The course of the Bush Hill Park Golf Club enjoys a special place of its own in London golf.

 
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The Club prides itself on the number, the variety and the testing quality of its short holes, and though the result is to make the total length of the round unusually short, this shortness is no ground for belittlement, because I doubt if any other course in London provides as stiff a test of play for as moderate an amount of walking !

The course is laid out in a delightful woodland setting on the ridge of Bush Hill, on the southern side of Enfield, rather less than ten miles from Hyde Park Corner. It falls into three distinct parts, the opening holes being laid out on a level plateau alongside the pleasant avenue leading from the lodge gates to the Club House, the outward journey taking us down towards the New River and Enfield on the northern slope of the ridge, and the last seven holes lying among the groves of birch and oak and elm on the southern side. This includes the majority of the short holes and undoubtedly the course owes its immense popularity to the beauty of the settings of this part of the round, which especially in spring and autumn opens up one scene after another of sylvan loveliness.

The First 180 yds 160 yds 133 yds		The first hole is one which calls for an accurate shot of 180 yards through the narrow opening between trees on the left and a spinney on the right, to reach a green tightly guarded by trees on the left and bunkers on both sides. At the back of the green is a pear tree - a survivor of what was once the ample orchard of the mansion. The mound in the centre of the fairway is part of an Iron Age hill fort.
	The first is followed by a trio of attractive holes on the level ground between the Entrance Gates and the Club House.
The Second 390 yds 380 yds 366 yds	The second is an excellent two-shotter of 390 yards, at which we drive out of a little avenue between a wood along our right and a line of fruit trees on our left. The left hand side of the fairway is protected by a large oak tree whose branches protrude into the fairway. A drive placed reasonably accurately down the middle will go a long way to simplify the second shot, which must be equally straight to avoid the bold bunkers on either side of the entry to the green. A cedar on the left of the green and a clump of oaks on the right provide further complications for a wild second shot and in fact the hole demands just that degree of straightness which so many of us are unable to command at the first holes of the day.
The Third 366 yds 356 yds 343 yds	We have a good deal more latitude at the third (366 yards), where we strike off from a fairly open tee ; but trees on the left and on the right are likely to catch an erratic first or second shot and the green is guarded by a bunker just in front and by bunkers on either side. Nevertheless, we have no real excuse for failure to get our 4.
The Fourth 286 yds 262 yds 266 yds	A two tier green close to the trees along our left, presents a difficult target at the fourth, especially if the pin is positioned on the upper shelf. This is a 'drive and pitch' hole of 286 yards with the run of the ground slightly in our favour, but it is of just that indeterminate length which in summer tempts the hitters to go all out with their drives in the effort to 'snick a 3'. When the ground is hard, even the 4 is not so easy as it looks, for the long, narrow green is tightly guarded by a large bunker at the front left and another along the right side and by a severe drop on the left once past the bunker.
The Fifth 213 yds 181 yds 145 yds	At this point we cross a little lane into a strip of ground which is bounded on the farther side by the New River. This hole is one of the best par threes in Middlesex. It calls for a solid shot of 213 yards, to a squarish shaped green. To the right of the hole are mature trees and to the left is a copse. Either of these which will catch a wayward shot. At the same time there is plenty of trouble awaiting a poorly hit straight shot, for we have three bunkers to carry and the green is guarded by two more bunkers.
The Sixth 538 yds 521 yds 447 yds	Trees along both left and right and a rolling fairway sliding off towards a well-placed bunker on the right, call for careful placing of our drive at the sixth, which is 538 yards long. A drive off the fairway runs the risk of going into an open ditch. The hole dog-legs to the right for the last 100 yards and will be a two-shotter only for the bravest. Bunkers along our right close in on the line of our second shot. The big rolling plateau green is guarded by drops on all sides. In spite of the boundary hedge and trees we should play our second shot well up to the left to allow for the fall of the ground if we mean to get home in three. But three to the green should present no real difficulty.
The Seventh 178 yds 174 yds 140 yds	This hole is similar to the famous 14th hole at Wentworth being of similar length (at 178 yards) and elevation. The green is protected by bunkers on either side, but the major hazard tends to be a copse just short and right of the green.
The Eighth 387 yds 377 yds 363 yds	Next come a couple of holes that take us down to the far end of the course in the direction of Enfield Town, with Old Park Avenue as the boundary along our left. These two holes differ considerably in character. At the eighth (387 yards) we have the advantage of driving downhill from a big gun-platform tee cut into the hillside and must hold our drive well over to the left, but avoiding a bunker at driving length, if we want to leave ourselves with an easy approach through the gap between the two clumps of trees. A cross bunker and a deep bunker at the right hand approach to the green force us to pitch right up to the pin.
