Golf International Lifestyle - Issue 102

JUNE 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 1

GLORIOUS GOODWOOD / SUNGLASSES / MEMORABILIA / MOTORING & MORE...

GOLF INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE JUNE 2011

GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM JUNE 20112

If you were asked to picture a typical scene at Good-

wood then horsepower of some description proba-

bly springs to mind, either the four-legged or the

four-wheeled variety. This majestic estate set in the

sublime Sussex countryside hosts Glorious Good-

wood, the famous five-day horse race meeting every

July, bookended by the Goodwood Festival of Speed

and the Goodwood Revival, the largest ‘car culture’

events in the world and a double-whammy celebra-

tion of all things motorsport from the classic to the

modern. There are people, literally tens of thousands

of discerning people, who won’t miss these events

for all the tea in China.

Goodwood is truly one of the country’s great

stately homes. Originally a small Jacobean house

it was bought as a hunting lodge by the 1st Duke

of Richmond, son of King Charles II. Greatly ex-

tended over the years it is now worth visiting not

least to stand and stare at the art collection,

which includes breathtaking paintings by van

Dyck, Canaletto and Stubbs. That’s just the tip of

the iceberg at Goodwood, though.

“There is so much our customers can take advan-

tage of when staying here,” says Lord March.

“Whether enjoying a sumptuous private event at

Goodwood House, getting behind the wheel at the

historic Motor Circuit, taking to the skies from Good-

wood Aerodrome or enjoying the Goodwood Hotel

and its modern Health Club and Waterbeach Spa fa-

cilities, nowhere else in the world can offer such an

extraordinary and diverse range of luxury experi-

ences as you will find here.”

Fittingly for this regal location, you will also find

the Royal & Ancient game. Golf has in fact been an

attraction at Goodwood for more than a century, al-

though for much of that time it has been something

of a hidden gem. The original nine-hole course was

conceived by six Sussex gents way back in 1892. The

entrance fee and annual subscription was just one

guinea, but a lack of membership in any significant

numbers was a major problem until the sixth Duke

of Richmond’s family stepped in and saved the day.

It then thrived and in 1962 it became the Goodwood

Golf Club.

Lack of membership at Goodwood hasn’t been

a problem in its modern incarnation. A major ren-

ovation of the Downs Course in 2004 coaxed this

James Braid classic into the 21st century and de-

Golfer and motorsport enthusiast Steve Newell didn’t knowwhich way to turn at the Goodwood Festival of Speed PressDay. After a mind-altering passenger ride in Ferrari’s dazzlingnew 458 Italia, he had his senses soothed on the springy fairways of the Downs Course and spoke to Lord March about the good life at Goodwood!

Make a date at glorious Goodwood

spite the worst recession in living memory mem-

bership has since thrived thanks to the innovative

blend of traditional golf club membership and a

new Credit membership, which allows golfers to

effectively ‘play as they go’.

“In all honesty, the recession has probably helped

golf at Goodwood,” says Lord March, “as the flexible

and affordable Credit membership has given people

more value to their golf and meant that when they

haven’t been able to play due to various reasons they

haven’t been penalised with a standard golf sub-

scription. Our numbers have increased year-on-year

over the past three years, which shows that our

membership program is perceived in a very positive

light by the local golfing community.”

Lord March, who took over the running of the es-

tate from his father in 1994, has a passion for per-

fection and in all of Goodwood’s many showcase

events he skillfully blends traditional values with

modern accoutrements. The same principles have

been applied to the golfing experience. “If we were to

have golf at Goodwood,” explains Lord March, “we

wanted it to be the best, but also different and aimed

at a younger audience. I wanted golf to move on, to

take all the authenticity and history we have in our

various sports and deliver this to our golfing experi-

ence in a modern and exciting way, which is relevant

today. The Kennels, the clubhouse for our members

at Goodwood, is the physical embodiment of that.”

Very special it is, too. The elegant Georgian

façade of the Grade 1 listed Kennels clubhouse

built in 1787 for the Duke’s faithful hounds, now

houses a wonderfully stylish and contemporary

interior where members can relax and enjoy a

long lunch, supper, or homemade cake and a pot

of tea. In homage to the building’s origins, dogs

can become members, too. A collection of named

water bowls is lined up in the lobby!

