Water – “Water” first on this write-up. If there is one place to find plenty of water, it is in a valley. And on this particular autumn day, the heavens bestowed all the more of it. We had booked an afternoon slot (with a very reasonable twilight rate) which was about the only break in the weather that week. And even then, the dark clouds decided to shake the last few drops from their loins onto us. Still, the late afternoon scattered showers meant one thing that we have come to appreciate and enjoy in the UK more than any other place we have visited…rainbows. On the way, passing through the rolling hills of the upper Cotswolds, we actually enjoyed a double rainbow (see bottom photo).

On the course itself, there were only a half dozen pure water hazards are sprinkled around the course, but slicing right down the middle is a significant flowing steam. Not just a little drainage ditch often found on courses, but an actually geographical feature properly named (Sutton Brook) and everything. It crosses the approaches of several holes that traverse it. The good news is that the stream is a free drop zone. The bad news is that when we were playing in rainy October, it was flowing so swiftly that by the time we got there to retrieve our stray ball, it had been washed away (and even if it wasn’t, the water was so turgid from the flow that there would be no finding it).

Walk – Feldon Valley not only sits in a valley (good for views), but somehow has managed to incorporate the traversing of this trough with nearly a third of its holes. Another crossing the chasm course with 5 holes bisected with plummeting crevasses. At least, they had the foresight to construct staircases (yes, “staircases”) on several of these to make navigating them easier.

Welcome – We actually encountered another dog golfer during our round, Otter (see photo above). We had a very quick photo op greeting and Otter’s person waxed appreciative of how great it was to have a course where he could bring Otter.

Wildlife – Maybe the autumnal inclement weather has scared them into cover, but didn’t encounter much at all during our round.

Wind Down – The club looked like it had a quite impressive restaurant which it turns out is dog-friendly as well. In fact, the course is part of a hotel and the hotel welcomes dogs too! However, we had booked a recommended doggie pub down the road for dinner. The Red Lion was one of the most “gastro” of the gastro-pub we have visited recently. Truly tasty and superbly prepared food was just what we needed to take the chill off of our wet outing. Grace felt right at home with other dogs settled on the floor at every other table in our room.

Welcome – Alton golf club is not only one of the most welcoming of dogs, but it is certainly the most welcoming club overall that we have ever played (having played over 70 different courses). On arrival, we met Millie, the resident dog who greeted us warmly (photo below). The members who welcomed us so kindly all knew the many members and their dogs who frequented the course. Mike “Hobbo” was especially kind enough to offer to take our picture which is the first shot we have of all 3 of us on a course (see above)! We stopped at the 9^th hole (well, the course is a duplex setup with the “back 9” being variations on the 9 holes of the course) and could have just spent the rest of the day enjoying the affable camaraderie.

Walk – There is good news and bad news. The good news is that the course is a more modest length of 5627 yards. The bad news is that a good chunk of those yards are precipitous ascents. The course is bit like the final throes of a storm at sea being tossed up and down at the outset and eventually settling down to more flattened waters (with a bit of rocking back and forth at the ample number of dog-legs on the course). The silver lining to these high-altitude climbs is that you are treated to some amazing views of the Hampshire countryside at the summits (see below).

Water – Being on such a hilly terrain, it is no surprise that there were no water features (water spots tend to be at the bottom of hills, not the top), but there were water spigots at several places around the grounds. And the course obviously returns to the clubhouse at the 9^th where there are dog bowls for Grace’s refreshment.

Wildlife – Not much on the course really, but a (fenced) field of sheep next to the 5^th/14^th hole (who took great interest in Grace as she passed by).

Wind Down – The “community-owned” White Hart was similarly welcoming to doggie patrons. Even before we had submitted our drink orders, the server had brought a bowl of water to our table for Grace. In fact, at one point in the evening, every single occupied table had a dog companion (and a water bowl on the floor). Unfortunately, the food didn’t quite live up to its trendy gastro-descriptions on the menu. The fancy names of the dishes on the menu didn’t match the pretty ordinary pub grub that came out of the kitchen (eg. the “triple cooked chips” are pretty much standard chips). The best part was the onion rings that had big pieces of onion with not too heavy batter.

