in reality. The opening stretch then concludes with perhaps the most visually stunning of the great par-3’s in the design. A longer hole measuring around 200yds plays across a lower area to give a most wonderful view from the tee box. A recent heather regeneration effort makes this hole feel incredibly natural and provides a great challenge as well.
One of the best aspects of the of this design is the ebb and flow of holes throughout the routing. You have incredibly visually stunning holes intersected by more mild, but still wonderfully strategic holes that almost accentuate each other. After the buildup of the first four, the fifth, sixth and seventh holes are more subdued, but incredibly engaging to play leading into the beautiful par-4 eighth. Requiring less than driver for the longer hitters, a myriad of fairway bunkers must be navigated to find the short grass. The approach shot to the front pin plays uphill with the cross bunker guarding and obscuring the putting surface. Going long is an option, but a tough downhill chip is the reward for bailing out.
Moving to the par-4’s of the tenth and eleventh along the backside of the property, the holes pair wonderfully and demand two unique paths to the green. A narrow teeshot with driver from the former requires navigating well placed bunkers on either side of the fairway. The approach is then a stroke of visual mastery offering players a view of a number of bunkers short of the green that while are not necessarily in play, stick in the mind making the shot seem much more difficult than it actually is. The uphill eleventh provides another blind shot with less than driver followed by another obscured uphill approach to a welcoming green.
The (very) short par-4 twelfth measures in at only 284yds and plays dead straight, however, the superb bunkering along both sides of the fairway can easily strike fear into what might look like an easy birdie on the card. The green of the hole is probably the most extreme on the course as an extreme ridge bisects the putting surface into an upper and lower portion. Being on the wrong tier here makes for an extremely difficult two-putt.
More visual trickery comes in the par-3 thirteenth, albeit in a more subtle method. From the tee, the bunker guarding the right portion of the green seems to sit perpendicular to incoming shots. Only when approaching the green, the true nature of this long hazard is realized as it runs parallel to incoming shots. A wonderful mid-length one shot hole with a nice element of deception.
Another great two hole stretch comes from the long par-3 fifteenth and strategic par-4 sixteenth. The latter forces a decision from the tee for the longer hitters giving an option for a hero shot to carry the creek and mound of heather, but on will need at least 300yds in the air to accomplish that feat.
While the course can play short, mainly from the tee, it requires shots from every club in the bag and provides challenging golf shots in abundance. Pair that with the truly serene setting and walk, this was one of my most favorite rounds I have played to date.





Cody Cunningham
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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