“Golf at Goodwood is golf as it should be,” pro-

claims Lord March. “In other words, simple, flexible,

not in any way stuffy. Unusually and refreshingly,

there’s no dress code and, yes, we encourage mem-

bers to bring their dogs to the course and the club-

house afterwards – after all it was the Kennels!”

Golfers and their pooches will get equal amounts

of joy from a walk around the Downs Course. Dra-

matic changes of elevation in the valleys and hills

provide stunning views over the Chichester Plain to-

wards the cathedral and beyond to the Isle of Wight.

It really is quite uplifting and, as I discovered, you

can hit the ball quite poorly and still have a lovely af-

ternoon. Down the road and attached to the excel-

lent Goodwood House Hotel is the Park Course, a

gentler test of golf and one that meanders through

estate woodland with tree-lined fairways and small

greens.

The Downs should be your first choice, though. It

was considered a sufficiently stern test to play host

to the inaugural English PGA Championship last

year, which is apt, as there are surely few things

GOLF AT GOODWOOD


Golfers who take advantage of Goodwood’s innova-tive membership program not only have two finegolf courses to enjoy but also access to the stylishKennels Clubhouse (left) in addtiion to the mainclubhouse (above). In addition to the golf, motorracing, of course, is central to the Goodwood experi-ence, the Festival of Speed (July 1-3) and the Good-wood Revival (Sept 16-18) being among the mostanticipated events on the social calendar

more quintessentially English than good old Good-

wood. The English PGA returns this year and a Trilby

Tour event is on the schedule, too (Goodwood mem-

ber Chris Dyson will be out to defend his title this

year). “The Trilby Tour is a great fit with the golf at

Goodwood ethos,” says Lord March. “It makes golf

more accessible and offers an authentic, yet edgy ex-

perience to players…a chance for amateur golf en-

thusiasts to play in a professional tournament.”

Immersed as I was in this world for an all-too-

brief 24 hours, it is impossible not to be seduced by

the whole Goodwood experience. It really is an ex-

traordinary place. And the enthusiasm of Lord

March is utterly infectious. Whatever he sets his

mind to, he does so with genuine passion and a re-

freshing hands-on approach.

So, I ask before I go, would Lord March be in-

spired to take up golf? “I am leaving that to my chil-

dren…or to my retirement,” he jokes.


1. Golf at Goodwood, the whole experience

playing The Downs course with the stunning

views and enjoying Horse Racing and Motor

Racing – what a great day out

2. 15th Hole Cape Kidnappers, Hawkes Bay,

New Zealand – the most stunning panorama ever

3. Seve winning the Open at St Andrews in 1984

– inspirational as he holed the final putt at the

home of golf. Even now it makes me feel good

4. The halfway house on the Marquess Course,

Woburn – relaxing interval with friends,

always special

5. Enjoying the hospitality of Peter Gammon at

Trevose and being invited to share in his

personal wine collection!

6. To be at Augusta and enjoy the special

surroundings taking in the Georgia Pines,

Azalea Bushes, White Dogwood,

Pink Dogwood – golf heaven!

7. Good customer service consistently delivered

at golf clubs. Sadly few and far between in the

UK, but there are some very good ones and

they know who they are (if not, ask me, I have

a black book listing the good and the bad!)

8. The Trilby Tour, one of the most exciting

innovations to be introduced into making golf

FUN – congratulations to William Hunt

9. The golf industry, a delight to be a part of from

members of clubs, to all that make a huge con

tribution to keep the cogs moving in the indus

try – club managers, golf professionals, green-

keepers, journalists, course architects...the list

is endless. See you all in the Red and White

tent at Sandwich for the Open!

10. My John Letters Golden Goose putter,

been with me for 40 years – thanks for

being there when I needed you!

Eddie BullockCAPTAIN PGA 2011 / DIRECTOR OF GOLF, GOODWOOD

MY PERSONAL TOP 10

Goodwood Golf ClubThe Goodwood Estate, Chichester, West Sussex

Tel: +44 (0)1243 755144www.goodwood.co.uk

* The Trilby Tour will be visiting Goodwood for thefirst time this summer (July 21) - for detailswww.williamhunttrilbytour.co.uk

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SUNGLASSES


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SPITFIRE GOLF BALLSWhat can you tell me about this box of Spitfire

golf balls, all of which are still wrapped.

