The Belfry – Special Feature!
Getting to play some of the world’s best golf courses is without doubt, the best part of my job. As I’m sure it is for any avid golfer, a trip to a top-class course is something really special that you remember for a long time.
The Belfry recently sent us a press release about one of their latest offers which I thought was great. Basically, you pay £169 and in return, you get one night in the hotel with dinner, bed and breakfast as well as two rounds of golf. One on the Derby Course and one on the famous Brabazon Course which has hosted the Ryder Cup four times.
If you consider that it normally costs £140 to play the Brabazon and £40 to play the Derby, you can see just what a great deal it is. I’d not been to The Belfry before but it’s definitely one of those places that is sure to make it on to most golfers’ ‘must play’ lists. I must admit, I was itching to get down there and have a knock and check out the home of the PGA.
We’re based in Hampshire so it only took photographer Chris and I around two hours to make our way up the M40/42 to The Belfry. It’s an extremely accessible place that is literally just off the motorway and easy to find.
Having visited a few decent golf venues, I was quite shocked at just how big the resort is. It offers a huge 340 bedroom hotel, nightclub, various bars and restaurants, gym, pool, spa, driving range, golf academy and three grade-A golf courses. As a golfer, you couldn’t wish for more from a venue.
I was pleased that we received a very warm welcome by the staff and were duly set-up with everything we needed for our round on the PGA National Course which we wanted to try. As we were quite early, we spent about an hour looking around the massive golf shop to see what we could have a play with. Apparently, it’s the biggest on-site pro shop in Europe and suffice it say, if there’s something you wanted, you’d get it there.
Our tee-time arrived and we both hit great shots down the middle which is always a relief when there’s a crowd around. It’s a great course which can be enjoyed by golfers of all levels but will definitely punish the less accurate golfer.
The PGA National is set-up as an inland links course with long thick rough everywhere to catch you out off the tees. It’s the kind of rough that doesn’t look that bad from tee but when you get there, there’s just no point even looking for your ball. I’m glad we had a buggy to be honest as we used it to nip back to the tee a couple of times and re-take our drives.
It really is a great little course and it’s very well kept. It has the benefit of a number of holes where you stand up at the tee and think ‘oh my god! How will I ever navigate my way through all that?’ I just loved it. Of course on closer inspection, there is a way through and you just have to find it. You need to really think about what club is best to avoid this bunker and that bunker and it also offers a number of risk and reward holes, especially on the par fives.
The par threes are great too offering enough distance to make it tricky off the yellow tees without being too long, alienating amateurs. I think my favourite par three was the 158 yard third hole. The green just looks miniscule from the tee and the bunker of the left of the green is more like a quarry than a bunker!
I managed to hit it over the lake but straight into the bunker and although I took two attempts to get out, I managed to sink the subsequent putt for 4. Phew! Chris stuck one right on the green which he was understandably ecstatic about and walked off with a 4 as well.
A lot of the holes at The Belfry are like that to be honest. You get to the end and think, Phew! Thank god I missed that bunker/rough/lake/tree/burn/hedge (delete as appropriate). The National is definitely a daunting course but it’s just great fun to play. It’s worth the trip alone in my opinion and set our trip off a treat.
We played off the yellows so the course was 6153 yards which can be extended to 7023 from the Championship tees. After a relatively dodgy front nine scoring just 12 points with a 48, I managed to romp round the back nine coming back in 40, five over par. I’d holed and massive eagle on 12 and a two birdies which really helped the final result. I ended up with an 18 over, 88 but it was one of the best back nines I’ve played in a long time.
Our photographer Chris had a great day too. He’s a new golfer and was understandably apprehensive about playing at such a renowned place. He had nothing to worry about though and ended up having a great day shooting a personal best sinking a nett eagle, four nett birdies and a host of nett pars. He went out in 64 and back in 60 which is a sterling effort for a new golfer on that course.
The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a brilliant round, a great introduction to the Belfry. The drinks buggy kept appearing just at the right time so we thought it pertinent to sink a few beers for good measure. As we came up the 18th we could see about 40/50 people milling around outside having a beer which creates a great atmosphere about the place.
