Close House Golf Club's Colt course tips its hat to the great English golf architect Harry Colt (who designed Wentworth, St Georges Hill, Sunningdale and Swinley Forest among others) While nothing is copied directly, the rectangular tees, the bunker forms, and the variety in Par threes are all features conceived from the distilled themes of this most brilliant architect.
The land on which you play is unique in many ways. Close to Newcastle, this Northumberland valley on the banks of the River Tyne is a property blessed with thousands of years of history. Apart from finding a way to give you the most pleasurable journey around the property, each hole has been constructed with the a gentle footprint and aims to engage the natural features of the property.
You will find numerous little wonders as you move around the course. The highlights may be the Ancient Forest to the left of the first hole, the Old Roman Fort to the left of the 11th hole, the lake by the 15th tees, or the Ha-Ha wall and Ice-Lake on the 18th Hole. Each has a story, and each is for you to enjoy.
There are three other layers to The Colt routing also. Firstly you may notice that as you move through the course, every subsequent hole plays in a different direction of the previous hole. You are constantly moving around the compass. Therefore on every shot, each golfer must recalculate the wind direction and strength. Secondly, the holes constantly change in trajectory. There are holes that play uphill, downhill and some that are reasonably level here, but almost without exception, the trajectory of one hole is different to the next. Thirdly, there is also a changing rhythm to the width of the holes. For example, the opening tee shot on the first hole between the Ancient Forest and the Ha-ha may seem confined, but the tee shot on the second hole is to a fairway of twice the width. Variety is the very foundation of golf architecture, so having achieved such a high level of diversity, it is with a degree of satisfaction that we present this routing to you.