The Dorset - "27 holes of championship golf at its very best"

The 2013 Tour concluded at The Dorset. They looked after us very well with coffee and bacon baguettes before the event and sausage and chips afterwards.

There are three nine hole courses here, Woodland, Parkland and Lakeland. Our 18 was to be the Woodland section followed by Lakeland.

There's a fairly tame start to the Woodland nine but as you go on there is some well-placed water and lines of rhododendron bushes that force you to keep to the straight and narrow. The course also has a curious fascination with placing mature trees between the tee and the green. The 22nd is a case in point, as is the 24th and indeed the 26th as well.

We were besieged by flies on this section of the course. It was humid, that might have had something to do with it. I digress, the 25th is a short par four but tight, missing the fairway here will probably result in a lost ball here. The defending champ will confirm that! (Although not for the first time this weekend Paul lost one about 90 degrees right of the teebox.)

Spot the defending champ!

The 27th brings you back towards your starting point and opens up again making life a bit easier.

On to the Lakeland nine then. The first should be straightforward but there is trouble if you stray left as Paul and Kevin did. The second was our first par 5 of the day and presents scoring opportunities if you can stay out of the drink.

There were a couple of holes where we did pause to try to work out where we were heading. The third and the ninth were the culprits. The par 3 fourth cost Simon as he picked his club for the yellow yardage when the tee was practically on the whites. The long par 5 sixth stretched us and Simon's chances reduced again here when he leaked a shot into the water on the right.

This was another good course and had some 'elephant's graveyard' greens to contend with too. The scores reflect that we caught it on a still, warm day. It's not one where I'd fancy getting blown off track.

We were back in 2014 for the same 18 but it wasn't in anything like the same condition. The course had taken a lot of rain so fairways weren't as trimmed as they might have been and a couple of the greens had standing water on them. Shame. This course did for Simon's chances again as he only amassed 26 points. He'll be glad to see the back of it.

Best scores

38 points - Ben W (off 9) 2013
38 points - Matthew (off 14) 2013
36 points - Kevin (off 10) 2014
35 points - Kevin (off 9) 201

Weymouth - "one of the friendliest private members golf clubs in the south"

The Saturday course of the 2013 Tour, Weymouth was a tough test for most of us. OK, the wind was blowing pretty hard all round but this is very up and down and there are plenty of trees to get in your way if you're off line.

Apparently Weymouth Golf Club was set up by people disillusioned by the set up at Came Down. The course was opened in 1909 but during the second world war much of it was converted for food crops. It was restored to 18 holes in 1953 and is a 5,754 yard par 70.

Paul and Matthew fell foul of the out of bounds on the left of the first (Bassett), but the first really memorable hole is the par 3 fifth.  There's an elevated tee and trees on either side narrow the target. Matthew overshot here and nearly hit Brian waiting on the sixth tee! Another great par three is the eighth, uphill and protected by bunkers this is another one that will punish an errant tee shot.

There's a tough long dogleg par four in the shape of the twelfth (perhaps the longer holes are a bit less interesting) but you do get respite at the fourteenth with a short, downhill par four. Matthew practically drove the green here but with his provisional ball. That's followed by a short but well-protected par 3 (I wonder why I remember the short holes better!)

The last three holes all present their own challenges. The sixteenth is a longish par 5 with a stream ready to catch errant second shots from the shorter hitters (I speak from experience), the 17th has a hedge you need to clear with your drive (again, not one for the high handicappers) and the final hole is one for only the brave or foolhardy to try to cut the dogleg.

It's a tough course and was made all the tougher by the wind. I'd have another crack at this, but on a nice day!

And we did get that nice day in 2014, very warm with a much lighter breeze this time. Make no mistake though, this is a hard course that makes you work for everything so hats off to James for his course record 37 (17 better than last year!). Kevin did improve on his 25 points from last year but not by enough to deny Ben W the title.

Best scores

37 points - James (off 36) 2014
36 points - Simon (off 21) 2014
35 points - Simon (off 21) 2013
34 points - Ben W (off 9) 2013
34 points - Ben F (off 16) 2013

Came Down - "Birthplace of the Ryder Cup"

This course takes his place in Ryder Cup history as Samuel Ryder used to holiday in Weymouth and later became a member at Came Down. It was hearing about the struggles of local players against well-backed Americans that sowed the seed (see what I did there?) for a contest to be set up between the two nations.

You can read more about it here http://www.camedowngolfclub.co.uk/page.aspx?pid=14095 if you so wish.

