Golf at Goodwood — How To Break 80 Round ‘The Downs’ Course

 

If you’re lucky enough to have played The Downs Course at Goodwood you’ll know exactly what I mean when I say it’s like playing ‘luxury golf’.

From the very start to the very end there is an emphasis on creating a wonderful experience for the golfer.

Everything fits seamlessly into the history and landscape of the place. From the old school looking ‘Woodys’ (these are the buggy’s), to the regal nature of the clubhouse, no stone is left unturned.

But whilst there has been a lot written about Goodwood, a google search didn’t reveal much in regards to how to play The Downs course.

And as I know Golf at Goodwood receives a lot of visitors each year, as well as hosting quite a few big events, I thought it would be worth me doing a hole-by-hole breakdown of how I would approach playing the course.

As a 5 handicap golfer who is capable of a spectrum of golf shots, from the sublime towering long iron to the ridiculous topped fairway wood…

…I feel I’m in a good position to be able to give a rundown that would help most levels of golfers playing The Downs at Goodwood for the first time.

So let’s begin…(for context I’m playing off the purple tees, typically classed as the ‘competition’ tees which plays as a 6704 yard, Par 72)

Hole 1–181 Yard Par 3

We begin with a challenging mid-length par 3 into a long but fairly narrow green.

The main trouble is in the form of 2 bunkers that guard the front of each side of the green. With this being the case the most important thing to get right is the distance control as anything short will typically catch these unless arrow straight.

On the right hand side of the green is a slight fall off, a trend that you’ll notice often throughout your round. Most players would be better off favouring the left hand side as everything tends to kick to the right anyway.

For most golfers a solid 5–7 iron to the left middle of the green will leave a relatively straightforward putt as the green doesn’t contain any major slopes.

 

Hole 2–389 Yard Par 4

This is a hole where ego can get the better of a golfer…

Despite looking like a seemingly short par 4 on the card, the 2nd requires the style of course management that most amateur golfers find a struggle as you should ideally lay well back.

The tee-shot is actually semi-blind, due to the green being down a vast drop at around 230 yards from the tee, you have to use the big tree in the distance as a focal point for your tee-shot.

 

Goodwood Golf

Don’t get suckered into aiming straight at the tree though, as everything kicks to the right and a well placed bunker at around 200 yards will catch any pushed/faded drive.

Aim left of the tree, with a club that goes around 200 yards and you’ll find yourself up on a nice platform where you can actually see the green for your approach. You’ll also be far enough back from the tree that you can get it over.

The green is set at the top of a large dip so the most important thing is to not be short with your approach as the ball will run all the way back down to the bottom of the slope and, like the 1st, there are bunkers guarding each side of the front of the green.

This is easier said than done as the second will play shorter due to being played downhill. Club down from what you’d normally hit and a well struck shot should see you putting on a green that slopes slightly from back to front.

 

Hole 3–426 Yard Par 4

This can be a real card-wrecker if you get slightly too ambitious with your tee shot.

A long dog-leg to the right, trees will catch all but the longest and highest drives for anyone who decides they’d like to try and cut the corner.

Aim down the left hand side and the ball should kick to the right when/if it hits the fairway.

This will leave a long second shot into a green that is set a little higher than the approach. My recommendation would be to take AT LEAST one club more than you’d normally hit as a raised green combined with a run off at the front will penalise short shots.

If you’re looking for the best miss then aim to the right, the ball will usually bounce to the left when it lands and this will also leave you a slightly uphill chip or putt.

 

Hole 4–536 Yard Par 5

You’ve now reached the end of what I would regard as the hardest opening 4 holes in West Sussex.

A long par 5, whilst the tee-box is set higher than the fairway, as soon as you get past about 300 yards off the tee you start going uphill again so this actually plays slightly longer than the scorecard would indicate.

2 bunkers guard the fairway and it all cambers from left to right so most golfers would benefit from hitting something that goes around 250 yards and playing this as a proper 3-shot par 5.

The second will then be played into a raised green with a big tree around 80 yards from the pin. Lay well back from this and leave yourself a 100–120 yard wedge into a long narrow green that has a large drop on the right hand side.

Keep left with your approach and once again any over-pulled approach should kick back down closer to the green. Basically just don’t miss right or you’ll find yourself with a really awkward blind pitch back up!

The green has a slope around 2/3rds of the way up it so the pin position will have a big impact on the speed of your putt. If putting downhill go easy, it’ll usually run out a little more than you think once you’re past the hole.

 

Hole 5–337 Yard Par 4

You’ll be delighted to hear that things ease off ‘a little’ for these next 2 holes.

The fifth is a short par 4 that dog-legs around to the left. Just like the 4th the fairway cambers to the right so aim a 200–230 yard drive up the middle of the fairway.