Robin Foster, Glasgow

These Spitfire balls with a dimple pattern were

made during the early 1950s by the Golf Ball De-

velopments Company (GBD) in Birmingham, as

established by Albert Edward Penfold in 1927.

The Spitfire fighter plane was still a relatively

common sight in Britain’s skies and its name

continued to evoke nostalgia and emotions. And

what a great name for a golf ball, with its conno-

tations for ultimate control in the air! Although

they were low budget golf balls, GBD marketed

them as having ‘uniform accuracy’. Each ball was

wrapped in a clear plastic bag and I particularly

like the way in which the paint has yellowed, as

can just be seen here, creating a form of patina

that reflects the age of these balls.

VALUE: Although the Spitfire is not a common

ball, it is not especially commercial. When they

come to auction it is usually as single balls, with a

value per ball of £3-5. What is unusual in this case

is having a complete box of ‘wrapped’ 12 balls in

three plastic ‘Penfold’ sleeves in a near-mint box.

At auction its low estimate would be £40 and its

high estimate £80.

GASSIAT PUTTERThis putter has been in our family since the

1950s. What can you tell me about it and is it

worth anything?

Helen Ryan. Coin, Malaga, Spain

This wooden headed putter was originally

known as ‘The Chantilly Putter’, named for the

town in France that was home to its inventor, the

Marquis de Chasseloup-Loubat. It was first used

in 1911 but came to prominence during the

1912 French Open.

Golf Illustrated reviewed the putter in its Octo-

ber 1913 issue thus: ‘It certainly is a weird, not

to say, uncouth looking instrument. The head is

very large and nearly square in formation and

the face is shallow. The top of the shaft is not

round, but flat-sided and there is an extra thick-

ness at the top for the use of the left hand.’

Jean L. Gassiat (1883-1946), a 29 year-old

French golf professional based in Chantilly won

the 1912 French Open using the Chantilly putter,

beating Harry Vardon by a stroke. Soon after this

victory the putter became known as the ‘Jean

Gassiat’ putter. It was an overnight success and

everyone wanted the putter with its ‘Grand

Piano’ styled head.

The majority of the early Model L.C.L. Jean

Gassiat putters were made by W.M. Winton

under the British Design Registration Number

627,732. Other licensed manufacturers were

Slazenger, the Walter Hagen Company and – as

in the case of this putter – William Gibson of

Kinghorn.

Most Gassiat putters that I have seen have a

straight hickory shaft with a pistol grip (i.e. not

round but flat sided) at the top of the shaft. Our

reader’s Gassiat putter is unusual because it has

a shaft made from Danga wood and it has a rib-

pad grip, making the handle capable of being

moulded to the palm of the individual’s hand.

William Gibson was an advocate of Danga wood,

an expensive import from Africa and normally

only used for quality clubs.

VALUE: Considering that the Gassiat putter was

such a popular addition to the golf bag and was

being produced up until the early 1930s, I often

wonder why so few ever come to auction. A good

condition putter with the more common pistol

grip would fetch between £300 and £400. Our

reader’s putter is rarer still and, as such, would

most likely exceed £500.

LONGHURST LETTERPlease find attached a copy of a handwritten let-

ter dated 21st August 1977 that I received from

Henry Longhurst. Is this something that might be

of value and, if so, would you have an idea as to

what that value might be?

Alan Harding, Bourg Des Comptes, France

Our reader had written to Mr. Longhurst asking

him about comments that he made in a book

about the rigours of being a golf professional in

This issue, our auction-room expert Kevin McGimpsey highlights five of the most interesting andcollectible items to have caught his eye from your recent postings (and please keep them coming!)

(Right): The Spitfire ballwas a popular 1950smodel from GBD, thedimple pattern promis-ing ‘Uniform Accuracy’! (Below): A licensedmanufacturer of thewooden headed Gas-siat putter, club-makerWilliam Gibson madethis particular model –notable for the fact thatit is fitted with a shaftfashioned from Dangawood, an expensiveAfrican import used onpremium clubs. Thisone would fetch around£500.