After both failing under the pressure of the crowd at the 18th green, we decided a couple more beers in the sunshine was just the thing and sat out there for an hour or so which was extremely enjoyable.
After a hassle free check-in to the hotel we headed to our rooms to check in and dress for dinner. The rooms were fine to be honest and had very comfy beds, a tv, some fresh fruit and everything you’d expect from a four star. I thought the rooms were very clean but maybe a little dated if I’m being honest. The whole hotel could do with a re-vamp really but I’ll get to that later.
After a quick shower, we headed down to the Atrium Restaurant for dinner. The hotel also has a French Restaurant which seemed reasonably priced but it was closed as it was a Sunday, so off to the Atrium we went.
I have to say, this was the least enjoyable part of our stay and I really wasn’t impressed with the quality of the food. The Atrium is a self service buffet style set-up which I think is poor. Part of an experience of a hotel is being waited on and queuing with the masses for each course really spoils the flow of the evening. You’re up and down all the time and it ruins the enjoyment of your meal.
The starters were ok and quite enjoyable. You could choose from a range of things including prawns, olives, cheeses, breads, soup, fish and a host of other things. Some were nice and some not so. The trouble is with a buffet set-up like that is that you end up taking a little bit of everything and you end up with a plate of things that don’t go together. It was definitely the most enjoyable part of the meal though.
Service was pretty slow to be honest and we couldn’t seem to get anyone’s attention to get them to clear our plates. After a while though, we found the manageress and she obliged.
The main course is my only real bug bear about the whole place. To be honest it was pretty awful. I really want to be nice as every other part of our trip was really great and they were very hospitable but I just can’t.
The lamb was tough and over-cooked , the potatoes were burnt and dry as anything, as were the parsnips and the veg was like mush where it had been sat so long. There was a chicken curry on offer but it looked awful and the naan-bread that went with it was rock hard. Chris had pork which he said was succulent and very enjoyable but he also thought the veg and potatoes were awful. Maybe they had been sat too long I don’t know but we both agreed that 4/10 was being generous.
The pudding was nice enough but had been sat out for too long and had started to spoil a bit. Not that appetising to look at but was ok enough. The house Merlot wine at £17.95 a bottle was like paint stripper though and it was disappointing they had run out of our first choice, Shiraz. All in all it wasn’t a great experience although I have to say that it was particularly busy when we were there so maybe that had something to do with it.
We spent the late evening watching YE Yang win the US PGA in the spike bar with about 200 other golfers. The atmosphere was great and the staff even more so. They coped brilliantly under the pressure of all those people and were chatty and friendly. One member of staff, Jade particularly stuck out and went out of her way to keep everyone happy. Definitely a job well done and a great evening was had by all.
Off to bed and early to rise for the highlight of the weekend, our round on the Brabazon. After a quick breakfast we headed to the golf reception to meet up with Director of Golf, Gary Silcock.
Gary has been with the Belfry for around three years and is one of the most driven people I’ve ever met. He’s quite an inspiration and a very interesting guy to have a round of golf with. He’s 100% committed to making the Belfry as good as it possibly can be, especially where the golf is concerned.
The difference between the Brabazon and the PGA National course is immediately evident. The Brabazon is almost a money no object course, the Ferrari F1 team of golf courses and it must be perfect.
At £140 a round, it’s not cheap to play the Brabozon but as Gary explained, it costs that much to keep the course in such super condition throughout the year. It’s difficult to explain without seeing it for yourself, up close but the Brabazon is all about attention to detail.
To give you some examples, the fairways are all perfectly cross-cut and look stunning to the eye, the greens are fast and true with absolutely no creeping grass around the edges – just superb, green and lush throughout.
The rough around the entire course is all the same and cut to the same height. It’s quite amazing that it can be done so well. The rough is killer and very thick making small chips into greens very difficult, a real challenge.
All the trees are well cared for and the epic bunkers are in perfect condition. The lakes, ponds and streams are all finished to perfection making the Brabazon an absolutely stunning and challenging 7160 yard course. Even the circular yardage plaques on every tee are perfectly manicured with the grass around the edges cut by hand to make it look smart. I could go on all day honestly but you need to see it for yourself, it’s just lovely.
