Ganton Golf Club Ltd

Wow! Played here 15 years ago on a 'fast round' and didn't take much 'in'. Visited two weeks ago and it blew me away! A tough track which is now under-my-skin. I'm going back at the earliest opportunity

The road down to the clubhouse shows that the this club is no ordinary club. The visitors entrance isnt the most attractive, but the pro shop and clubhouse are of very high standards. As I stood on the first tee, I was very excited. About to play Ganton GC, which has hosted the Ryder Cup. Im glad that I bought a yardage booklet, as it helps a lot, knowing where to aim and for club selection. Which is key if you want to avoid the very deep bunkers. The 16th, has the largest, deepest bunker I have ever seen. It would have ruined your card by at least 2 shots. The fairways were dry and slightly dry, but very well cut and the rough was punishing, but not ridiculous. The greens were soft, but very fast. Downhill putts were very difficult. The subtle borrows and undulations make scoring difficult. The par 3s are very nice and challenging. The par 5s were very nice and i reached two in 2 shots. So scoring is possible. I adivice you to play sunday afternoon as the course is virtually to yourself. Hope i helped. I am definetely returning soon!

This is the second time that I have played Ganton, and it will not be the last. The course is in superb condition, with the Greens a lot quicker than the last time (although I think they could still have been faster). Ganton offers a test of golf that I have only found on the very best links courses in the UK. The fairways are fast and undulating, gorse impenetrable and the lies as tight as you'll find anywhere. The only let up is that the turf and topsoil of the fairways is a lovely sandy loam meaning that your short irons will take clean, perfect divots. It really rewards the straight, careful player and punishes momentary lapses in concentration and usually the over aggressive player. The most memorable hole on the course is the par 4 18th which goes from a blind tee shot with a carry over the gorse to then reveal a tight shot into the final, long, sloping green. Don't go to Ganton if you don't like bunkers. I'm not sure if I have ever seen bunkers quite as fierce as those at Ganton. They aren't big in size like on modern course, but are extremely deep and steep faced. They can really ruin a good scoring round! As for the facilities, the club has a very old English traditional feel about it. There is no function room and nothing overtly commercial about it. The staff were very friendly, and the food superb. There is a sense of tranquility about the club house and I would strongly recommend taking your jacket and tie so that you can spend a while in there and soak up the atmosphere. My home club gave up its Jacket and Tie rule ten years ago. Many members now regret ever being in favour of it. We will unfortunately never get that tradition back and I think it is great that Ganton is sticking by that tradition.

I know it's a cliche to say that "If this was by the sea, the R&A would have the Open here" but it's true! This is a terrific course - more heathland than links but with a mean sea breeze at certain times and plenty of gorse, which is a vivid yellow in spring and summer. Ganton is very much a traditional club - with a gentlemens bar, a rule of no shorts without long socks and lots of other wierd and wonderful traditions. It's one of those courses where you can just stand on a tee somewhere and think 'WOW!'