Hidden Gem Golf Trip

[Divot License]

My wife and I are looking to plan a golf trip later this year. We live in Cambridgeshire so will probably be looking to drive.

 

We decided we would try and book our own trip this year rather than use a service such as YGT or Golfbreaks. Our only real criteria is that we aren't interested in playing the big courses on this trip. We've done several of those trips in the past few years and wanted to explore more of the hidden gems .

We haven't decided on a destination so will be open to suggestions on an area to visit as a start and also suggestions of lesser know courses that more than worth visiting.

 

Thank you in advance for any help you guys can provide.

[Chanceman]

I think El Gringo is your man.

[thecumbrian]

If you're heading north check out Silloth on Solway, £60 per day midweek rates to play one of the UK's finest links tracks.

Course has been in superb condition since we restarted.

[El Gringo]

If you are looking for rustic charm, beauty and affordable green fees try the Cotswolds. There are three very unusual common land courses; Painswick, Minchinhampton Old and Cleeve Hill. Stinchcombe Hill is pretty good as well. Painswick is a nice town. Winchcombe near Cleeve Hill is very nice place to stay. There is a pub/Inn right next to Minch Old which is good. The adjacent village also has a few places to stay.

If you push out further west into Herefordshire there is the fantastic Kington which plays over Offas Dyke. Beautiful spot and a good town which feels very isolated. 30 minutes further west into Wales is Llandrindod Wells. Working north toward Shropshire there is Church Stretton and the excellent Welshpool.

Heading home you can play Harborne in Birmingham, a lovely urban course.

I don't think there is a green fee over 40 quid and believe me, you will see plenty of unusual holes, some great holes and stunning scenery. One caveat, most of these are hilly courses. Make sure your trolley battery is charged ?.

[Divot License]

Thanks Gringo, Sounds like you've done all the work for me.

 

If you're ever near Cambridgeshire let me know and we'll have a game.

[El Gringo]

Yer welcome. There are a few courses your way I want to see... Flempton and Royston.

[Divot License]

I personally get free golf at Royston due to our clubs both being in the smart golfer scheme. My home club Bourn is about 10 miles from Royston.

I haven't played Flempton in years but would happily go for a game.

[Divot License]

So thanks to @El Gringo it looks like we're heading to the Cotswold later this year.
We have two possible plans for courses is to play
Option 1 - Minchhampton (Old), Painswick, Cleeve Hill, Stinchcombe Hill, Filton and Kington.
Option 2 - Lilleshall, Llandrindod Wells, Church Stretton, Kington, Welshpool, llanymynech
Yes Kington is on both lists but my wife is determined to play it since she likes the look of it. Now she just has to decided which option.

Thanks again Gringo for your advice.

[El Gringo]

Jed, cheers. Kington is my favourite course!

[Divot License]

So last week I enjoyed my hidden gem golf trip. Many thanks to @El Gringo for his recommendations, they were spot on and the courses were spectacular. 

 

On Monday we started at Cleeve Hill. Located at the highest point of the Cotswolds, were were greeted with incredible hospitality (a trait that carried on through most of the week). The weather was fair, a little cloudy, very windy but dry which is always a bonus during September in England. 

 

Cleeve Hill has some spectacular holes made all the better by the views. While at times the course can look a little lacking in features, it never felt easy and showed it's teeth more than once. The sheep were an interesting audience however they scatter quickly when approached, except for one that preceded to follow my wife for three holes. 

 

Sadly this wonderful and old club is closing in the Spring of 2021 so if you can make sure to get there before you miss out on this hidden gem of a course. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Divot License]

Tuesday of our trip saw us visit Minchinhampton Old. I admit that turning up at the course, pulling into the car park and seeing what appeared to be a field full or cows had me questioning the information and recommendation I had received. However the guys in the pro shop could not have been friendlier and even walked us outside and gave us 15 min lesson on the history of the club and a few titbits of local knowledge of the course to help with our game.  

 

First thing to say about this course is the cows and just how many of them there are. However they never really impacted on our game and didn't even seem to care or notice that we were there. I did on one hole have to wait for one to move on as she was standing over the top of my ball.

 

The next thing to say is holes 6 to 13 may be the best stretch of holes I have playing in a very long time. Beautiful and interesting designs, with several options on how to play them, it was not hard to see why Tom Doak would rated it highly. 

 

Although it probably isn't the best course we played on our trip (that title is still being debated) it will always be special for us as today was the day my wife finally broke through the 80 barrier shooting a very impressive and solid 77 made possible by making par on all Par 3's.    

[Divot License]

Day three of the trip was a little bit of an adventure. Sadly due to Covid our planned destination of Kington was only allowing non member bookings on the day and when we called in the morning there was no available times due to a members event. 

 

In the end we managed to play our backup course, the Alistair Mackenzie course Lilley Brook. Being a bit of a course architect junkie I was actually happy to be playing only my second Mackenzie course. 

 

While I can't deny that Lilley Brook is a very nice course, it is just that, nice. The 5 holes into the front nine my wife turns to me and says "doesn't this just feel like Kettering?" I had to agree, holes could be cut and pasted between the two courses. Kettering is the other Mackenzie course we have played and while it clearly shows that Mackenzie had a definite "vibe" and "style" to his course it left us a little deflated. 

 

The back nine at Lilley Brook however more than made up for the so so front nine. The back nine has some of the biggest elevation changes throughout holes I have encountered. This makes for some very pretty and interesting holes although not necessarily great holes. 