You don’t get that kind of quality without a decent man at the top running things and it’s a real credit to Gary and his green-keeping team that both courses are so superb.
Every hole on the Brabazon is notable but a couple really stood out for me that I’ll talk you through now. The first of these is the par five 501 (off the yellows) yard third hole. It’s a dogleg left with water on the left that tempts you to cut the corner and shorten the hole to set yourself up for a shot at the green in two.
I went for it and stuck it in the rough on the right leaving a 200 or so yard shot into the green. I really wanted to go for it but Gary advised me otherwise saying “There’s no way you’ll make it, just take your medicine.” I knew it was good advice, so I played it safe and knocked it short of the burn. I ended up with a seven after four putting which I wasn’t happy about but enjoyed the hole none the less.
As I write this, I realise that almost every hole is worth talking about. They all have their own little quirks and what-not and it makes it difficult to choose a few to mention.
The sixth hole is definitely worth talking about though. At 364 yards it doesn’t sound that challenging but I can assure you it is. Again, a huge lake on the left catches anything wide which leaves a thin target to aim at from the tee. The dogleg left leaves a tricky approach shot with water on the left, bunkers on the right and rough everywhere. I dumped it in the bunker and then did a Harrington thinning it out of the bunker and in to the lake. Scraped another seven in the end…
My absolute favourite hole though has to be the par 4, 10th. It’s 284 yards from the tee which is definitely worth a crack at but by god you’ve got to be brave! It’s totally surrounded by water, trees and tricky rough. The only way you can stick it on the green is to play a fade off the tee to thread it between the trees and the water which is very dangerous. I shot left and then dunked my ball in the pond trying to get out of the sticky rough. It really is a great hole though.
A couple of pars and bogeys completed my round and brought me onto the 18th hole. You could see the 18th from the balcony of my room and it’s one of those holes you want to play again and again.
It’s a 139 yard carry over the water on the 418 par 4 which shouldn’t be in play for most golfers but it certainly was for Chris. He pulled out his shot of the day though and smashed a three iron 200+ yards straight down the middle which made his day I think, he really pulled it together at the end there.
I duffed my drive and ended up in the rough again by the bunker on the right. My only option was to lay up again which I did. The 100 yard shot over that lake to the green is a shot I could stand there and hit all day long, it’s just great and the best finish for such a great course. I stuck the first one on the green and had another go to see if I could get it closer…I didn’t. I walked off with a five having had a brilliant time. I shot a 92 which could have been better to be honest and Chris managed a nett 96.
Gary was the perfect host and before we left, he filled us in on a few developments there are to come at The Belfry. It turns out The Belfry has some serious plans up its sleeve…
The resort plans to spend a massive £250million re-vamping its hotel and facilities which is due to start in 2012. It will add another few hundred rooms making it into a 600 bedroom top-class facility with all the trimmings you’d expect.
The hotel currently lags somewhat behind the superb quality of its golf courses, it needs the refurbishment to bring everything in line and in doing so, cement a profitable future for the next 30 years plus.
In my opinion, as long as Gary Silcock is in charge and gets his own way, The Belfry will continue to get better and better. Don’t wonder whether or not you should make the trip, just go because it’s definitely worth it.
I’d give the whole experience a 7 out of 10 I think, but the golf is easily a 10/10 which at the end of the day, is why you should be going to the Belfry in the first place.
The Belfry offer a host of deals for golfers wanting to visit so it’s well worth checking out their website at www.thebelfry.co.uk for their latest offers.
One of the best is their ‘Belfry Driver’ deal which allows you one round on the Derby Course and one round on the Brabazon including dinner, bed and breakfast for just £169. A superb offer for the money.
You can also book lessons with one of the 28 pros on-site at the PGA National Golf Academy which is a superb set-up. You’re sure to leave a better golfer.
Finally, I’d like to say a big thanks to all the staff and Gary Silcock for looking after us both, we had a great time.
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