Enjoy the read and also listen to The Golf Pilgrim podcast from Fulford https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-golf-pilgrim/id1743914901?i=1000664583663
“You could almost say he needs a tree iron now.”
Commentator Alex Hay’s joke came before Bernard Langer played one of the most extraordinary shots in golf while perched in the branches at the side of Fulford’s 17th green.
I can only marvel at his dexterity in ascending the tree, his confidence in heights, and his startling ability to nudge the ball towards the flag.
I indulged in a pre-game bacon sandwich and coffee beneath a giant photograph that captured the drama of the 1981 Benson & Hedges International Open.
In the same room houses an honours board that recalls wins by 1970s and 1980s heroes such as Tony Jacklin, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, Greg Norman, Sam Torrance, and Sandy Lyle.
Fulford is situated in a beautiful village a couple of miles outside the historic city of York.
The prettiness of the vista from the clubhouse veranda towards the flower-framed practice green and 18th hole lifts the mood before teeing off on the par-four opening hole.
Langer was not the first or last to find trouble in trees at Fulford – they are everywhere and, alongside its many bunkers, are the course’s primary defence.
The greens have well-manicured runoffs but are mainly flat and consistent, holding fewer perils than most top 100 courses.
Thus, keeping the ball on the fairway reaps significant rewards, as I found out, firing my way to a somewhat startling 23 points in the opening nine.
Amusingly, the opener, which is 410 yards from the white tees, is described on the club website as a straightforward hole if the out-of-bounds, the bunkers to the left, and the trees on both sides of the fairway can be avoided.
Yep, that is about as undemanding as this 142-slope course gets.
It is tricky to avoid bunkers at Fulford, given that there seem to be more of them than a Harry Colt course (it was designed by Alister Mackenzie’s brother, Charles), but the sand is splendidly consistent.
My first experience was on the delightful par-three third, where the false front fed my ball into the greenside trap.
At this stage, I was holding on to my score rather than charging, but the unlikely turning point came on the 456-yard par-four fourth, where it appeared I had been heading for a blob.
After pulling my drive under a tree, I finally arrived down the side of the green in four but glided a putt up and over the brow into the hole for a confidence-boosting two points.
This precipitated a run of five holes in one under par, including a joyous birdie on the seventh, where I weaved my drive between bunkers, hit a five-iron to 20 feet and nestled the putt.
Fulford is on a tight strip of land on either side of the busy A64, and the sixth and seventh holes are inside a loop from eight to 13 on the opposite side of the road.
The eighth is particularly good. It is a shorter par-four where tee shot placement needs to be precise between a tree on the right and a sequence of four bunkers on the left.
More sand traps frame an ascending green, so I was chuffed to walk away with par.
Fulford’s course manager is seeking to increase the heather on the course and first evidence of the cuttings brought from Sherwood Forest Golf Club is on the lovely par-three tenth and around the tee on the par-five 11th.
The latter demands a drive over heather with deep hay on the left and trees on the right.
Strategic fairway and greenside bunkers also await those who, like me, are either too greedy or slightly offline.
Apparently, I am not alone in seeing my round undone by the run of holes that abut a farmer’s field.
At just 317 yards, the 12th should have been a comfortable par-four (a pal tried to drive it at recent Open qualifying but his ball found gorse beyond the hole).
I became freaked out by the out-of-bounds on the left and overcorrected to find a copse on the right. I rescued two points but it was the beginning of a slide.
“You have been warned,” states the club website, describing the most challenging hole at Fulford, the 469-yard par-four 13th.
Once again, the out-of-bounds on the left can spook, forcing the player into rough or trees down the right.
I tried to play it as a five but my second shot found a fairway bunker 110 yards short of the green. My ambition exceeded my ability and a blob ensued.
The 14th is the toughest par-three, over a hedge-lined stream into a green that falls sharply from left to right. Impressive runoffs make it tough to hold the ball.
My partner and I were two down going into the 16th, and despite promising drives, he was just short of the green, and I was in the greenside bunker.
Our opponents were licking their lips in anticipation of victory with their balls on the putting surface in regulation, only to watch in mock agony as my compadre chipped in.
However, they finished us off on the 17th.
There is so much more to this 360-yard peach than Langer’s tree antics.
The drive needs to be wide left because a straight one will require hitting under a much bigger tree towards a green guarded by a stream.
I tried a runner under branches only to see my ball flop into the water.
Incidentally, every hole at Fulford is named after a winner of a tournament on the course, except the 17th, which bears the moniker of the chap who made it famous.
The 18th is a par-five which I liked because it can be reached in two and I can imagine match-play games being decided with birdies or even eagles rather than muck-ups.
It completes a course in excellent condition and worthy of having returned to the recently published top 100 list.
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