Walton Heath Old

Played 29 July 2025

Given my broader thoughts on Walton Heath are laid out already when discussing the New, the focus in this post will be on the marginal differences.

The day was a club competition away day, and despite having a strong day (2 birdies, 7 pars, 5 bogeys), I came away still with a preference for the new course. The par 3 opening hole followed by a major road crossing makes it feel like you play 1 warm up hole followed by 17 actual holes. At least on the new the road crossing signifies the official start of the round. I also find a gentle par 4 opening on the new is a more amicable way to start the day versus a 200yd par 3. That theme is consistent for the first 5 holes. Whereas the new gently slides you into the day, the old is more of a continued kick in the teeth, with the 2nd hole a dog left right requiring a great drive just to face a long up hill approach shot, and then following a brief respite via a driveable par 4 you are hit with a 450yd par 4 which is unsurprisingly the hardest hole on the course.

Ultimately I think the old provides more bunker drama, both in the fairway and by the bunkers on the approach shot. For the scratch player this presents a tough test when approaching the green, but for a 10 handicapper such as myself having a margin of error of a few feet between a great shot and a horrible one is potentially on the wrong side of lucky dip golf. Again, on the other hand the new course just feels slightly less penal for slight misses, and you are more likely to face an extra long putt rather than roll into a 5ft deep bunker.

I can 100% see why some players would prefer the old course more, and don’t get me wrong it features a lot of the same heath magic that the new does in terms of vista’s. But the proof in the pudding for me was the longing gaze I gave to the par 3 2nd of the new as I walked by heading towards the 16th green of the old, and in the back of my head I longed to be on that hole instead.