Gog Magog Golf Club ****

Shelford Bottom, Cambridge, CB2 4AB

Nearest main town: Cambridge

 

With a name like Gog Magog you certainly expect something different from this course. In fact, it is very traditional and English, a hillside/parkland layout which has not changed much since its creation a hundred years ago.

Just 3 1/2 miles south-west of the university city of Cambridge, Gog Magog is accustomed to entertaining some of the best amateur golfers in the country. The famous Lagonda Trophy has been played here many times and even the best amateurs have struggled to humiliate a course that celebrated its centenary in 2001.

Gog Magog is hilly in terms of Cambridgeshire's general relief, with the first two holes rising away and the last two holes descending to the clubhouse. In between you will find punishing rough, deep pot bunkers, hard and fast greens, and a mix of winds that makes it increasingly difficult throughout the round to stay on the straight and narrow.

It is a fine challenge for a par-70 and the members will tell you that the front nine, 330 yards shorter than the back, is the place to make your score. Certainly the 1st is as gentle an opening hole as you can find anywhere and the 2nd, despite sounding intimidating with an old quarry in front of the tee box, is anything but, and can be a fair birdie opportunity. Out of the open country the course gets progressively flatter and more straightforward. Protecting your score is dependent on accuate driving and scoring well on the simple holes.

The finishing trio of holes is tough. The 449-yard 16th is regarded as a signature hole with heavy-handed fairway bunkering, while the 17th is a tricky downhill par-3 of 165 yards with a difficult-to-hold green. As a finishing hole, the 18th is a cracker, a par-4 of 446 yards running downhill to a green that runs away from you.

 

Secretary: Mr I. Simpson 

Tel: 01223 247626 Fax: 01223 414990

Professional: Mr I. Bamborough  

Tel: 01223 246058 Fax: 01223 413644

Playing: Midweek: round £37.00 (18 holes); £44.00 (36 holes); day n/a. Weekend: round £60.00 (18 holes, weekends and bank holidays); day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: l1am-llpm. Food: Lunch and dinner from 10am-9pm.

Comments: Challenging, hilly course that leaves you wanting more . .. Forget the Wandlebury, the one you want is the Old course. .. Improves all the time. .. Well-maintained pro shop. .. The finest course in Cambridgeshire.. . A must play for the traditionalist.

 

Abbotsley Golf & Country Club (Abbotsley) **

Eynesbury, Hardwicke, St Neots, PE19 6XN

Nearest main town: Cambridge

 

Secretary: Mr J. Tubb

Tel: 01480474000 Fax: 01480 403280

Professional: Mr S.Connolly

Tel: 01480215153 Fax: 01480406463

Playing: Midweek: round £20.00; day n/a. Weekend: round £30.00; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 10am-12 midnight. Food: Bar snacks. Dinner from 7.30pm-9.30pm.

Comments: Value for the money.. . Mature parkland with numerous water hazards... In design terms, way ahead of the Cromwell... Tough finish... Course surrounds a moated country house.