The Ninth 350 yds 332 yds 315 yds	Trees and shrubs placed at drive-length on the left and right seem the only serious danger at the ninth (350 yards). But with the green tucked away rather round the corner beyond the last of the trees and with a protecting bunker and mature chestnut tree just short of the right side of the green, our obvious plan of attack seems to be by means of a drive placed to the left and a pitch through the gap between a greenside bunker on the left and the chestnut on the right. These tactics have to be modified slightly, however, to allow for the configuration of the green itself, which on its right side slopes sharply away from us. The knowing ones steer as close as they dare to the trees on the right, in order to be able to pitch safely into the green.
The Tenth 530 yds 521 yds 477 yds	The tenth, measuring 530 yards feels the longest hole of the round, with the slope of the ground against us and with an elevated green. Beyond the boundary fence on our left is the New River and the hole is dog-legged to the left, following the curve of the stream. There is nothing to be gained, however, by trying to cut the corner. The ground draws somewhat to the left and the best line for our second shot is rather over towards our right, avoiding an ash tree and a mound covered in deep rough, but beware the open ditch across the fairway. A good second shot leaves us with a simple sort of pitch to a 'target' green set into the rise of the hill. Watch out for the bunkers to the front of the green as they are deep.
The Eleventh 322 yds 313 yds 303 yds	At the eleventh the New River is still on our left and there is also a narrow water ditch running parallel with it; but these potential dangers are only of serious consequence if we somehow contrive to hit our ball past mid-on. The hole is 322 yards long and dog-legs to the right past a fairway bunker. The ground now slopes sharply to the left to a green which is set into a right-hand rise, guarded by a couple of bunkers on the upper side and by another on the front left. For the longer hitters, a shot over the fairway bunker will get you up close to the green.
The Twelfth 516 yds 511 yds 501 yds	The ground rises in two gentle sweeps and draws just sufficiently to the left to make the trees and rough on that side an irresistible allurement to the long handicap brigade. Measuring 516 yards there are bunkers to the left and right to catch an errant drive. Open ditches off the fairway can catch the drive of the longer hitters or the second shots of others. Spinneys on either side narrow the approach to a green of the semi-plateau type, guarded by a nasty bunker on the left and by another cunningly placed on the right, which cut off a running shot coming round with the swing of the ground. The green slopes away from you which makes it harder to stop the ball near the flag, particularly when it is set to the front of the green.
The Thirteenth 174 yds 162 yds 95 yds	The thirteenth, the famous lake hole, measures 174 yards with some sort of iron club to reach a big saucer-shaped green. Between tee and green, however, lies the lake, on a long crescent with one of the points towards us. Two trees just clear of the left of the entry provide other possibilities of disaster, but the hole has oft-times confirmed the truth of the American wise-crack that the easiest shot in golf is the one into the pond!
The Fourteenth 266 yds 261 yds 255 yds	The string of short holes is broken by a hole of 266 yards for the fourteenth. We strike off from a tee in a corner by the entrance gates, with a bit of a dip and a copse to the left to carry or skirt. Beyond that the fairway swings down between trees on the left and the right to a green built out on a falling slope. The long driver, taking the direct route to the left over the corner of the copse, will hope to reach the green missing the bunkers on both sides of the entrance to the green, but it is easy to go wrong.
The Fifteenth 183 yds 174 yds 157 yds	A more difficult hole from a playing point of view is the fifteenth (183 yards) at which we have to carry the pit, with trees hemming us in on either side and extending to the green on the right hand side. The green is set in a depression guarded by two bunkers left and right and slopes away from you. The green itself presents an ample and friendly target to a shot that is pitched well up, but the setting makes it easy to misjudge the length and it is a hole where players frequently under-club.
The Sixteenth 126 yds 115 yds 106 yds	The sixteenth, buried right in the heart of the woods, is the most beautiful hole on the course - in fact one of the most beautiful short holes to be found anywhere. It is a 'baby' hole of 126 yards, giving us a dropping shot over a slope to a slightly offset green. If your shot is too short to hit the green, the slope can either throw your ball towards the right hand bunker, or, if you are lucky, kick a shot started too far left on to the green. A difficult grass bunker together with the pot bunker on the right make players think carefully about their drives. The hole presents an easy target to anything like a well-judged shot.
The Seventeenth 300 yds 293 yds 266 yds	This is a good drive and pitch hole of 300 yards in another strikingly beautiful setting. From a gun-platform tee in the woods our drive has to carry another deep pit and a belt of trees beyond. The lake on the left, surrounded by tropical trees and shrubs and once a favourite haunt of the kingfisher, is awaiting a misdirected shot. The safest line from the tee is out to the right, but this leaves a harder shot over the lake which guards the green. A good iron shot over the marker, with draw, will put you in the best position for the shot to the green, but do not go too long as the lake awaits you.
The Eighteenth 464 yds 456 yds 417 yds	We come back uphill again at the eighteenth, to finish off the round with a 'tiger's two-shotter' of 462 yards, with the woods along our left. Watch out for the mound at the top of the hill when playing your second shot as the rough on it is kept long. It is easy to drive too far right and get blocked by a large tree, so keep as far left as possible off the tee and with your second shot. This should bring us within easy pitching distance of a built-up green guarded by bunkers at either corner. Watch out for the Captain's Bunker on the right of the green as, should you go into it, you are requested to put money to the Captain's charity appeal in a large bottle to the right hand side of the bar at the nineteenth hole.