This course also has place in Kylies on Tour history as it's where Bruce first played, back when the old King was still on the throne*. He was given some clubs by an old geezer just finishing a round and while Bruce is drifting towards old geezerdom himself he didn't feel like giving his clubs away after a 27 point round in 2013.

The course was founded in 1896 and the current layout was designed by Harry Shapland Colt who also was involved with the likes of Muirield, St Andrew's, Wentworth and Sunningdale. It's 5,903 yards off the yellows and there is no water on the course and fewer than 40 bunkers. The greens are tricky though and judging pace and direction is not straightforward.

The front nine is undulating. The first (Casterbridge) falls sharply away from you and the fifth (Valley) works its way back upwards. The long par 3 sixth (Westward Ho) is played over and across the fifth.

The back nine is mostly flatter and has back to back par 5s at 13 and 14. The sixteenth tee provides views over Weymouth and out to Portland, while the 17th (Polly's Pit) is a driveable par four but watch out for the pit to the right.

The course wasn't quite in such good nick in 2014 after clearly taking a lot of rain. Some greens were much slower than others so it was a tough putting day for some and it was a rainjackets on and off sort of afternoon for half a dozen holes. There was still some good scoring though with four players getting 33 or more points.  

Best scores

37 points - Kevin (off 9) 2013
36 points - Ben W (off 10) 2014
35 points - Kevin (off 10) 2014
34 points - Matthew (off 14) 2013
34 points - Simon (off 21) 2014


All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable challenge. Anything else you'd like to add?

*Only joking Bruce!

2013 (Weymouth) - Ben W is Weymouth Winner

After a hugely successful 2013 Tour Ben W clinched a record-setting fourth title.

38 points at The Dorset on the final day clinched a three-point victory from the returning Matthew and perpetual runner-up Simon.

Day 1 - Came Down

The Tourists gathered on a misty, drizzly morning but as we brunched and discussed the tournament the weather brightened up before the first group teed off. Came Down holds special memories for Bruce who played his first golf there as a teenager but it wasn't to be a very happy return as he scored 27 points.

It was three time winner Kevin who made the best start with his joint-best Tour round of 37 points, three clear of Matthew with Brian and Simon the only other players breaking 30 points. Reigning champ Ben F made a poor start and laboured to 25 points.

Day 2 - Weymouth

Just 10 minutes away from our base for the weekend, the Crown Hotel, Weymouth Golf Club was the venue for day two. It was another grey start but the main feature was a very strong wind. This is a very up and down course with a lot of trees so inaccuracy is punished. Simon started his round with three pars and went on to rack up the day's best score, 35.

Ben W's putter was cold early on but he toughed it out for 34 points, the same total as a recovering Ben F. Kevin struggled and only picked up 25 points to undo his great start and he found himself four points behind Simon at the end of the day with Brian and Ben W three behind the overnight leader. Seven points covered the top six so there was plenty to discuss over a curry.

Day 3 - The Dorset (Woodland/Lakeland)

After an excellent greeting from The Dorset (coffee and bacon baguettes!) we embarked on the deciding round. The wind had dropped to just about nothing on a humid morning and Ben F birdied the first to revive memories of his 43 points last day in 2012. By the sixth though he was waist deep in rhodedendrons in his new shoes and his chance was gone. Simon's three point lead had also evaporated. The overnight leader made a poor start and his 32 point total wasn't to be enough.

Matthew joint top-scored on the day with 38 points to finish three points behind but it was Ben W, perhaps refreshed by not staying in a hotel which overlooked the noisiest bar in Weymouth and hosted the street-sweeper Grand Prix, who also finished with a 38, rolling in a birdie putt on the last to take his fourth title in style.

Final Scores

Ben W - 29, 34, 38 = 101
Matthew - 34, 26, 38 = 98
Simon - 31, 35, 32 = 98
Kevin - 37, 25, 35 = 97
Brian - 32, 31, 32 = 95
Ben F - 25, 34, 32 = 91
Bruce - 27, 22, 32 = 81
Paul - 29, 16, 29 = 74
James - 18, 20, 28 = 66

Handicaps for 2013 Tour

The Handicap committee propose the following handicaps

Based on Official Club Handicaps

Kevin – 9
Ben W – 9
Bruce – 17
Brian – 18
Matt – 15

Defending Champion

Ben F – 16

Based on previous years performances and results

Simon – 21
Sir James – 32
PG – 36