On Thursday the 2nd June, Fame Tate travelled to Sinfin/Derby Golf Course to carry out a course report. Here is her thoughts.
I had never played the course before so I was really keen to see what it was like, particularly as it is no longer council run and has been managed by Seven Hills Leisure Trust since July 2015.
I was informed that since that time, many improvements have been made to the course by the grounds maintenance team. They have worked relentlessly in order to improve the playability of the course with new maintenance equipment, a revised cutting regime and enhanced fine turf. The playing season has been lengthened with improved winter tee mats, in order to make the course playable for longer periods throughout the winter months. A “no close policy” has also been introduced, keeping the course open whatever the weather.
Our day didn’t get off to a perfect start due to an accident and closure of the A38 so we were running extremely late for our booked tee time.
However, on entering the professionals shop, we were made to feel very welcome and at ease by Andy Foulds, the head professional and Mike Johnson, the shop assistant, who were very helpful. The clubhouse had a very nice to feel to it and seems very popular for lunch. It was lovely to see a group of seniors enjoying the home cooked roast dinners and curries. Steve, the steward was friendly and made us two lovely sandwiches to take out onto the course as we were late.
Needless to say we didn’t get off to the best start however, after three holes we had both started to settle down. The third hole is a 366 yard par 5 which is a slight dog leg to the left, followed by a 165 yard par 3, where we were greeted by a very friendly member of the greens staff. The front nine was very nice with some lovely yet testing holes. One of my favourites on the front nine was the 368 yard, par 4 eighth hole. The ninth hole was a testing dog legged par 5, stroke index 1 off the red tees, which brought you back to the clubhouse.
Chatting to some of the members in the clubhouse before our round, they were keen to tell me that the front nine is one of the toughest in Derbyshire.
Off the red tees, the back nine starts with a fairly straight forward 366 yard par 4 followed by two nice consecutive par 3’s, which is quite unusual, but a refreshing change.
Mum found the par 5, 497 yard, 13th hole one of the hardest as she found the right hand rough off the tee and then continued to play down the right hand side. It did seem quite a long slog for the average lady golfer.
I found the 17th hole particularly pleasant, despite losing my ball off the tee in the right hand rough.
The short 18th hole was a nice way to finish despite it being quite difficult to negotiate our tee shots through the small gap of over hanging trees down either side of the fairway.
For me it was a nice change to play off the red tees however, we both certainly found some of the holes quite tough.
There has clearly been the removal of some trees, which was quite noticeable on some of the holes as the marked stumps were visible. This has without a doubt increased the playability of the course and helped the overall aesthetics.
There are still plans for 2016.
Green Renovation: A powerful aeration process and 90 tons of kiln dried sand will enhance root growth and drainage, allowing the course to remain drier for longer.
Course Maintenance: Once recovered, the greens will be cut shorter and scarified regularly to improve speed and promote a smoother roll. As well as improving the greens, their chemical and fertiliser programmes will also increase the durability of the tees and approaches.
Increased Participation: The Seven Hills Leisure Trust aim to work jointly with Derby Golf Club to develop new initiatives encouraging participation from the local community, sharing their passion for golf with local schools and organisations.
There are a number of fantastic membership packages available, catering for everyone’s needs, which include Golfit, Junior, Under 25’s, ‘Play Later’ and a 20 round ‘week day’ pass.
All of the packages give you additional access to Beauchief, Birley Wood and Tinsley Park which are located in Sheffield and Tapton Park which is located in Chesterfield.
For more information visit www.sivltd.com/golf or call 01332 766462
All in all, we both had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and the course was an absolute pleasure to play. It is a fair and good test of golf for any golfer of any ability, with beautiful and mature tree lined fairways. It was also a lovely change to play somewhere flat but testing. I would most definitely look forward to playing it again and recommend it to anyone.