Golf Course Review - Copthorne Golf Club, NR Gatwick, England
Chances are if you have flown into England on Vacation you will have travelled to Gatwick airport. If you are staying in a Gatwick hotel either overnight or for a few days, you should not miss out playing on a real treasure. The village of Copthorne is a couple of miles from Gatwick within easy reach of any of the many hotels.
The course has mainly been in place for over one hundred years. There are a series of holes cut through woodland that were developed in the early 80’s. This leaves you with the very best of both worlds a real pleasure to play and a very real test of your ability.
There is a natural brook that winds its way through many holes on the course and comes into play frequently. Two ponds also appear during the course of your round although not really in play if your on form, you may if not find yourself amongst the ducks and moorhens.
Although the course lies very close to the A264 road you are only briefly aware of it. The course requires straightness over length which makes a nice change in this day and age. But you still need to boom out those drives on a few of the longer holes, like the double dogleg par 4 hole the 16th on the card. Measuring 471 yards a fade is required from the tee if you would like a straight second shot, failing this you will have to draw or even hook in the approach shot to the green. Just to make life interesting there is a bunker to the right of the green waiting to catch those shots that don’t draw back.
The 5th hole on the card although measuring only around 400 yards is a character builder as well. A dogleg from right to left, your straightest three wood from the tee will leave you between 120-180 yard second shot, that has some hidden ground between you and the green making the shot seem shorter than it really is. This shot needs to start at the left centre of the green with a little fade to hold it on the extremely sloping green. Then depending on where your approach shot finished, makes a huge difference in the task remaining. If you are below the pin it is a fairly routine two putt, but if you have missed the green or finished above the hole, you will need all of your shortgame mastery to complete the hole with your score card intact.
There really are many differing and interesting holes around this golf course, and I strongly suggest if you are in the area you find out for yourself.
The greens especially during the summer months are a real treat, fast by local standards, true and a good shot will even stop during the hottest of summer days.
Most holes on the course have fairly generous fairways but don’t look or feel like it. The fairway’s have a band of semi either side of them and then trees. This is true of many holes on the course but not all. The few times I have played there I really found that it sorted the golfing men from the boys.