Welcome – Summer is truly over and now we are getting into the “Winter Season.” That means wetter, colder and shorter days. We decided to make our way into Croham Hurst to take advantage of a forecasted break in the weather for a mid-afternoon round to squeeze in some holes since Storm Alex had kept us off the fairways for over a week now. The day started with promising glimpses of sunshine, but as we approached the course, the darker clouds enshrouded Surrey. The rounds were very reasonably priced (£20 on a weekend) so we figured we would tough out as many holes as we could in regardless of what inclement conditions welcomed us.

The most welcome part, for us and Grace, was renting a buggy. This round was the first ever time we have used a buggy in the UK. Buggies are much more common in the USA and nearly every time we have played across the pond we used one (in fact, some courses require their use). It must be either American impatience or laziness. A major dividend from a round for all of us including Grace is the exercise from a 7k+ walk. So a buggy never made sense. But this day, the last few rainclouds were scudding into the area dropping a decent dousings of rain periodically. As a result, we thought that a buggy would be a handy bit of cover to duck into during the rainy bits (which it very much was for the first half hour while the weather got its last few rain clouds out of its system). It also provided the added benefit that we could make it around the course a bit faster. Given the ever-shortening daylight (all the shorter with cloudy skies), we were able to squeeze in a few more holes with our motorized assistance and our late tee time.

Walk – The question was what to do with Grace? Have her ride with us? Have one of us walk with her while the other drove the buggy. Both of us ride the buggy while Grace ran along side? It turns out, “all of the above”. Check out our video below. On one hand, we did bring her along with us during wet spells, but she did get to run beside us otherwise. And she really enjoyed stretching her legs especially as Croham Hurst is a lead required course.

Water – As noted, there was no shortage of water on this particular day. Otherwise, though, the course has no water hazards or run-off streams. Fortunately, the 9^th hole features a water fountain (off for COVID) and the 10^th swings back by the clubhouse.

Wildlife – I’ve never thought of outer Croydon as a seaside resort, but the most prevalent creatures on the course were flocks of seagulls. Maybe driven inland by Storm Alex or maybe confused by where the seaside stopped and the land began after the recent drenching of the UK.

Wind Down – Another evening at the inimitable Archie Parker to meet its namesake successor, retired greyhound Bonbon. Any time we are in southeast London area we will typically be drawn to our favourite dog-friendly café in the area (now with one of our favourite dogs to visit).

Welcome – One of our recently uncovered dog-friendly places here in the UK is Drift GC. Everyone seemed nonplussed by Grace’s presence, and one particularly friendly lady went out of her way to say hello to her which Grace particularly appreciated (and she isn’t usually as enthusiastic receiving too much attention from strangers).

Walk – While the walk was nicely level, it still seemed to be a bit more tiring than its fairly conventional 6k distance would imply. Plenty of conventional sand and surf hazards, with the bonus hazard of scattered mounds. These carbuncles of turf reminded me of the many fatty lumps and bumps popping up on Grace’s aging body (which were annoying to our approach shots are they sometime are to Grace who fusses with them).

Water – Half dozen sizeable water hazards. Water fountain at the 15^th and 9^th (shut down for COVID) and the 9^th returns to the clubhouse. In fact. the 9^th had the water trifecta of a water hazard, a fountain and a halfway hut. The course could go by the nickname the “Ditch” golf club for a long sequence of drainage ditches running along the course. Your slice won’t roll far off the fairway before it is gobbled up by one of these (but in wetter times a ready source of a drink for Grace).

Wildlife – SQUIRREL! Never seen so many squirrels on a golf course. Each hole seemed to have its own resident furry-tailed rodent.

Wind Down – We set down at the nearby The Black Swan which is a charming gastropub striving for cut-above fare. The spatch cock chicken and truffle mac and cheese exceeded expectations though the “tempura” broccoli was just fried in conventional batter that was too doughy. A lovely place with lovely food.