Hill Barn Golf Course
Daniel Frickelton’s guide to the finest golf courses in Sussex.
Character: Moral force; integrity. Integrity: Adherence to moral principles; honesty. Moral: Relating to human behaviour, esp. the distinction between good and bad or right and wrong. (Collins English Dictionary, 21st C. Edition)
Many moons and moans ago, in what now seems to me a previous life in America, I applied for my first serious job as the ink was still drying on my spanking new BA degree. The initial interview was disconcertingly brief: within ten minutes my prospective employer had invited me to play a round of golf at his posh suburban club. Taking this as a good omen, I immediately accepted, but wondered what this had to do with my job application.
“‘Golf is character building’ is a hackneyed cliché of questionable veracity, and one that is usually forced out between grinding molars and clenched jaws”
I met him and two of his business associates in the clubhouse on the appointed day. As the round progressed it became clear that my very average golf skills would be more than adequate to preserve my dignity in this company, and I began to worry about the consequences of eventually beating my future boss. Fuelled by the fearlessness of youth, I continued resolutely to just play my game and not laugh too hard or loudly at theirs.
On the 19th hole he didn’t seem much bothered by the result, so during the post-round beers I timidly enquired about a date for a second (proper) job interview. He just smiled benignly and said that would not be necessary. “After several hours together on the golf course”, he said, “I know more about you than any one hour interview could ever reveal. The job is yours.”
‘Golf is character building’ is a hackneyed cliché of questionable veracity, and one that is usually forced out between grinding molars and clenched jaws following a Hitler – er, two shots in a bunker – or whilst watching also your second drive off the 18th at Hill Barn fizz dementedly left into the knee-high grass. In other words, we think of golf as ‘character building’ only in adversity.
If we successfully resist the urge to wrap a golf club around the nearest birch tree, hurl our Mizunos over a chalky cliff or shove a six-iron up a mocking playing partner’s OB zone, we consider ourselves to have enhanced our ‘character’. We have safeguarded our integrity and done the right thing.
My future boss appeared to have perceived golf as being more character revealing than character building, and I think he may have had a point. When the Golf Goddess recently unleashed her incomparable waggle and hit six bad drives in succession (in three holes) things went very quiet on this chalk cliff downsland course (not Hill Barn).
So quiet, in fact, that I swear I could hear the blood pounding in her temples as she kicked the zippers off her golf bag and spat an un-ladylike litany under her breath. It was nevertheless very character revealing to see how she eventually managed to turn her game around and play one of her better rounds on this very challenging course.
Hill Barn Golf Club near Worthing will test your character on the best of days. On this particular July day the fringe and rough grasses were brown and parched from the summer heat, the fairways were green and gasping for a cool lick of rain, and were thus very conducive to extra distance off the tees. The greens were firm and in excellent nick, and the course was the sun’s anvil on this hot, hazy day. Kevin Black and his capable, friendly crew in the pro-shop were making hourly excursions onto the course to bring cold drinks to languishing golfers.
Hill Barn Golf Club is a Sussex gem with a gold-edged pedigree. It was designed about 70 years ago by the prolific Fred Hawtree, who arguably has done more than any single architect to bring quality to public golf courses in the UK. Hawtree and J H Taylor provided the design in 1922 for the current layout at Birkdale, a course you addicts may have heard of recently. The current owners of Hill Barn, Richard and Sally Haygarth, acquired the course from the council about five years ago. They have since invested over a million big ones in an irrigation system and other improvements, and are always on the lookout for ways to further upgrade facilities.
There may, then, be hope of seeing some practice nets in future for those of us with creaky old bones that need a wake-up call before we head for the first tee. As you would expect from a Hawtree design, there are plenty of ways to test your skill and demonstrate your character at Hill Barn. Take the par three fifth (115–134 yds) for instance. A well struck short iron from the elevated tee will set you up for a birdie opportunity if you steer clear of the bunkers everywhere and the trees to the left.
Or you could do what a bloke playing behind us did: poke the ball pathetically off the tee with any old club, roll it downhill, passing neatly between the two large frontal bunkers and onto the green. Don’t forget to collect your £200 as you pass the bunkers…not fair, is it?
There are many, many more fun and fantastic holes to test your brain and bottle. All of this is yours for a mere £14 after 1pm on weekdays, and £19.50 on weekends. Memberships are available from £695 plus £150 joining fee. No excuses, then, addicts. Just get out there and do it. And say hello to Kevin. He will look after you.
Hill Barn Golf Club
Hill Barn Lane, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 9QF, Tel 01903 237301.
Rating: 3/5
December 25th, 2008 at 5:09 am
Thanks for the interesting article.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:33 am
I was searching for some innovative golf reviews and came across this on Bing! This is a very interesting write-up! Really appreciate you for sharing this!
March 25th, 2011 at 10:57 am
A very kind review of our course and we’d like to think its even better now with our new head Green Keeper Andy Paynter working wonders. We’ve even added the requested practice net – how’s that for providence! Kevin & Anita are still there, looking even younger than as pictured. Hawtree was a genius and created a beautiful course at Hill Barn. We have continued the tradition by having his grandson, Martin supervise all the bunker renovations.