The Society visits two new courses near Reading.
Two new venues for the society await us in June. The Eyston Course at The Caversham is a fantastic inland links championship course measuring between 5,536 to 7,319 yards. Located just outside Reading and built to USGA standards the course is in fantastic condition year-round due to excellent drainage. Reading Golf Club sold their course for housing before merging with Caversham Heath to build a much improved golf course . The original David Williams course received a substantial renovation and redesign by renowned Canadian course architect Tom McBroom in 2019-20 and is now recognised as one of the best in the south of England. The course portrays a rather rustic look yet McBroom has cleverly incorporated modern design and attractive bunkering to offer an aesthetically pleasing yet very playable layout.
F.G. Hawtree and J.H. Taylor originally designed the easy walking course at Sonning Golf Club and it opened its tees for play in 1914. Harry Colt is credited with later design input when he reworked the bunkers. Originally set out on heathland but now playing more as a parkland course this 6,329 yard layout is no pushover with more than half the par four holes on the scorecard measuring in excess of four hundred yards. That said, the two short par-4 holes on the front nine, at the 273-yard 4th and 267-yard 7th, offer a more than reasonable chance of bagging a birdie. Hole 17, a par-3 with an island green which is guarded by three deep bunkers, is regarded as the signature hole and was described by Peter Alliss as ‘one of the best short holes in the south of England’. Many leading figures in golf have been associated with Sonning, starting with the club’s first golf professional Abe Mitchell, who became Samuel Ryder’s personal golf instructor. The 1951 Open Champion Max Faulkner was an assistant professional at the club and Harold Hilton, two-time winner of the Open in 1892 and 1897, was the club’s first secretary.