What are these worth?

MEMORABILIA

9

earlier years and whether he still agreed with

them, in the light of the expansion of golf in

later years. Longhurst’s short and succinct reply

reveals not only great penmanship but his failing

health at the time:

Lost the use of a lung and am rather feeble, so

not too much. I certainly think that first the motor

car, then television, have caused the so called

‘golf explosion’. The pro’s are unbelievably lucky

by comparison with when I came in. So glad you

liked the book. Good pictures anyway! Henry

Longhurst.

Henry Carpenter Longhurst (1909-1978) was a

renowned British golf writer and radio/television

commentator. During a family holiday in 1920 in

Devon he had first taken to golf playing on a

three-hole course on a common. A natural

sportsman, he quickly became hooked and

within eight years had become Captain of the

Cambridge University Golf Club.

Longhurst started writing for a monthly golf

magazine called Tee Topics and came to the at-

tention of the editor of the Sunday Times who

invited him to contribute to the sporting page.

He then became the golf correspondent of the

Sunday Times, and retained that position for 40

years. From the late 1950s to the mid 1970s he

was also the BBC Television’s senior golf com-

mentator.

Some notable Longhurst sayings over the

years include:

“If you call on God to improve the results of a

shot while it is still in motion, you are using ‘an

outside agency’ and subject to appropriate

penalties under the rules of golf.”

“They say ‘practice makes perfect.’ Of course,

it doesn’t. For the vast majority of golfers it

merely consolidates imperfection.”

VALUE: Henry Longhurst wrote several golfing

books, great to read even today but they tend to

perform poorly when sold at auction. However

there is something rather novel in owning one of

his signed letters but I wouldn’t expect it to sur-

pass £100 at auction.

BRONZE PLAQUEI found this recently in a junk shop. It was in a

pretty distressed wooden frame and was filthy. I

bought it for £40 because of the golf factor. I

can’t find out anything about it...

Simon Bates, Hemel Hempstead

The scene shows a rather pensive King Charles I

in 1642 who has stopped his game of golf to

read a letter that tells him that the Irish Catholic

gentry had launched a coup and that hostilities

had begun. The scene is taken from an 1875

painting by Sir John Gilbert (1817-1897), a much

respected artist, illustrator and engraver. We

know that the links in question were at Leith a

municipal burgh to the north of Edinburgh; not

an eighteen hole course then but five holes

which each player went round twice in a game.

The bronze relief plaque, measuring 7½ x 5

inches is an exact replica of Gilbert’s painting.

Charles I is seen centre stage with the letter; the

messenger is on his knees and the King’s playing

partners can be see looking on. Two caddies

have between them at least ten long-nose woods

and irons; the King has dropped a wood onto the

fairway and in

the dis-

tance two

other

golfers

are ‘chas-

ing’ after

their feather

golf balls. Even

having received such

bad news, Charles I has

enough character to continue his

game.

I don’t know who made the plaque but it

would have been mass-produced in the 1920s

as a purely decorative object, presented in a

dark oak frame, ready for hanging.

VALUE: These plaques always sell well at

auction and are sought after by not only

golf but military historians and Royal

memorabilia collectors. I would expect

a sale figure of £400-plus.

GOOSE-NECK IRONWhat can you tell me about this rather unusual

iron – was it designed to look like this?

Terry Lambert, West Ham, London

The iron club had developed with the introduc-

tion of the harder gutta-percha ball in the 1850s

and soon there were available specific clubs for

certain shots. Those of us who have a tendency to

shank may take some solace from the fact that

golfers have been cursed with that shot since the

early days of the game. And in the early 1890s,

two inventors decided to do something about it!

Francis Archibald Fairlie patented the first of

the so-called ‘anti-shank’ iron clubs (#6,681) in

1891. In 1894, a second was marketed as the

‘G.F. Smith Patent’.

The idea behind the club was to produce an

iron with no neck area between the blade and

hosel (a miss-struck shot can come off the shank

or neck of the hosel). Smith's hosel was bent in

goose-neck fashion so the blade edge was lined

up under the shaft.

