Golf Hole Names

Before launching Golfing Herald I had a myriad of ideas for possible articles, some of which have been realised over the past 10 months or so. One idea was to investigate, write and publish a trilogy of articles connected by a common theme, namely the factual information present on a Golf Scorecard, to be read as three individual pieces of work rather than a single piece.

At the outset, I only had some rough sketches for the first article Scorecard Semiotics. In this article, published at the end of 2018, I presented an argument that the scorecard should be viewed as a design and semiotic icon!! The second article Clintons Surprise was published in September 2019, recalling a triangulation of real-life events that occurred between a Wedding party, a Golf course and a former US President!!

Golf Hole Names completes the trilogy. In this article, I have nostalgically looked back at all of the golf courses I have played to date to create a fantasy/eclectic 18 hole golf course. The criteria for each hole on this golf course being as follows:

• Have a name with a historic, unusual, amusing or relevant context.
• Be aligned to the hole from the course played (i.e. selected name from all the opening holes is Hole 1, selected name from all the second holes is Hole 2 and so on until the selected name from all the closing holes is Hole 18).

Hope you enjoy.

Hole 1 – Robert Louis Stevenson (Swanston GC)

What better way to start this fantasy/eclectic golf course by teeing off at Swanston Golf Club on an opening hole named Robert Louis Stevenson.

Swanston Golf Club is located on the lower slopes of the Pentland Hills with stunning views of Edinburgh which is a few miles to the North. Errant shots on this opening Par 4 could well end up out of bounds (as I can testify!!) in the garden of the house where Robert Louis Stevenson spent several summers during the 1870s.

His novel St.Ives was set in the village of Swanston and whilst living there he conceived the ideas for literary classics such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Hole 2 – Pitch & Toss (Blyth GC)

Showing my age now in that I can remember whilst still at school playing golf at Blyth Old Course, a really good but idiosyncratic course comprised of 12 holes, where you had to politely ‘merge in turn’ to tee off at those holes played twice to complete a full 18!!

In 1976, the 18-hole Blyth New Course was established on land which had previously been home to the Pit Head and the mining community. The Par 4 2nd hole on the New Course is uphill with a large green and is aptly named Pitch & Toss.

Gambling with coins was a punishable offence but that did not stop groups of miners gathering in circles, known as schools, to wager their weekly pay. The game of ‘Pitch & Toss’ involved someone, in the role of the ‘Hoyer’, balancing 2 coins on their fingers and then throwing them in the air…how they landed on the ground (Head-Head, Head-Tails or Tails-Tails) resulted in winners and losers!!

If you are interested, the 1960 Black & White movie ‘Hell is a City’, starring Stanley Baker, features one of these illegal tossing schools.

Hole 3 – Viaduct (Glencorse GC)

Glencorse Golf Club is just a few miles due south of Swanston Golf Club. Today, the 3rd hole measures 208 yards from the white tees and is named Viaduct…but when you look around there is no obvious signs of a Viaduct!!

For many years the ‘Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin’ railway line ran through the golf course and the 3rd hole required golfers to play either through an arch or over the Viaduct!!

Cutting a very long story short, this railway line closed in 1959 and the golf club actually purchased the Viaduct from British Rail in 1970. After many years of deterioration and escalating costs to maintain, the club members voted to demolish the Viaduct and thus in 1987, 200 lbs of gelignite was detonated to bring the Viaduct down.

Hole 4 – Yella Babby (Blyth GC)

Returning quickly back to Blyth New Course, the 4th hole is a dog-leg with the most intriguing name of Yella Babby!! For those of you not from the North East of England, this translates to Yellow Baby.

A legacy from the coal mining days was an open ditch which today, thankfully, is piped and covered. This ditch carried yellow coloured wastewater from the pit and became an ‘attraction’ for children who invariably ended up with their clothes bright yellow!!

Hole 5 – Lepers Oak (Hexham GC)

Hexham Golf Club is located about 25 miles to the west of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, close to remains of Hadrians Wall, and is, without doubt, one of the best golf courses in the North of England with some great golf holes.

Next to the tee on the 5th hole, there is an oak tree which is believed to be at least 400 years old and is known locally as Lepers Oak.

This is because the Golf Course was built on the site of St Giles, a medieval hospice dating back to the 12th century, where the local monks from the nearby Hexham Abbey would care for the lepers. The legend is that local people would leave food for the lepers under this oak tree.

Hole 6 – Old Wife Pit (Hessle GC)

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of playing at Hessle Golf Club, near Kingston-Upon-Hull, in the East Riding Union Seniors Championship…seemed like a good idea at the time until I lost my ball from the very first tee shot!!

That did not detract from the enjoyment of the day and the opportunity to play such a lovely and challenging course which in May 2020 will host the Northern Qualifier for the prestigious Brabazon Trophy.

The sixth hole, a 405 yard Par 4 which requires accuracy off the tee, has the most curious name of Old Wife Pit!! According to Hullensian legend, agricultural workers used to leave their wives in the pit when they’d had enough of them!!

