Ferndown Golf Club

Second stop on my trip was Ferndown, one of the best courses in Dorset and given how dry the UK had been in the previous weeks was the best conditioned course I played on this trip. They have 2 courses on offer, the 18 hole Old (Championship) course and a 9 course named Alliss, I only had the opportunity to play the Old course. Ferndown is a traditional heathland course with fairways lined by tall pine trees. The clubhouse sits atop the hill with great views of several holes on the course. At almost 6,000 meters off the white tees it was one of the longer courses I played this week but with generous fairways and not a lot of thick rough it made for a very enjoyable experience. The first starts with a gentle, downhill par 4 with fairways from neighbouring holes offering relief for any wayward starts before heading down on to the flatter part of the course where the holes bend in one way or another. The flatter holes still have plenty of intrigue with trees blocking certain angles, bunkers strategically placed to catch tee shots and also many protecting greens requiring accuracy with approach shots. The 8th hole is a really clever design, not long at all at only 280 meters but with a large bunker to the left hand side and a fairway that slants from that direction downwards it requires a lot of thought off the tee with an approach over another bunker from the right hand side to a raised green. This brings you to the halfway house and an opportunity to grab a quick snack/drink before heading back down the hill and onto the back 9. 10 & 11 are interesting holes, whilst neither have a dramatic change in elevation, both are blind relatively blind tee shots with the fairway bending from left to right. The par 3’s are all interesting in their own way, some quite long but all have plenty of generously sized bunkers still with sizable green complexes. Whilst not having anything dramatic, Ferndown was a really fun course to play even on a day where I wasn’t playing very well which usually says a lot. A course I would come back and play any day of the week.

In order to provide robust and credible rankings the Leading Courses Panel provides a rating based on their own experience, interviews and rankings of the most reliable sources in the industry.

If you have played Ferndown Golf Club or if you disagree with the current rating, then please also share your opinion!

Your review will help many other golfers!

#bygolfersforgolfers

"On the tee, from Chilwell manor, Neil White! "

The mixed open during Ferndown’s festival week was presented with the same gravitas as the Ryder Cup. Alas, I wasn’t sure that my game was up to the billing.

The picturesque Dorset course, synonymous with the Alliss family, was superbly presented for the competition.

Fairways had recovered impressively from recent rain and were cut in a light and dark before the criss-cross patterns in front of the greens. Putting surfaces were pacey but readable enough for me to sink a couple of monsters.

Not that we had it all our own way – far from it. This is a serious test of golf and many of the holes demanded harder hitting power than I possessed.

The most memorable was the par-five seventh, called Elysium – an ancient Greek word which means afterlife. Well, I was in heaven – going through a green framed by colourful bushes and attractive apartments and then chipping in my return for a birdie.

Meanwhile, the 18th is a cracking finishing hole – uphill towards the clubhouse, weaving through bunkers. I played to my handicap and floated up a pitch with my third before nailing a 30-footer for my par in front of the clubhouse (why didn’t they announce my name after that?)

Our playing partner’s handicap was a dazzling plus-two so I was keen to hear her opinion of Ferndown Old.

She agreed that it was in fantastic condition but too many of the holes demanded a long second shot, leaving her relying on the same club more often than she would expect.

I agree. We very much enjoyed Ferndown because it has an immediate wow factor. From arrival at its fabulous clubhouse with quality food, friendly staff, excellent practice facilities and the attractiveness of the course.

But I like variety and am a fan of the quirky – Ferndown doesn’t have much of the latter and is, consequently more of a pure golf experience than its near-neighbour Broadstone which we had played two days previously.

But, hey, they were both great in their own ways.

Played it several times prior to lockdown in various competitions and always found the course to be in very good order.

Excellent staff, professional but extremely friendly, right from the management through to the pro shop and front of house people, very good at their jobs and nice to be around.

Course is top quality except for one fairway which has not yet recovered from the 2018 summer heat, but greens are fantastic, very good pace and very true.

Wonderful practice facilities that allow for good numbers of players to practice at the same time without crowding.