Be aware that the face of this Smith Niblick is

smooth; it was only in the early 1900s that the

club maker or club professional (in this case

William Marshall of Onwentsia, Chicago) would

make markings on the face to help to get the ball

into the air. The clover mark denotes the actual

maker of this club, Spence & Gourlay, a club

making firm that operated out of St. Andrews.

VALUE: The market for unusual and patent

clubs made at the end of the 19th and be-

ginning of the 20th Centuries remains

healthy. However anti-shank irons such

as this Smith Niblick are relatively

common, so it would sell at auction

for between £50 and £100.

Do you have an item of golfing memorabilia you would like Kevin to appraise? If so, send

your letter and best possible photographs to Kevin McGimpsey at this address:

PO BOX 120, Deeside, Flintshire, N. Wales. Alterna-tively, email him with with jpegs:[email protected]

(Left): A hand-written notefrom the doyenof British golfbroadcastingand journalismHenryLonghurst;(right): Thisbronze showsa pensive KingCharles in1642.(Below):

JUNE 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM

FOR THE SEASONED TRAVELING GOLFER,

transport sets the tone for the trip, so when I ar-

rived at St Moritz railway station to find a chauf-

feur-driven Rolls Royce waiting to whisk me up

to Badrutt’s Palace Hotel – all of 800 yards away –

I knew right away that this was no ordinary golf-

ing weekend.

I had flown into Zurich a few hours earlier and

taken a train for the two-hour journey south. In

my experience, rail travel and golf bags can be a

tricky combination, but, this being Switzerland, it

all went like clockwork.

Six thousand feet up, St Moritz is the latest

Alpine skiing destination to make a pitch for the

lucrative summer golfing market. Their boast

that ‘golf balls fly higher at altitude’ obviously

needed verification, so I had accepted an invita-

tion to play in the hotel’s annual competition for

heavy hitters.

Founded by a committee of Brits in 1893,

Samedan is the oldest course in Switzerland and

one of the first clubs to be recognized in conti-

nental Europe. With the famous Cresta Run, cre-

ated by thrill-seeking English tobogganists in

1884, just above the town, and two Winter

Olympic Games in the mid-twentieth century, St

Moritz has an impressive sporting pedigree.


ST MORITZ SAMEDAN – SWITZERLAND’S OLDEST COURSE

High on St MoritzSt Moritz might be thecelebrity skiers’ favourite, butcan its two courses rival itsCresta Run and many pistes?Peter Swain hits the slopes

Courses in Switzerland are

playable from June through to

September, and if you time it

right the colourful Alpine

blooms will be out in force

TRAVEL / SWITZERLAND


High on St Moritz

The Engadin valley in southeast Switzerland is

where the Gnomes of Zurich come to play. I al-

ways thought the country had three official

tongues – French, German and Italian – but here

they speak a fourth, Ramansch, a sort of modern

Latin. But in any language, money talks. St Moritz

has more jewelry and fur shops than you can

shake a cocktail stick at.

The night before battle commenced, I hunkered

down with my hosts in the Palace bar, where cigar

smoking is not only permitted but positively en-

couraged. Very civilized. The unashamedly old-

school five-star hotel is perched high above the

lake with stunning 360 degree views of snow-cov-

ered peaks, even in high summer.

Next morning revealed the 6,800-yard course to

be the flattest piece of land for miles around,

which is doubtless why it was built here in the

first place. The main hazards are not the hills but

the pleasantly burbling alpine brooks and lakes

that inundate the 18 holes. Unfortunately, on tour-

nament day, they were being topped up by torren-

tial Celtic Manor Ryder Cup-style rain, so a second,

clubhouse breakfast was the order of the day.

One of the great pleasures of playing in a lo-

cale as civilized as St Moritz is the range of com-

pany the roving golfer encounters. There were

Swiss, Germans, Italians, French, Americans and

myself, united by a slightly unhealthy obsession

with golf, and all speaking English. While the pro

shop did a roaring trade in wet-weather gear, we

fortified ourselves with hot chocolate, croissant

and expansive talk.