Hole 7 – Pebble Creek (Heworth GC)

I convinced myself that in the distant past I had played a round of golf with my late father on a course where one of the holes was named Pebble Beach, as in Pebble Beach Golf Links, the #1 ranked public course in the United States.

Try as hard as I could, I drew a complete blank attempting to remember on which course I had played this hole. Thus, I decided to go through some very old scorecards which were gathering dust in the loft and to my surprise there it was…not Pebble Beach but Pebble Creek, the 7th hole at Heworth Golf Club, which is a few miles to the east of Gateshead.

For that reason alone, Pebble Creek had to be selected as Hole 7 on this fantasy golf course.

Hole 8 – Hospital Hole (Consett & District GC)

My first experience of watching elite amateur golf was the 1972 English Men’s Matchplay Championship played at Northumberland Golf Club. The winner was Harry Ashby from Consett & District Golf Club. He successfully defended this prestigious championship the following year.

A couple of years later I played the first of many rounds at said Consett & District Golf Club, which is set in the stunning Derwent Valley, County Durham…though by this time Harry Ashby had turned Professional.

The Par 3 8th Hole has the slightly worrying name of Hospital Hole!! Yes, there is out of bounds to the left, a very densely populated wood to the right and a two-tier green…just a great golf hole for which no hospitalisation should be required…hopefully.

The hole is actually named after Shotley Bridge Hospital whose grounds adjoin the golf course.

Hole 9 – Bigges Main (Wallsend GC)

In Roman Mythology, the god Janus is usually represented as having two faces looking in opposite directions since he can look to both the future and the past.

I am sure that Janus is smiling favourably on Wallsend Golf Club as:

• (Future) ~ Earlier this year they revealed development plans for a driving range and digital golf courses to augment the excellent and challenging Par 70 course.
• (Past) ~ They have never forgotten the (long gone) industries that shaped Wallsend, namely Shipbuilding and Mining. Many holes are named accordingly, with my favourite being the 9th Hole which is named Bigges Main, in remembrance to the old mining village Bigges and its colliery.

From a golfing perspective, the 9th hole is also very interesting in that from the White Tees, it plays as a 271 yards Par 4 but from the Yellow Tees, it plays as a 178 yards Par 3!!

Hole 10 – Pot Share Bowling (Newbiggin GC)

Newbiggin Golf Course provides a great test of golf, especially when a cold wind is blowing off the North Sea. The 10th Hole is Stroke Index 1 with the fascinating name of Pot Share Bowling!!

During the 19th century, the sport of Potshare Bowling was incredibly popular, played only in the North East of England, primarily by coal miners. Apparently, hundreds and hundreds of people would travel many miles to watch matches and although illegal, gamble on the outcome. One of the major venues for the bowling matches was the Newbiggin Town Moor.

It was very much like golf but without any clubs, in that, the competitors threw a stone ball over a course which varied in length between 1/2 mile and a mile. Wherever the stone landed would effectively be the starting position for the next throw…and thus whoever reached the finishing line first was declared the winner!!

Hole 11 – T Wood (Swanston GC)

Returning to Swanston Golf Club, I thought that the golf hole name of T Wood must be a typo. So you will not be surprised to hear that the club enjoy pulling the leg of many visitors that the 11th hole is named after the one and only Tiger…however, the real story and history behind the naming of this hole is in fact very poignant.

Going back many centuries, there was a distinct boundary between Easter and Wester Swanston which were farm estates owned by the Ross family and the Foulis family respectively. The Trotter family purchased Wester Swanston in the 17th Century and in the mid 18th Century they also acquired Easter Swanston to create a unified Swanston estate.

In 1766 the Trotter family planted a wood in the shape of a Greek Cross (where the arms are of equal length) to the south of Swanston village as a memorial to a son who lost his life in war. However, unless you view these woods directly from above, they always appear as a T (for Trotter) from the North, South, East & West due to the surrounding contours.

Hole 12 – Pilgrims Way (Goswick GC)

Goswick is located about 6 miles south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and is a championship golf course which is regularly used for the Open qualifying (for the record I have played Goswick on 3 occasions and each time I have gone out of bounds on the 1st…never learn!!)

From the moment you arrive in the car park to the moment you leave the Nineteenth, you can just feel the sense of history from centuries past. None more so than when you stand on the 12th tee for Pilgrims Way, with the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in the distance.

Hole 13 – Peter Pan (Hull GC)

Hitherto, I have been unable to ascertain why the 13th hole at Hull Golf Club is named Peter Pan.

I have telephoned and emailed Hull Golf Club but at time of writing this article, they have been unable to shed any light or provide the definitive reason.

Do any of the Golfing Herald readers know the reason why?

In the meantime, one theory (of mine) is that Hull Golf Course was originally located at Boothferry Park which was the home of Hull City Football Club for many years, which was very close to Peter Pan Park!!

As an aside, but continuing the theme of Peter Pan and unusual names, there is an apartment in Kingston-upon-Hull called ‘Second Star On The Right And Straight On ‘Til Morning’.

