Going for Golf

Bovey Castle - It’s far from elementary

Bovey Castle

Fans of Sherlock Holmes, for example, will be familiar with Hound Tor at Grimspound, the setting for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles. The great detective and his constant companion Dr Watson endured a long journey to reach this dramatic national park in the not-too-distant past. It was hardly the most convenient venue for a short golf break and Conan Doyle never mentioned Watson hoisting a mashie niblick into the cart that took them on to Baskerville Hall.

But times have changed. Now roads and motorways have made it so much easier for visitors to experience the 368 square miles of moors – and for golfers to enjoy one of the region’s finest championship courses, just 16 miles from the historic city of Exeter.

If you’re looking for five-star luxury with views out on to a wonderful golf course, you won’t go wrong with Bovey Castle – with the ‘o’ pronounced as in ‘body’ not ‘clove’. Best to discover that before one embarrasses oneself, one can confirm…

Bovey Castle was built originally as a private home and sporting estate in 1907, under the ownership of Viscount Hambleden, son of William Henry Smith, First Sea Lord of the Admiralty and newsagent extraordinaire. No expense was spared in either the scale or the quality of craftsmanship, creating a truly exceptional country home with grand oak-panelled drawing rooms, large open fire-places, ornate broad stairways and a magnificent Great Hall, all opening on to the stone balustrade garden terraces. It exudes elegance and luxury – a touch of Hercule Poirot, the Orient Express, Bertie Wooster or Downton Abbey. However, don’t fall for the tale that Conan Doyle based Baskerville Hall on Bovey Castle – the story was first published in 1901.

The hotel enjoys some particularly glorious and memorable views and fresh, organic, Devonshire produce and meticulous service also make dining an unforgettable experience. But let’s not get carried away with fripperies such as fluffy pillows, stunning vistas and sumptuous grub. We’re here to hit fairways.

The course was designed in 1926 in a wooded moorland valley by JF Abercromby, one of the finest British golf course designers of the 1920s. When it opened in 1930, it quickly gained national acclaim with a reputation as one of the most enjoyable places to play golf. This was the golden age of rail travel and golfers would come from all over to Moretonhampstead, which had appeared on the map through the arrival of the Great Western Railway Company.

When nationalisation of the railways followed in the 1940s and the course and hotel became part of the British Transport Hotels group – including other properties and courses at Gleneagles and Turnberry – significant extension and improvement works were made to the Manor House golf course, as it was then known. Further modern-day improvements have dramatically rejuvenated the course, with the renewal of the drainage and irrigations systems, additional tees, greens restored to their original sizes, every bunker rebuilt and the fairways levelled off.

And a further three bunkers have been added, including two pot bunkers at the back of the second green, where, with the River Bovey running in front of the green, a pin-point approach is now even more essential.

The par-four seventh was once described by the great Sir Henry Cotton as “one of the most challenging par-fours on an inland golf course”. An accurate tee shot is required to evade water on both sides, before an equally challenging approach as the river ensures you are left with a daunting and narrow shot in. Memorable and not a little difficult.

Major improvements have also been made on the par-three ninth hole, where six new bunkers have turned what was often seen as a respite at the end of a challenging front nine into a hole where nothing but perfection from the tee will find a reward.

Water comes into play throughout the course, and it’s small wonder Bovey Castle was voted England’s finest golf resort in both 2009 and 2010 at the prestigious World Travel Awards. Even the most ardent golfers will be distracted by the magnificent birds on the estate and various falconry opportunities form just a small part of the myriad leisure activities available at the resort. They include archery; clay-pigeon shooting; cider making; walking; fly fishing; horse-riding; hot-air ballooning, tennis; and quad biking. Phew!

And if that’s all too much for you, try relaxing in the spa, which, coincidentally, is what I’m doing while writing this. Now where did I put my copy of Hound of the Baskervilles…­