Minchinhampton Golf Club (Old course)

Minchinhampton Golf Club (Old course): golf architecture aficionados rave about the authenticity and antiquity of the Old course at Minchinhampton ... often called "Minch Old". It certainly conjures up the earliest antecedents of the game ... some would say it's as "bare bones" and rustic as golf gets, and all the better for it! Supporting the golf are ever-present views over the hills and valleys of the beautiful Cotswold countryside.

Sat atop Culver Hill, the course is expansively laid out over the rolling open grassland of Minchinhampton Common. Also resident here are cattle and horses that enjoy grazing rights on the Common, and that includes the fairways. The treeless, bunkerless and waterless golf course presents a thoroughly recommended and unique golfing experience.

On this out-and-back layout, the gently rolling grassland is home to good-width fairways, beyond which lies a modest border of second-cut rough, before deep uncompromising rough kicks in. The four par-3s, one on the front-nine, three on the back, inhabit the most interesting green sites, surrounded by ridges, moguls, humps and hollows ... evidence of ancient burial mounds and former quarrying activities.

Although roads criss-cross parts of the Common, they never intrude or threaten the golf layout, even though you'll cross them on a couple of occasions on the back-nine. Unlike other "hilltop" courses, like nearby Painswick, here the elevation changes are much gentler, making for an easy-walking experience. There are however, several blind tee and approach shots to be made as you journey round.

Pick of the holes: the par-3 16th and short par-4 17th are a wonderful duo. The former occupies a site that perfectly captures the antiquity and rusticity of this layout, and the splendidly scenic golfing challenge that awaits on Minchinhampton Common.