You’ll be far enough up that you’ll be past a couple of stray trees that line the right hand side and left a great angle into the green.

Once again distance control and not missing on the right hand side is the name of the game with a bunker short and a big fall off. You’ll be left with a wedge into an uphill green so aim to club up and play more of a knockdown shot to ensure you don’t spin back off the front.

This is typically the quickest green on the course so if you’re left with a downhill putt I’d recommend hitting it with about 60–70% of the speed you think you need to.

You’ll thank me!

 

Hole 6–326 Par 4

One of the best views on the whole course, a tee-box set up around 100 feet higher than the fairway means the hole plays a lot shorter than you’d expect.

 

Goodwood Golf

You have ACRES of room out to the right so unless you’re aiming at the green I’d recommend favouring the right hand side of the fairway with a club that goes around 240 and leaving yourself a short pitch in.

Your approach will be hard to stop, the front of the green is downhill and so you’ll usually have a big first bounce followed by a bit of a run-out.

Aim to hit land your approach around 15 yards short of the flag and a well struck wedge should check up nicely near the hole.

The green slopes from right to left so if you have space try to leave it under the hole and you’ll have a reasonably straight putt you can hit with confidence.

 

Hole 7–459 Yard Par 4

Time for Goodwood to once again bare its teeth!

After a long climb up to the tee-box, you’ll be met with a long soft dog-legging to the left par 4. Whilst it looks like a monster on the card, due to the fact it plays downhill you can probably take 20–30 yards off the yardage (provided you’re not playing into wind).

A bunker at around 270 yards will catch the longer hitters tee-shots so aim a decent distance out to the right of it as the fairway slopes considerably right to left and even a slightly pushed drive will usually end up okay.

Complete that first task and you’ll be left a mid to short iron into a narrow green that has bunkers short left and right. Even though it’s downhill I’d recommend going with your normal club for the distance, choking down, and swinging easy.

This will ensure you don’t bring the bunkers at the front into play and the lower ball flight it’ll come out with will ensure you don’t fall foul to the strong winds that typically whip over the top of the downs.

Get this hole out the way and give yourself a breather with a bit of lunch from Golf at Goodwoods halfway hut.

 

Goodwood Golf

 

Hole 8–161 Yard Par 3

A really well designed short par 3, with bunkers surrounding the green, it’s a hole that demands precision with a short to mid-iron approach.

The green is shaped a bit like a ‘half-pipe’ so if you miss right or left you’ll need to judge the distance of your chip well as it’ll usually run out due to the fact it’ll land on a downslope.

However, if you manage to find the green with your approach you’ll be left with a relatively straight putt from most areas.

 

Hole 9–426 Yard Par 4

The last hole on the front 9 is once again played downhill, the tee-shot is blind and the trees that creep into view on the left side of the fairway can sometimes feel a bit like a magnet.

Aim to the middle-right of the fairway and a well-struck drive will leave most people with a short-iron downhill approach into the green.

The 9th green is usually one of the firmest on the course and this means that the approach should ideally be landing short of the flag.

Anything inside 20 feet with a wedge is a great shot and a par is certainly not to be sniffed at to finish off the outward stretch.

 

Hole 10–400 Yard Par 4

We begin the back 9 with a straightaway Par 4 that runs opposite the 9th hole on the right hand side and along the side of the Goodwood estate on the left.

Once again the tee-shot is semi blind with 2 bunkers skirting each side of the fairway at around 200 yards and 240 yards. If you’re a longer hitter the aim line is just left of the right hand side bunker and wail away.

A good tee shot will leave you with a short iron into another long half-pipe style green with each side sloping upwards. Due to this most approach shots will funnel towards the middle so the main thing to get right is the distance control as you can be left with an enormous putt should you misjudge the wind or poorly strike your iron.

 

Hole 11–507 Yard Par 5

A really good opportunity for birdie for the lower handicap golfer.

The tee box is set high and the bunkers at around 200 yards shouldn’t really come into play unless playing into a strong breeze. A good drive will either carry all the way to the bottom of a downhill slope or will run down it into a relatively flat collection area.

This will leave most people with a blind approach of between 170 to 220 yards to the green that plays at least one club longer. The second shot is up a steep slope and a fairway bunker is well positioned around 100 yards from the green to catch an iron/hybrid that isn’t hit high enough.

If going for it in 2, the ideal line is to aim for the group of trees that are just over the back of the green. A bunker to the left and a slight hill to the right means that you’re probably better off aiming towards the right side of the green and playing for the slope if you do miss it.

Once at the green you’re met with many slopes, this is certainly one where leaving yourself under the hole with your putt will give you a much better chance of making a good score.

 

Hole 12–154 Yard Par 3

In my opinion this is the best (and prettiest) par 3 on the course. Make sure you get a good photo from the tee, it’ll be a brilliant reminder of how stunning a course Goodwood can be.

