The joy of nine
As a golf course collector, I used to be somewhat sniffy about playing nine-holers. I kidded myself that I was being short-changed and only getting half the fun. While I probably knew this was wrong, lockdown and various other factors, such as time, cost, my decline into old age and the continued desire to play pastures new, have all led me to a completely different view.
Over the last year or so, I have played a good few delightful nineholers. One or two have been modest, but most have been enormous fun. Carradale in Scotland set the tone. Jaw-droppingly beautiful, it completely won me over. Several other brief encounters followed before a real turning point last summer when on consecutive days I played the oldest nine-hole links in England, Alnmouth Village, and then the gorgeously situated and barely known Wooler, high up in the Northumberland hills.
Originally an 18-holer situated in the town, Wooler was reborn a few miles east in the 1970s. It is run by the welcoming members, has nine authentic, interesting golf holes with two sets of tees and offers ridiculous value at £15 for 18 holes midweek or £20 at the weekend. I was really impressed by the conditioning, and the views are fabulous.
Many such clubs fly totally under the radar, and are run by their members on the tightest of budgets, but still deliver entertaining golf that ticks so many boxes. While I hope to keep ticking off 18-hole courses for a long time yet, for so many reasons, nine is just fine!