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Hollybank Golf Club, Hythe, Southampton. (1932 - WW2)
First appeared in 1932.
The Hollybank Golf Club disappeared at the time of WW2. Following the war the Hythe and Dibden Golf Club appears (see separate entry on this website for Hythe and Dibden).
Report on the new course August 1932.
Hampshire Observer Saturday 27 August 1932. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Nothing further was found on the above club.
Report on a later "new" course in 1936 with free golf for people staying at the Langown Lawn Hotel.
Hampshire Observer Saturday 11 April 1936. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Report on the construction of the later Hythe course which was laid out by Mackenzie Ross in 1936.
Belfast News-Letter Saturday 28 November 1936. Image © Johnston Press plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Hampshire Observer Saturday 21 August 1937. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
The following report accompanied the above picture; "Many golfers know Hollybank Golf Club, Hythe, but few, it is safe to say, know it as it is today after recent re-designing. The course is of nine-holes, for it was found to be impossible to design or fit in one of eighteen, but these nine-holes are a joy to any golfer, as each has been planned to be a searching test for the scratch player, while the possessor of a longer handicap will find it in no way difficult, owing to the skill by which bunkers in the fairways have been eliminated; in their place the natural lie of the land has been used to its full advantage while the trees, with which the course fortunately abounds, have been cunningly brought in to play their part. That well known golf architect, Mr R Mackenzie Ross of Edinburgh, has been responsible for this clever planning - while the actual work of laying out the greens and bunkers that protect them has been carried out by Messrs. Suttons and Sons with that amazing skill of which they seem to have the secret.
APPROACH COURSE - This excellent combination has also been responsible for the nine-hole Approach Course near the clubhouse. Difficult but never failing in their amusement, these nine-holes, once they are appreciated, be very greatly used, as they will provoke all standards of players to further essays, and at the same time are excellent practice for the short game.
STRAIGHTNESS ESSENTIAL - The main course at present measures 2,774 yards, and is admittedly not long, but it is quiet likely that, after some period of play, the length may be increased just as other improvements, which can only be decided on by the acid test of of experience will be made. Length or no, the long driver will not, necessarily, be able to return a good score unless he his also a sound player and straight. Though the fairways are amply wide, those who stray therefrom will as likely or not find a belt of trees, or a magnificent yet, at the moment, a most unlovely oak, which must be negotiated; while the greens, which are in remarkably good order, even without consideration of their actual immaturity, have snares for those who over-run them. In fact, this course, which is in an undeniably beautiful setting, with grand views over Southampton Water, reminds on forcibly of Pilgrim's Progress and of Christian's unhappy experiences when they strayed from the path to investigate more closely the beauties that lay on every side.
THE COURSE ITSELF - Of the nine-holes, six have a bogey of four, and two of three, while the third, which is not the longest, is bogey five. The first hole - 395 yards - will at once impress on the players the necessity of straightness, for the fairway about 250 yards from the tee goes through a belt of trees; The second is the shortest hole - 154 yards - with a pitch over a stream on to the green which has a wood at its back and bunkers in front; A step along a woodland path and you are at the third tee with its sides reflected in a small lake and the fairway stretching away uphill with a left hand twist in it - 403 yards - yet by no means an easy five; The fourth - 216 yards - will delight all golfers, for it is a jewel to the eye, with the green high up on the other side of a small valley and lying just in front of a group of fine spruce. A test to any player, as the uphill finish necessitates a long carry. Any deviation to the right will unfailingly insure an introduction to the biggest bunker on the course while a fraction too much strength combined with any pull, will see the ball running down the further side of the ridge. Once on the green the view will prove, if needed, ample compensation for the dangers overcome; A 14-acre wood juts out at the psychcological point of the fifth hole - 432 yards - the longest hole - so that all but the most mighty need to keep to the left when a truly hit drive will open up the green for the second shot, anywhere else and the rolling nature of the ground hides the hole and makes judgment of the distance to the hole more difficult. A pretty puzzle; The sixth - 156 yards - has a most deceptive hollow in front of the green; The seventh - 260 yards - has an uphill drive on a hog's back fairway, with punishment for pull or slice. It probably plays 50 to 60 yards longer than the actual distance shown on the card. This green is typical of the course in the ingenious way it is guarded by bunkers, which run with the rise and fall of the ground; The eighth - 382 yards - has a runaway in the lie of the fairway, and takes full penalty for a sliced drive.
THE NINTH AND "NINETEENTH " HOLES - Again a few yards through a wood and the ninth-tee is found in a perfect setting of Scotch firs - 376 yards - with a slope at the end down to the punch bowl green, the only obstacle being a chestnut tree, seemingly a thing of beauty, but there is little joy in it if you have not kept to the proper line. This is the final proof of the skill of the designer who, with an existing tree, has achieved all and more than several bunkers could accomplish. The clubhouse inside will not be recognised by those who have not visited it for six months. Entirely redecorated throughout in the most delightful colour scheme, it contains a modern bar with everything available from soda water to a dart board - a reading and card room - a fine sized dining and tea room - billiard room and ping pong room - and newly fitted changing rooms. It is more than a clubhouse - it is a country club with a bowling green envisaged beyond the verandah, and tennis and squash courts planned when the demand calls for them. The work here has been carried out by Mr R H Hammond, of Southampton, who has also laid water to all the greens, and the whole work supervised and planned by the estate agent, Mr R Hanbury-Bateman who as also laid out a scheme of building sites at the direction, and through the foresight. of the proprietors.
SECRETARY AND PROFESSIONAL - Capt. P J Rolt is the genial and experienced secretary whose justifiable enthusiasm has made so much possible. Dave Pook, who until he came here, was the professional at Ashridge Golf Club, Bucks, is a most able and successful teacher and exponent of the game. Many will visit this welcome addition of the amenities of Southampton and the New Forest and most will return whenever they can. They are to be envied."
Entry from the Golfer's Handbook in the late 1930s; Secretary was P J Rolt, the professional D Pook and the green-keeper L Cavill. A 9-hole course with a SSS of 69 and membership of 200 (It was proposed to extend the course to 18 holes but no evidence was found of the 18 hole course). Visitors’ fees were 2/- a round, 2/6d at weekends. There was a railway station at Hythe and there was also a ferry service from Southampton. Local hotels were the Westcliff Hall and the Drummond Arms.
Hampshire Observer Saturday 7 May 1938. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Hampshire Observer Saturday 5 August 1939. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
The Ordnance Survey Map below shows a portion of the golf course to the west.
O.S. Map Revised 1938 to 1942 © Crown Copyright {year of publication 1947}.
