A lovely heathland course that, despite having a number of different architects working on its layout, presents itself as a homogeneous entity. Tree growth is being managed and as a result the heather is alive and well. The spaciousness of the routing results in a very uncluttered, natural experience. Hankley Common is not only walkable, but a joy to walk.

Conditioning is excellent, the course is very dry and truly plays firm and fast. The greens, however, are a bit of a letdown. They are large enough, but only very gently undulated, so that most putts will be rather flat. Further criticism that can be levied upon Hankley Common is the lack of quirk and strategic options. While the course as a whole is an incredible experience in flow, some of its individual holes are a bit ordinary.

The one innovative feature is the use of footpaths as obstacles by declaring them to be integral parts of the course. They are almost bunkerish, being filled with fine sand, but obviously full of foot- and hoofprints. Apart from that the heather is the main danger and hard to completely avoid over the course of a round. The reason for that is again the routing with hardly any adjacent fairways to catch a wayward shot. There is about a 50% chance of being able to play out of the heather and the dreaded "lost ball" is definitely part of the game here. However, the course does not lay down the law with a vengeance, it is playable for all comers and great fun, too.