West Sussex

On the surface of it, West Sussex is a short course, measuring 6,355 yards from the tiger tees. The first hole, a short par 5, is the only easy birdie opportunity. After that, you’ll have to negotiate seven par 4s measuring over 400 yards. You will do very well to play to your handicap and it’s unlikely that you will get the impression that the course is short.

Clearly, this isn’t a championship golf course but it will provide a challenging and thought-provoking round for the very best golfers whilst remaining enjoyable for the higher handicapper. The holes wind their way through enchanting woodland, with oak, silver birch and pine providing a pretty backdrop and the heather and the cunning bunkering providing the definition. The colours, especially in autumn, are breathtaking.

Each hole demands thought and holds attention, there is a great deal of variation to the holes and many are memorable. There isn’t a signature hole as such, but we especially like the 6th, a 224-yard downhill par three with a pond lurking 40 yards in front of the green; to make matters worse, the whole area of pond is out-of-bounds. This hole started out as a short par four, but Hotchkin pulled rank and convinced Campbell that it should be played as a long par three.

In Golf Between Two Wars, Bernard Darwin wrote the following: “The day on which to see Pulborough, if not to play our best on it, is one when the wind is blowing hard, for the sand is wafted in great puffs, like white clouds across the course, so that we can scarcely believe that the sea is not round the corner… it is a little sandy jewel set in the Sussex clay… what more can anyone desire?”