 

While I would recommend people play Lilley Brook just to get to experience it, I personally have no desire to go back for another visit. The only real issue we had with our visit was the very cold and unprofessional attitude expressed by the individual in the pro shop. He never looked up from his computer, barely made more than grunts or one word answers and made us feel a little unwelcome. 

 

[Divot License]

Day four of the trip was Stinchcombe Hill. What an incredibly friendly club this was, from the moment we arrived we were made to feel incredibly welcome, even so far that members bought us coffee while we waited about an hour for our tee time. 

 

We both agree that this was the course we would probably join if we lived in the area. Although maybe not the "best" it was the course we both felt we could play regularly without getting bored of the course or as the novelty or wow factor that some of the others had loses it's shine.

 

A lovely blend of interesting holes, views and playing options makes this an excellent course. Stinchcombe also had the best greens of the week when considering a combination of both speed and trueness of roll.  

 

 

 

[Divot License]

Final round of the trip took place at the infamous Painswick, measuring at just 4831 yards off the white tees we were unsure what to expect. This concern was only heightened as everywhere we went, when we mentioned we were laying Painswick we would get a look and a gasp of air.  

 

Thankfully all our concerns were for nothing, despite being short on the card, Painswick never feels short while playing it. Many of the holes prevent you from hitting driver without ever feeling like it is forcing you to play a long iron. The long iron always feels like the smart play rather than the forced play. The par 3's are varied in both design, length and elevation changes making them extremely non repetitive. With no two holes feeling alike the course never gets boring, this is especially true of the 6th which famed golf writer Henry Longhurst stated as being one of the best par 3's in the world.

 

The only downsides to the course is the confusing routing, it is often very difficult to workout where the next tee box is, but more importantly is the number of hikers and dog walkers on the course. As it is situated on common land walkers have legitimate access to the course and you can regularly find your self waiting for people to amble across the fairway and get out of the way of your tee shot. Don't let this put you off however as the course is more than good enough to make up for a little inconvenience. 

 

On a side note this course will forever be memorable to me due to the fact on the Par 3 10th hole I made a hole in one. It was a wonderful way to finish an amazing weeks golf trip. 

 

Next up Foxhills in two weeks.

[jonnymc44]

@Jedaigeki great write up, congratulations on the hole in one! If you can make trip to the North West you can play the MacKenzie course I'm a member at and make it 3! How were hotels/restaurants etc. with current restrictions?

[Chanceman]

Glad you had a great trip and the photos are excellent. How did you compare Painswick vs Minch? I plan to play both whenever I can manage the trip but in your opinion? Hole in one not being a factor!

Edited September 15, 2020 by Chanceman

[Divot License]

1 hour ago, jonnymc44 said:

@Jedaigeki great write up, congratulations on the hole in one! If you can make trip to the North West you can play the MacKenzie course I'm a member at and make it 3! How were hotels/restaurants etc. with current restrictions?

@jonnymc44 We stayed in a lovely AirB&B on the outskirts of Stroud. It was a Guest house so no interaction with the Host other than a friendly wave. I can't recommend that place enough. 

Restaurants were a little more difficult, we originally planned to eat at local pubs each night however many pubs either weren't doing food at all or only at lunch time. We ate a few meals at the clubs themselves which were all delicious. We stopped one night at a pub we found open and one night went to a Brewers Fayre which was dirt cheap due to a deal but still very tasty. 

[Divot License]

1 hour ago, Chanceman said:

Glad you had a great trip and the photos are excellent. How did you compare Painswick vs Minch? I plan to play both whenever I can manage the trip but in your opinion? Hole in one not being a factor!

@ChancemanThat's a difficult one. Minch has a few average holes but a lovely stretch in the middle. There is some crossing of roads that breaks the flow of the round a little. 

Painswick has more good holes, but less spectacular holes. Also the walkers make it less enjoyable since they just don't seem to care that they are in your way. 

 

Minch is flat, open and tee to green very simple due to very few fairway hazards. It does however use very clever green complex's to toughen up the course and if you miss the green you have some very interesting chip shots to play. 

 

Painswick is much more hilly, a lot more technical from tee to green but simpler once at the putting surface.  

 

It's very hard to separate the two as they have very difference strengths as courses and both play to those strengths well. 

 

If I had to pick one and only one to play again, I would probably pick Painswick, but only because now I would have a better idea of where I'm going and what shots are required during the round. 

[Hawkeye77]

Wow, don't know how I missed the trip report and the pics - awesome all the way around!

[Divot License]

3 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Wow, don't know how I missed the trip report and the pics - awesome all the way around!

It was a great trip, huge thanks again to @El Gringo for suggesting the Cotswold and some of the courses. 

 

Some different and unique courses with some memories we will cherish forever. 

[El Gringo]

On 9/21/2020 at 10:45 PM, Jedaigeki said:

It was a great trip, huge thanks again to @El Gringo for suggesting the Cotswold and some of the courses. 

 

Some different and unique courses with some memories we will cherish forever. 

You are welcome Jed.  I am pleased you enjoyed the golf and the beauty of the area. Next up....another hilltop tour of Kington, Welshpool, Church Stretton & Llandrindod Wells. Believe it or not, the overall golf is arguably better than the Cotswolds cousins. I just played the first three a few weeks ago.  The condition of Church Stretton and Kington was outstanding.  Once again, great value to be had at these courses. 

[casman]

When in Northern Ireland after playing Portrush and County Down stop and play Ardglass.

Great little course, the club house is a castle.