When we eventually started, most of the pistes

down which skiers hurtled in the 1928 and 1948

Games were shrouded in low cloud. No matter:

even though the fairways were in good shape and

the old-fashioned greens flat and true, staying out

of the water hazards needed full concentration.

Judging a course while playing in steady rain is

not easy, but with plenty of doglegs around fir

trees, and water everywhere, Samedan is a tough

challenge from the tips, if a tad easier from the

rather generous ladies tees. A couple of the par-

fours are reachable for longer drivers, which

brings us to the main question: do the balls in

fact fly further at 6,000 feet? In heavy rain, er, no.

More research in clearer weather was called for.

St Moritz is a relatively conservative if very

stylish resort. After we dried out, we repaired to

the hotel’s farmhouse restaurant next door,

Chesa Veglia, for something hot and cheesy, then

on to the town’s famed sybaritic hot spot, Drac-

ula, where the celebrity après-ski crowd hang out

in the season.

There are two courses in the Engadin. The newer

one is 10 miles down the valley at Zuoz. Built in

2003 and referred to as the ‘youngster’, with a

slightly lower green fee than its august neighbour, I

played it in glorious sunshine the following day,

and actually preferred it. When golfing in the Alps, I

want dramatic elevation changes on the course, and

the Madulain track has them in spades.

Hilly without being over the top – think St Mellion

with Eidelweiss rather than gorse – the front nine is

no more than a gentle ascent to base camp. A snack

at the halfway house is recommended because the

real crampon work is all on the back nine.

The tee at the 15th is up such a steep path, a

local life insurance company, clearly familiar with

the actuarial odds, has helpfully supplied a

buggy just to get players up and down without

too many heart attacks. At sea level, you might

not break sweat, but in the thinner air, I was re-

duced to a panting wreck. (Note to self: maybe

cut down on the cigars.)

And yes, the balls do indeed fly further at

6,000 feet – difficult to put an exact figure on it,

but maybe as much as 10%. If a humble mid-

handicapper can reach a 400-yard par-four with a

drive and a pitching wedge, something’s going

on. Of course, my slice became even more deadly,

but attacking greens with shorter irons is always

helpful. It was a blast.

There are, of course, other scenic Alpine

courses, but these have to be two of the most

spectacular in the region. If you like a choice of

challenging set-ups, mountain climbing and good

company with a touch of flat-out luxury and a

good nightlife, St Moritz is tough to beat.

The courses are open from May or June to Sep-

tember and, given the short season, are in ex-

traordinarily good condition. Badrutt’s Palace is

one opulent option but there are plenty of

cheaper alternatives.

Suffice it to say, I didn’t win, which meant the

prize of a £10,000 Chopard watch went, surprise,

surprise, to a Zurich banker. Luckily, Mrs Swain

likes Swiss chocolates.


FACT BOX

Return flights with Swiss Air: from £112

Train, Zurich St Moritz return: £75

Badrutt’s Palace Hotel

3 nights B&B: £447 per person

based on two sharing

Green Fees: average £50

www.badruttspalace.com

Engadin Golf Packages

3 nights B&B at a cheaper local hotel

3 green fees, £285 all up (without travel)

www.engadin-golfhotels.ch

Two hours south of Zurich, St Moritiz may be an

unlikely golfing destination, but with views like this

what are you waiting for? Situated in the Engadin

Valley, Samedan (above & right) is Switzerland’s

oldest course. A newer course, Zuoz right), 10

miles away, shares in the Alpine theme and – if

anything – is the more interesting test of golf with

a number of serious elevation changes

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So, accepting the fact that it provided

us with yet another Bank Holiday op-

portunity to jam soil under the finger-

nails and bellow at the kids, how was

it for you?

At the time of writing, the Royal Wedding is

still a week away. But, by the time you read this,

the pomp, circumstance and Kleenex will have all

been packed away until it’s Harry’s turn, and the

only thing fascinating about the myriad fascina-

tors inevitably on display remains the question of

how it’s humanly possible to spend so much on a

scant fistful of feathers that resembles nothing so

much as a freshly shot crow.

Giggling in church is utterly addictive, and the

opportunity to have a seriously good belly laugh

over the hats has always been the best thing

about attending a wedding. Let’s hope the friends

of the Windsors did not disappoint.