Hole 14 – Perfection (North Berwick GC)

The sign that greets you upon arrival at the West Links, North Berwick succinctly captures one of the pillars of the great game of golf, namely:

“YOUR GREEN FEE TICKET ENTITLES YOU TO TEMPORARY MEMBERSHIP OF THE NORTH BERWICK GOLF CLUB WHERE YOU WILL BE MADE WELCOME BY THE MEMBERS”

The Par 4 14th hole is named Perfection, a term that could easily be applied to the other 17 holes on this historic links golf course. For this hole, the photo below provides the commentary.

Hole 15 – Majuba Hill (Beverley & East Riding GC)

Beverley & East Riding is my home golf club and is the oldest inland golf course in Yorkshire. I would not have been allowed anywhere near the 1st Tee, Pros Shop or the Clubhouse again if one of the holes for this fantasy course was not selected from Beverley!!

Many holes in the UK are named after battles in the Boer War, usually when the topology of the hole includes a large and/or steep hill to ‘navigate’ between the Tee and the Green.

Beverley is no different and the 15th is one such hole that is named Majuba Hill, though the history books record that the Battle of Majuba Hill resulted in one of the most humiliating defeats ever for the British Army!!.

Hole 16 – Vardons Best (City of Newcastle GC)

Henry William ‘Harry’ Vardon was possibly the first golfing superstar, winning the Open Championship a record 6 times and also the US Open in 1900.

In 1907, the City of Newcastle Golf club moved from its original site on the Newcastle Town Moor to its current site 3 miles north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Harry Vardon was engaged to design the course. Whatever measure or criteria is used, then the Par 4 16th hole is definitely Vardons Best. I will leave the question of whether this is the best golf hole he ever designed to judges much more qualified than myself.

Some macabre golfing trivia…in the match to officially open the course, the Club Secretary hit and killed a crow with his very first shot. The crow was then stuffed and to this day is still on display in the clubhouse!!

P.S. No sooner had I finished drafting this article when the City Of Newcastle Golf Club won the prestigious 2019 European Men’s Club Trophy. Synchronicity or what…Vardons Best and Europes Best!!

Hole 17 – Arthurs Seat (Longniddry GC)

Returning to the East Lothian of Scotland ‘Golf Coast’, Arthurs Seat is the selection for the penultimate hole from Longniddry Golf Club. IMHO, Longniddry has the best greens of all the courses I have had the pleasure to play.

Arthurs Seat in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh is circa. 13 miles to the west of Longniddry and yet the silhouette of this extinct volcano can be viewed from Longniddry Bents, the beach near the golf course.

Hole 18 – Boggle Hole (Bellingham GC)

In similar fashion to the opening hole at Swanston Golf Club, what better way to complete this fantasy/eclectic golf course by teeing off at Bellingham Golf Club on a closing hole named Boggle Hole.

Bellingham Golf Club is situated in the beautiful North Tyne valley between Hadrians Wall and the English/Scottish border. A challenging 18 hole course, with stunning panoramic views throughout.

The distinguished Sunday Times sportswriter Norman Harris, who sadly passed away in 2015, wrote a number of articles for the Newcastle Journal newspaper in their series ‘Great Golf Holes of the North’. In the very first article, the headline was “The Boggle Is a Tough One to Nail”.

Boggle Hole is named after an old farmhouse which is now the Clubhouse which provides a fantastic vantage point overlooking the 18th green. A Boggle is also the local name for a hobgoblin, though not sure how many of these mythical spirits still lurk in the remote corners of the course!!

To finish…if you are interested there is a really good YouTube video where Professional golfer George Cowan plays 3 of his favourite holes at Bellingham, including the 18th…click Boggle Hole to watch.

Acknowledgements

Yet again, the global golfing community has been so kind and supportive in helping me produce another article. For Golf Hole Names I just want to say a big thanks to:

• Mike Robson, Manager/Secretary of Swanston Golf Club, who so kindly took and shared various photos of the 1st & the 11th from which I attempted to create a photo collage for each hole.
• Graeme Farrington, a Director of Blyth Golf Club, who granted me permission to use photos of the 2nd & 4th and who shared his personal memories of ‘Yella Babby’.
• Chris Brown, Club Manager of Hexham Golf Club, who very kindly shared a stunning photo of Lepers Oak (the 5th hole on this eclectic course).
• David Quinn of Consett and District Golf Club, who granted me permission to use a photo of the 8th.
• Elaine McBride, General Manager of North Berwick Golf Club, who once again granted me permission to use a photo from the incomparable West Links course, this time the 14th.
• Graham Wilson, Chairman of Bellingham Golf Club, for his time in telling me about the late Norman Harris and with help from Robin Down, providing a copy of the article Norman wrote about the 18th.

The Nineteenth

I really enjoyed the ‘challenge’ of pulling together what is effectively my first XVIII. At the end of the day all of the fantastic golf courses that have been mentioned in this article are there to be played and enjoyed, all presenting different challenges to golfers of all ages and abilities…and I can’t wait to try and play them all again!!

Finally, it would be really good to hear from you about holes/courses you have played which have unusual, amusing, historic or relevant names and the associated context, so please feel free to share this information via the comments section below.