Air at Eastbourne Downs tastes like a fine wine

The oil tank blows before Cagney can take a good look but, at the Downs, there is no need to hurry. Just take in the stunning view to all points of the compass and enjoy your golf as it has been enjoyed there for the last 93 years.

The air tastes like wine, so much so that it is easy to become intoxicated as the scent of ozone mingles with countryside aromas that make mid-summer golf at this heavenly spot quite unforgettable.

Golf at The Downs is not for wimps in winter. When the sun shines and temperatures rise it is the place to be and its reputation among holiday makers was established long ago.

Tastes and habits have changed; no longer do visitors to Eastbourne come by train from the cities and lugging bags of clubs.

But that is how many seniors remember The Downs in its pre-war pomp when the taxi fare up from the station was beyond the means of many so it was either the bus or shanks pony.

Today it is a favourite with societies and small groups who list Eastbourne among their favourite domestic destinations.

The Downs is one of four courses within the borough boundaries. Each have fervent admirers but only The Downs commands such a stunning panorama.

Yet that can change if the weather should turn capricious. When it really blows with a vengeance golf is well nigh impossible over the unsheltered expanse above Beachy Head.

A breath of fresh air does nobody any harm but being blown off your feet is another matter. The 700-odd members are well used to braving the elements. At this time of year, though, they are bronzed by the elements and counting their lucky stars to play over a course that rarely closes.

There have been many changes to J.H. Taylor's original design laid out in 1907. He must have been captivated when, for the first time, seeing this particular stretch of Downland dotted with sheep and coloured by the gorse. It cried out for a golf course and so Taylor planned 18 holes over a plateau covered with mustard-coloured clumps of shrubbery and in a shallow valley that surrounds it on three sides.

Add to the stern hazards of scrub, a few chalk pits, and a dew pond, not to mention bunkers, and it soon becomes obvious that beginners can spend an unprofitable time at The Downs.

In the most testing conditions some of the longer and totally exposed holes are feats of endurance which brings me to the famous seventh.

For many years and before the arrival of East Sussex National and the 18th at the new West Hove, the 581-yard monster was one of the longest in Sussex.

When the PGA Southern Region took their flagship event to The Downs in 1982 at the end of the final day gale force winds nearly blew the Davies and Tate marquee off the course.

As for the seventh, it was beyond the reach of any player in two. Brian Barnes had a go with a driver and was well short of the green.

Terry Marshall, The Downs professional, says it is rightly stroke index one on the card: "It is not only very long, but also very tight which places great importance on a good drive. There is the farmyard on the right and trees on the left and also it is into the prevailing wind plus the fact that you play up to the green. Very few, even in summer when conditions are favourable to fast running, can get up in two."

I asked Terry, who has been pro 16 years, had an albatross ever been recorded there? "You hear stories; but, no, I haven't heard of anybody making three there."

One of the most interesting holes is the 186-yard 12th which can be anything from a pitching wedge to a driver. With everything in your favour you can knock a little wedge down the hill and hope it will roll on.

Faced with a hurricane-like blast when only a full hit with a driver may reach the green provides more of a challenge. As Marshall says: "You can get a different course every day because of the weather. It's not only strength but the changes of direction that makes the wind such a challenge."

Bearing all his local knowledge in mind, let's return to the seventh where the line of the hole is fairly straight and the fairway cants from left to right.

An ability to play with one foot higher than the other comes in handy here but all the problems are not confined to big hitting. The raised green is a little on the small side and banked at the back. Go too far and that is out of bounds.

Unless conditions are exceptionally calm, the third, fifth, sixth and 16th holes are all into the wind.

The par-four fifth might be downhill, but plays longer than the 298 yards on the card. Kicks bring varying fortunes and the 486-yard second is a hole where pars are not all that common because the bounce in dry weather can play tricks.

It's a common belief that Downland greens invariably slope towards the sea.

Marshall will not be drawn into the argument but says that not all greens have such a tendency, but many do. It is up to each and every player to fathom them out and easily the best at The Downs, and anywhere else for that matter, was the legendary Cyril Tolley who won the Amateur Championship twice in the 1920s and played in six Walker Cups.

Arguably one of the greatest amateurs this country has ever seen, Tolley won his first competition at The Downs aged 15 and playing off 16.

Thereafter he took golf by storm despite being wounded in the war and being taken prisoner.

Fittingly, a large picture of him hangs in the clubhouse and he was made president in 1954 and died 24 years later.

Apart from Tolley, The Downs has a proud tradition and the club and its now defunct artisans section has produced many rare characters. Take the Wooller lads, for instance, all seven played their golf at The Downs. Dick Wooller was a shepherd and little knew that his seven sons would all become single figure and scratch golfers and one, Frank, would become the club professional.

When Frank called it a day after nearly 50 years in the job, his son Richard took over and then moved to The Royal where he is to this day.

In addition to the Wooller brothers, there was a host of Hudsons and Topham Teague who always played in a pair of plimsoles. Why he was called Topham nobody seems to know as he hit the ball well enough to be rated an amazing plus 12 handicap.

The rest of the Teague clan were great golfers and their roll call read like a gang of pirates - Tinkum, Fred, Stan, Yessel, Reg, Cheeser, Henry, Perce, Ernie and Yankum. The Teague family is still represented at the club where the welcome is warm and sincere.

It is, however, worth pointing out that there are no buggies for hire. This is because the club has no secure lock-up accommodation but electric trolleys may be hired at a fiver a round.