One of the more fascinating aspects to the

build-up, however, has been the incendiary grump

of one particular national newspaper at the news

that one of those friends, Audi’s head of public

relations in the UK, secured himself a berth at the

wedding breakfast.

Somewhat disingenuously sidestepping the

fact that having spent a small fortune over the

years in sponsoring their annual charity polo

matches and a slightly larger fortune in donations

to said charities Audi’s PR boss has inevitably be-

come quite matey with the Princes, what ruffled

the feathers of this particularly right wing branch

of the Fourth Estate appears to be the news that

most of the royal family currently biff about in

Audis and that, though they do pay for them,

they receive – gasp – a discount. Outrageous…

Same as it ever was; Audi has long pandered to

celebrities and VIPs with favourable lease or pur-

chase terms and there’s absolutely no doubt that

the resultant ‘halo’ effect has much to do with the

company’s UK sales currently going through the

roof. Man Does Job, shock, horror…

Indeed, one can only speculate as to just how

hard the likes of luxury rivals BMW, Mercedes and

Jaguar (anyone remember Jaguar?) are now kick-

ing themselves that, when it comes to putting

noteworthy bums on seats, Audi appears to have

cornered the market. Because, let’s face, if you’re

a premium segment car manufacturer these days,

you really do need an edge…

After decades of carefully crafted Ultimate

Driving Machine marketing, BMW opted for the

‘radical design’ route under Wisconsin wun-

derkind Chris Bangle, who baffled all and sundry

with talk of ‘paradigm shifts’ whilst describing

creased bodywork as ‘flame surfacing’ and (best

of all) daytime running lights as ‘optical wave

guides’.

With most of the results now resembling up-

turned, clinker-built boats with interiors exuding

more than a whiff of the brash American, this ap-

proach has not found universal favour. Such re-

mains the power of the brand, however, that it

doesn’t seem to matter to most blue and white

propeller aspirants, who’ll still buy anything thus

badged that’ll take polish.

BMW’s argument that ‘something had to

change’ appears to cut no ice with Mercedes,

which, rather, has simply focused on putting back

a deal of the money they so blatantly sucked out

of the build process a few years back, to remark-

ably good effect.

Jaguar, meanwhile, under designer Ian Callum,

has proved immensely successful at melding the

startlingly new with enough styling tradition to

both attract a new, younger breed and keep its

ageing, diehard customer base happy, and seems

now to lack only a marketing budget the size of

Audi in the UK.

All of which leaves Audi very much in the driv-

ing seat with cars which – despite the unnecessar-

ily brash Big Grille which still reminds me of an

inflatable doll wearing chrome lipstick – remain

relatively discreet and ideally anonymous in com-

parison to most of the competition. Let’s face it, a

second glance is the last thing any royal would

wish for when out and about incognito…

Now, accepting that the happy couple will have


AUDI A7 3.0 TDI Quattro SE S-tronic

With a marketing strategy that has seen the ultimate in productplacement, Audi has elevated its status in the world of luxury refinedmotoring. And in the delectable shape of the A7 Quattro it boasts oneof the finest saloons a lot of money can buy, as Gi’s correspondentAnthony Ffrench-Constant reports

Audi excels in the art of discretion

been cramped by ceremony into relying on horse-

power of a somewhat more traditional nature,

Audi’s only opportunity to shine on the day itself

must have come in the guise of the going away

car. And with new models currently thicker on

the ground that ticks on a sheepdog, the newly-

weds will have hardly been hampered by choice.

Easily the classiest small car around at the mo-

ment (amazing what a difference a simple lick of

contrasting paint to the roofline makes); the A1

might make an appropriately parsimonious state-

ment. However, though a recent slog to Newcastle

revealed it to be surprisingly comfortable over a

long haul, I doubt the A1 would boast the luggage

capacity appropriate to a freshly shackled bride.

Besides which, given the persistent insistence of

the sat’ nav’ in the specimen I drove that the Tyne

be crossed via the wholly pedestrian Millennium

bridge, the risk of first night marriage consumma-

tion failure is, perhaps, too great.

