Northamptonshire County Golf Club ****

Golf Lane, Church Brampton, Northampton, NN6 8AZ

Nearest main town: Northampton

 

Northamptonshire County has hosted county events for many years and such is its quality that it is now an Open Championship regional qualifying course. The condition of the course is always top class, and with the addition of a special fairway watering system, it is now even better.

Located just 4 miles outside Northampton itself, tucked away in the quiet village of Church Brampton, the course is heathland, sculpted by the hand of Harry Colt. The master designer had fine raw materials with which to fashion the course, an advantageous mixture of peat/sand base for the fairways and undulating positions on which to place the greens.

The members will tell you it is very easy to run up a big scbre on some of the holes here. But, in truth, it is not a particularly difficult heathland course, the gorse that lines the fairways is not as tough as some of the Surrey courses and the sturdy fir trees rarely block your sight of the fairways and greens. All the hazards here are laid out clearly before you and are completely natural - a stream comes into play for some on the 9th and 15th.

Rather than easing the golfer into the round, Northamptonshire County starts fiercely with a 450-yard par-4, followed by a par-5 of 520 yards. For many amateurs, it is a disillusioning start. But if you crack it, things get easier - that is, until the 10th, 11th and 12th. The 10th looks an innocuous medium-length par-4 but it is anything but, while the 11th is another par-4 with out-of-bounds over the back and to the right of the green. It may look a tiddler, but the 12th has a habit of catching out the unwary, a short par-3 of 136 yards protected by a very deep bunker at the front and a small bunker to the right.

No one would ever claim that Northamptonshire County is an exceptional course, but for the average player it is very fair and proba­bly the finest all-round test for the player in the county.

 

Secretary: Mrs M. Wadley

Tel: 01604 843025 Fax: 01604 843463

Professional: Mr T. Rouse                     

Tel: 01604 842226

Playing: Midweek: round n/a; day £45.00. Weekend: round £45.00; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 11 am-9.30pm. Food: Bar snacks.

Comments: Very good Open regional qualifying course...Excellent greens and course presentation... Carpet fairways and slippery greens. . .Good test, particularly the bunkers. . .Loved this one.

 

Cold Ashby Golf Club **

Stanford Road, Cold Ashby, NN6 6EP

Nearest main town: Northampton

 

Secretary: Mr D. Croxton

Tel: 01604 740542 Fax: 01604 740548

Professional: Mr S. Rose                             

Tel: 01604 740099

Playing: Midweek: round £16.00; day £25.00. Weekend: round £19.00; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 11 am-11 pm. Food: Lunch and dinner from 11 am-9pm. Bar snacks.

Comments: Nicely matured course with plenty of character...Three loops of nine...Nice individual holes, but as a whole average.