Woking exudes a serenity that is infectious.

It washes over you from the moment you drive through the gates to the car park until you are collecting your post round thoughts on the Wisteria covered clubhouse patio. As you traverse the first few holes out to the corner of the property on the 7th green and 8th tee, it feels as if you could be a million miles away from the nearest town. It is a truly wondrous place to play our game, and if an invite is ever forthcoming, it is one of those special ones that you should drop everything to accept. 

History swirls around the clubhouse and points to the significant cornerstone that Woking is within British golf course architectural history. There are clues out on the course too; a sign on the 4th tee proclaims the two bunkers constructed in the centre of this fairway in 1902 are the birth place of strategic golf course architecture. Old Tom Morris and others may have a word or two to say about that, but there is no doubting it is a tee shot and hole with many elements to consider.

The course begins with the most innocuous of par 4 tee shots. At 277 yards, the temptation is there to blast your way towards the 1st green. However, the tale of what is to come is illustrated brilliantly by further studying of this hole on the course guide. The green slopes steadily from front to back. The run off to the rear of the green is severe. The bunkering short and left of the green seemingly goads you into a mistake, placed perfectly to capture a poorly struck bold shot or misjudged layup. You could hit anything from a driver to a 7 iron off that 1st tee. What is not to like about a golf hole such as this?

The run 2-7 was undoubtedly my favourite section of the course. Each hole brings so much to the collective character of this run, beauty, strategy, intrigue and stern questioning of your golfing ability. The crumpled tiered green sites at 2 and 3 would be the headline on any standard hole, but the beautiful vista from the par 3 2nd tee and perfectly framed fairway and angled driver landing zone seen from the 3rd tee are equally as memorable. The 4th, as mentioned previously is a short par 4 that poses plenty of strategical conundrums, bordered on the right at close hand by the railway line that defines the course boundary on this side. It should be a simple hole, however I imagine many make a mess of it. 

Once again, the rippling green site on the 5th is a feature that draws your eye for a second glance, and the tee shot and all encompassing downhill vista from the 6th tee make this one of my favourite spots on the course. The par 3 7th is played on flatter ground, but once again boasts a hugely characterful green site that is shaped like a plectrum and undulates like an upturned spaghetti ladle. 

My one developmental point at Woking would be in regard to the 9th hole. It is clearly a compromise of a hole that has ended up this way due to the steep ascent required to make a connection between the end of the front nine and the beginning of the back side. The tee shot plays to a cantered fairway that is angled right to left with only the longer hitters being able to take on the dogleg. The approach is hugely penal, a long shot played severely uphill with potentially severe consequences for missing short or right. I don’t like it for a number of reasons, but one of the strongest is that is particularly unplayable for the long handicap and short hitting golfer. I’m sure the members have pontificated much about what can be done to make this hole better. It is a question I have spent the last month pondering and have yet to find an obvious solution to. 

The back nine then begins in understated fashion. The par 3 10th is a pleasant enough hole visually, played to a heavily right to left sloping green that will leave a miss to the right from the tee languishing in the bogey zone. The next stretch of holes is maybe less dramatic than my favoured stretch on the front nine, probably due to the slighter flatter ground on which the holes are laid across. There is no doubt though that these holes provide no lesser test and offer some interesting architectural features, the pick of which is the sweeping left to right square shaped green of the par 4 12th.

The first of two back to back par 5’s, the 14th is a heather and tree lined corridor that finishes on the magnificently placed green which sits no more than a few feet from the clubhouse patio. It is a a quite wonderful rule that any ball finding its way on to the veranda is to be played as it lies. I can imagine much hilarity amongst the onlookers watching shots fizzing into (and being played from) the realm of the post round spectators. 

15-18 then sets off on one final loop away from the clubhouse. The standout memorable features of the last few holes are the two lakes that improbably enter the heathland fold, but unlike some other examples of water on heathland golf courses, these features feel wholly in keeping. Tim Lobb’s re-designed 16th is one of the more aesthetically pleasing holes on the course, with the lake located to the front and right and four well placed bunkers guarding the approach to the par 3 green on either side. The final lake resides on the right of the par 4 18th, threatening that it is relevant for the drive, but in reality much more affecting the average golfer on the approach shot. The green is one final stunner, gently rolling towards the water like a waterfall in mischievous fashion.

I was totally taken with everything at Woking. The golf course is a top tier resplendent heathland masterpiece. The clubhouse and welcome within are totally unforgettable. The conditioning of the golf course is right up there with the best heathland golf courses I have played. There are tougher tests out there in the English Top 100, but it will be a golfer who thinks their way around that will best tackle this golf course, and those to me are the finest golfing tests. 

— Alex Frolish