The most recent addition to the Audi fleet and

seven years in the making, the largely flawless

A6’s only failing is that it seeks to appeal to the

broadest possible customer spectrum by being so

utterly anonymous that it is, frankly, almost too

anonymous. A perfectly decent drive albeit, it’s

far more of a technological tour de force than any-

thing of a thrill to helm, having rifled the A8’s on-

board equipment parts bin so rigorously that the

only reason to now buy the latter is a requirement

for greater cabin space.

So with Prince Charles already ensconced in an

A8, and the disappointing A5 Sportback serving

as proof that even Audi can, on occasion, find it-

self with sand in the Vaseline, my prediction is

that it was an A7 in which the newlyweds finally

slunk away from Buck House.

Its looks marred only by the size of that front

grille, the A7 is the best looking car Audi has pro-

duced since the entirely handsome A5, and is no-

tably gorgeous when viewed from anywhere

astern. On board, all is exactly where you left it in

your last Audi, which means it’s extremely well

screwed together, good looking, ergonomically ex-

cellent and properly comfortable. The only glitch

being the propensity for a pale beige coloured

parcel shelf to reflect so strongly in the steeply

raked rear screen that you absolutely cannot see

out by day…

As with the more recent A6, technology is all

important, and the A7 may be loaded to the gun-

wales with diverse multimedia interface systems

which, with such goodies as the inclusion of web

links to Google, will turn the car into little short of

a fully-functioning mobile office. Personally, I can

think of little worse than escaping the office to go

for a drive in a car which doubles as an office, but

many will surely find such a facility invaluable.

Audi does tend to overload its press cars with

toys; in the case of the 3.0 TDI Quattro SE S tronic

I drove, to the tune of some £25,775 over the

basic asking price of £47,200. You pays yer

money….

A head-up display which fills the base of the

windscreen with information such as speed and

navigation instructions annoyed me terribly until

I discovered how to switch it off. At which point I

missed it so much I promptly reinstated it. Sug-

gesting that you can, however, have too much of a

good thing, a fiddly seat massage control system

proved even more annoying, relentlessly pum-

melling my already perfectly comfortable

anatomy every time I tried to merely adjust the

lumbar support.

Most expensive by far of the options fitted was

a Bang & Olufsen sound system which demands a

wallet-fleecing £6300 for the privilege of watching

the tweeters ooze ICBM-like from the dash top

every time you start the car. Granted, the sound is

wonderful, but no more so than the far less pricey

Mark Levinson systems of Lexus fame.

If, as is now often averred, we’re becoming in-

creasingly more interested in on-board ‘infotain-

ment’ than we are the actual driving experience,

then it’s high time many of these expensive op-

tions were fitted as standard in premium models

such as this. And, buying an A7, I’d be particularly

miffed to discover that the £590 delivery and

number plate charge includes only ‘half a tank of

fuel’. Now that’s just petty.

With 367 lb.ft of torque summoning 62mph in

just 6.3 seconds, it goes without saying that

Audi’s silky 3.0 V6 turbodiesel provides pretty

much all the thrust you could ever wish for, and

the 7-speed automatic transmission is slush per-

sonified. However, despite the fitted option of

adaptive suspension, the straight line ride is too

tough to be deemed appropriate to a cabin which

aspires to these high levels of comfort.

Protestations of over tough ride quality remain

the norm in the case of most Audi’s, and the com-

pany seems reluctant to pander to (presumably

largely British) requests to soften their approach

on this front. A pity, since it often mars the in-

creasingly sublime Audi experience.

Still, if leaving the Palace in an A7 constitutes

the bumpiest ride the royal marriage will suffer,

then all bodes well for their future.

MOTORING


While the over-sized front grill may irk the occa-sional motoring journo’, you can do nothing butdrool over the rear view of the A7. Onboard, it’spure Audi, the ergonomically excellent cabin con-cealing every conceivable technology – at a heftyprice should you lean on the frills and extras

...the A7 is the best lookingcar Audi has producedsince the entirely handsomeA5, and is notably gorgeouswhen viewed from any-where astern. On board, allis exactly where you left itin your last Audi, whichmeans it’s extremely wellscrewed together and prop-erly comfortable...

Golf International Lifestyle - Issue 102

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