Similar to Westward Ho!, the golfer continually faces the timeless dilemma of links golf: controlling the trajectory of his shot from an awkward stance. While cross bunkers, heather and gorse form the challenge at the comparatively flat Walton Heath, Herbert Fowler used the rolling topography at Eastward Ho! to keep the golfer off guard. Pictured above are the clean lines of the sixteenth tee ground. Perhaps Scotland’s North Berwick routing influenced Herbert Fowler?Īs for Herbert Fowler‘s design beliefs, he summarized them best when he remarked, ‘God builds golf links and the less man meddles the better for all concerned.’ This minimalist approach is evident in all his designs – the teeing areas are simple affairs, there are no superfluous bunkers, the greens are frequently extensions of the fairways, and there is never any ‘framing’ of the greens.Įastward Ho! is presented in an uncluttered manner, providing maximum opportunity for the player to soak in his surrounds. Many have praised Pete Dye for his use of a figure ‘8’ routing at The Ocean Course at Kiawah and again at Whistling Straits but it is worth noting that Herbert Fowler did so seventy years (!) prior. Unlike Walton Heath which has an out and back routing, the two nines at Chatham loop out and back from each side of the clubhouse, which is located in the middle of a glacial moraine. However, in 1921 when it came time to build the course, the club board selected Herbert Fowler as opposed to Park.Īs was his want, Herbert Fowler requested a horse to cover the property and apparently, the horse was borrowed from the Myopia Hunt Club. Park gave it an enthusiastic response claiming it could be ‘equal to, if not better than, any course this side or the other’ of the Atlantic. of Sunningdale Old fame several years before regarding the suitability of the terrain for a golf course. Ironically, according to Tom MacWood, the founding members of the club consulted with Willie Park Jr. His sole east coast project was on Cape Cod near the town of Chatham. In the United States, Herbert Fowler was busy with several projects in California including work for the Los Angeles Country Club. In fact, when asked to consider if an ideal course already existed in the British Isles, Wethered and Simpson wrote in 1929 that ‘we would definitely give our vote for Saunton in North Devon.’ Set through inspiring sand dunes, the course has many admirers. In England, he was focused on the completion of the East Course at Saunton, near his beloved Westward Ho!. Golf course architecture was halted by World War I but by 1920, Herbert Fowler was at it again on both sides of the Atlantic. In fact, when Westward Ho! re-opened in 1908, one could argue that Herbert Fowler was the man most responsible for the finest inland and finest links course in the world! His re-design of Westward Ho! had critics proclaiming it the equal of any links. While Walton Heath is recognized as his masterpiece, Herbert Fowler produced other exceptional courses. To this day, the exposed Old Course at Walton Heath is the benchmark upon which all heath courses are judged. And Braid remained there until his death 46 years later. In fact, the course was so good that James Braid signed on to be Walton Heath’s first professional four months before the course opened. Whereas the construction of Woking and Sunningdale predated the acceptance of the Haskell ball, Walton Heath was specifically built with it in mind. Finally, the first course at Walton Heath Golf Club opened in May, 1904, and was immediately recognized as a great design. Herbert Fowler, a forceful figure with strong ideas on many subjects, wanted to try his hand at course design and was given this opportunity.įor almost two years, he stalked on horseback the vast property some 700 feet above sea level on the North Downs. Woking and Sunningdale Old started to change that and by 1902, a group that included a relative of Herbert Fowler‘s was ready to pursue a course some 30 miles southeast of London. This was pre-1900 and until that point, the finest courses in the British Isles were confined to the links land around its coastline. He quickly excelled and became enthralled with the sport, joining both the R&A and the Honorable Club of Edinburgh Golfers. Leeds – Herbert Fowler wasn’t drawn to golf until mid-life. Although an excellent athlete – similar to H.C. Such is not the case when a similar discussion is held in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Herbert Fowler‘s name is often absent in the discussion of the all-time great architects. Located in the middle of a glacial moraine, the heaving property at Eastward Ho! is unlike any other in world golf and Herbert Fowler made the most of it with a brilliant figure ‘8’ routing.
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