The Devil's Punch Bowl
Did you know that the author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a founding member of Hindhead Golf Club!
From the moment you walk down the first fairway at Hindhead you'll know something special is awaiting you. The course is always in great condition. It is a story of two nines. The front nine plays through two glacial valleys, and much more hilly than the back nine which is positioned up on the plateau where you'll find the clubhouse.
The course is located on the outskirts of Hindhead Common and a Natural Trust Natural Reserve named The Devil's Punch Bowl. The name Devil's Punch Bowl dates from at least 1768.
There are many interesting stories as to how the name came about. If you are interested in history please keep reading.
If not, then just stop here and know that Hindhead is very high on the list of Golfersglobe's favourite courses in the South of England. It is well worth many visits.
According to one story, the Devil became so irritated by all the churches being built in Sussex during the Middle Ages that he decided to dig a channel from the English Channel through the South Downs and flood the area. As he began digging, he threw up huge lumps of earth, each of which became a local landmark — such as Chanctonbury Ring, Cissbury Ring, Mount Caburn, and Rackham Hill. He got as far as the village of Poynings (an area known as the Devil's Dyke) when he was disturbed by a cock crowing. (One version of this story claims that it was the prayers of St Dunstan that made all the local cocks crow earlier than usual.) The devil assumed that dawn was about to break and leapt into Surrey, creating the Devil's Punch Bowl where he landed.
A still older story claims that two giants clashed in the area, and one scooped up earth to throw at the other, creating the landmark before missing the throw and creating the Isle of Wight.
