Restoring Long Bracken

Long Bracken has always been the hole members talk about. A par five of five hundred and five yards, it turns left around a corner of heather and asks a question of every shot. Over a century, though, the question had softened. Bunkers had been filled or reshaped for easier upkeep, the heather on the corner had retreated, and the green had shrunk by almost a third as its edges were mown in a little tighter each season.

We started in the archive. The club still holds Arthur Hammond's original drawings of the course, along with a set of aerial photographs taken by the RAF in 1946. Laid side by side, they showed a hole that was wider from the tee, tighter at the corner and far bolder around the green.

Over six weeks, the team returned four bunkers to their original positions and rebuilt their faces in the rough, ragged style of the period, using sand from the same seam as the course's first bunkers. The green has been restored to its full size, bringing back two hole locations that had been lost for decades. The heather on the corner has been replanted from seed gathered elsewhere on the heath.

The result plays longer and more strategically than it has in living memory. A drive down the right is safe but leaves a long second. A drive over the corner opens up the green, so long as the carry is made.

The hole reopened in April and has settled in beautifully over the summer. Our thanks to the members for their patience, and to the team, who did most of the work by hand.