 

Goodwood Golf

 

Once again the tee shot is slightly downhill so you’ll be able to club down and due to the fact it’s sat low the green is also usually very receptive.

The green slopes from back to front and has a more pronounced drop around 2/3rds of the way back. The key to this hole is to get the distance right and give yourself enough club to carry the front left trap as this creeps into the edge of the green. Anything short will run back down to the bottom of a slope in front of the green so distance control is the name of the game.

 

Hole 13–341 Yard Par 4

This is all about positioning off the tee, my advice would be not to get greedy and lay well back from where the fairway pinches in at 230 yards off the tee.

This is due to the fact not only does the fairway get quite tight, but trees left and right will block out approach shots that are too close to them if you’re not dead down the middle.

Accomplish this and you’ll be left with a relatively straightforward approach to the green. Aim towards the right middle of the green if the flag is relatively central as the chip from the left side is far trickier than one from the right.

 

Hole 14–442 Yard Par 5

This is probably the only hole where Goodwood takes it easy on you, but only due to the fact that this used to be a long Par 4 that mercifully they’ve now made a Par 5.

A bunker on the left side of the fairway at 260 yards can actually push you to aim further right than you actually need to.

If you can’t reach it then just aim at the right side of it as that’ll be a good line. If you can carry it then aim a good 20 yards right of it as you have more room both left and right than you think you do at that distance.

The approach plays around a club longer due to being uphill slightly and also due to the fact that more often than not this hole is into a breeze off the left. A bunker and small pond around 60 yards short of the green means that if you’re going to lay up then make sure you do lay up and leave yourself at least 80 yards in.

For those going for the green I’d recommend aiming towards the front left hand side of the green. This is the largest landing area and the ball will funnel down towards the pin.

 

Hole 15–392 Yard Par 4

Make sure you’ve had a good gulp of water and an energy bar before this one because you’re about to be met with the steepest hill on the course!

Once again the tee-shot is played over a large dip, it feels downhill but the hole is actually slightly uphill. Out of bounds is tight to the left side of the fairway which forces most people to aim down the right and brave the rough if they’re off line.

There is a bunker around 250 yards off the tee so only take on the left side of it if you know you can definitely carry it that far. You’ll be left with an iron after a well struck drive and the bunker on the right is there to catch anything short.

Goodwood is definitely a course where distance control is the main test you’ll be forced to pass, do that though and you’ll give yourself a great chance of a good score.

 

Hole 16–574 Yard Par 5

A MONSTER!

But don’t let the scorecard scare you, due to the fact that from 300 yards onwards the hole is pretty dramatically downhill the longer hitters can actually reach this hole in 2 relatively comfortably during the summer.

If you’re not in that category, aim down the right hand side of the fairway as this will avoid the bunkers down the left comfortably and still leave you a good line to lay up short with your second.

For those going for the green in 2, take 2 clubs less than you normally would from the yardage you have left as it all bounces down towards the green. DO NOT try to fly it all the way there, this green gets pretty dry and is unlikely to receive anything other than the most crisply struck short iron.

A real chance for a birdie if you’re playing well.

 

Hole 17–186 Yard Par 3

The Downs is a mix of really great Par 3’s, whilst none of them are particularly long, they all have their individual challenges.

The 17th is mainly about making sure you take enough club to reach the middle of the green. Water runs all the way up to the front of the green and so this is not a time to let your ego get the better of you.

 

Goodwood Golf

 

Club up, swing smooth, and cross your fingers that the strike is pure and the line true. A 3 here is a great score and will fill you full of confidence heading down the last.

 

Hole 18–437 Yard Par 4

A great finishing hole, and one where the drive will do a lot of the grunt work for you.

As with a lot of the holes, the bunkers are really well positioned to catch drives in the 240–260 yard range. In the case of the 18th at Goodwood, it’s a bunker either side of the fairway that will accomplish this.

If you can carry it further than that then you have a big advantage as it’s a relatively wide landing area past them. However keep an eye on the rough down the left as the greenskeepers can let this grow up if they’re feeling particularly vindictive!

With a few large trees looming over the green on the left the ideal angle is from the right hand side of the fairway and the green is usually one of the softest on the course so will be very receptive to a well struck shot.

The bunkers to the left of the green can sometimes be a bit damper than the one on the right so for this reason I’d favour the right middle of the green if you’re not taking dead aim at the flag.

Sink your putt, sign your scorecard, and hold your head high that, despite taking a few knocks, you made it round The Downs Course in 1 piece.

 

Goodwood Golf

 

Go get that pint of St Simons, and have one for me too.

Enjoyed my writing? Interested in how you can exercise to hit the ball further and avoid those damn bunkers at 250 yards?

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