Painswick Golf Club

Painswick Golf Club: whether the celebrated writer Laurie Lee ever played golf at Painswick (he grew-up in the neighbouring village of Slad) is not known ... at least, not by this writer! The golf course at Painswick has probably changed little since Lee's day ... as quirky, hilly, short and testing as it ever was. The great Peter Thomson once said that the essence of golf lies not in meticulously manicured fairways, greens and bunkers, but in the game "as a cross-country adventure" ... Painswick delivers the latter in spades.

Here at Painswick most of the layout occupies a hilly and wooded setting, either climbing up to, or descending from a stunningly scenic group of four holes. Three of these four are par-3s (5th, 6th and 10th), with their greens sitting within the open environs of a former Iron Age hilltop fort. Also at this "high point" of the course you'll find Painswick Beacon and some of the best views offered from any golf course in England.

Shared fairways, criss-crossing holes and several blind shots to marker posts are all in the mix at Painswick. So too, minuscule greens, rutted paths and hills galore ... starting with a steep "heart-pumping" 100-foot climb at the short par-4 1st. Offering an ever-undulating physical "workout" (for you and your electric trolley), you'll probably either love or hate this layout ... few golfers "sit on the fence" in their opinions of Painswick.

Pick of the holes: amongst seven immensely varied and "characterful" par-3s, the 6th is the standout signature hole ... by miles! Playing gently downhill, you tee off alongside Painswick Beacon, which offers the best of the layout's stunning views out across Gloucestershire and into Wales. You may also get a kick out of the blind uphill short par-3 5th and 10th holes. Both require dead-aim at a marker post, and both require you to clear the ramparts to find greens hidden away inside the ancient fort's natural earthy walls. There's also a plunging downhill par-3 at 15, where the small green nestles in a wooded glade.