Woodhall Spa
Among the inland courses in our Top 100 rankings, only the two Sunningdales eclipse Woodhall Spa’s Hotchkin layout, where Tom Doak’s renovation was completed in 2019. Harry Vardon, JH Taylor, Harry Colt and Stafford Vere Hotchkin all contributed at various stages, while Donald Steel added a second course here – the Bracken – in 1995.
Doak’s work, carried out in three phases from winter 2016/17, was guided by a vision to restore more of the Hotchkin’s original heathland character. Trees, shrubs and gorse have gone where appropriate, with bunkers returned to their original, more natural style and other long-lost ones re-introduced.
Many holes now play over relatively open heathland, while others, especially on the back nine, venture in among the trees a little more – and plenty of trees remain! But on the fantastic, newly cleared 18th, it’s primarily about the bunkers now, with more than 20 to contend with from the start of the fairway to the green.