Golf in the peak district

Hello everyone !
I'm looking for a little advice. Mr P and I are heading to the peak district for two weeks beginning July 22nd and will be taking our clubs with us. Never been to the area before, so was wondering if anyone can recommend golf courses. We will have handicap certificates -- I understand some clubs require visitors to have them. We will be in youlgreave and are happy to drive a couple hours each way for some golf. Actually, recommendations for good pubs in the area would also be appreciated. And yes, we do know that we need rain gear there !

Many thanks.

Try Cavendish, Alistair MacKenzie design.

Last time I played there, the greens were like lightening.

Funnily enough, I'm also looking for somewhere to play towards north England next week - but slightly more west for me (part of road trip including attending The Open on Friday).

Have put in an enquiry to Gorstyhill (Cheshire) - anyone have any views or alternative recommendations?

I am not familiar with the region but a dr mac course seems like a good shout.

You should check this website out;

http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/country.asp?id=1

It is a pretty good place to start when visiting a region.

SetupDeterminesTheMotion wrote:Try Cavendish, Alistair MacKenzie design.

Last time I played there, the greens were like lightening.

I just took a look at their website -- looks like a great course and pretty close to us. Will definitely give it a try. Thanks ! Seems like every time I check the UK weather forecast there's at least one region that has either just had or is due to have one months worth of rain in 48 hours. I guess the greens eveywhere should be pretty soft this summer !

Think Doc is a member of Gorstyhill, but not seen him on here for a bit.

McLaren wrote:I am not familiar with the region but a dr mac course seems like a good shout.

You should check this website out;

http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/country.asp?id=1

It is a pretty good place to start when visiting a region.

Thanks Mac ! I just checked out the website and in addition to the top10 they also mention a few "charming" little 9 hole courses that are off the beaten track. So looks like we have quite a variety to choose from.

Have you got a county card? There are quite a lot of good courses in that area.

Ashbourne, Leek and Bakewell (9 holes) are all nice courses. We aren't talking Trump here, they are old courses with some funny short holes, but great for holiday golf.

Thanks George. Mr P and I have yet to meet a golf course that we didn't enjoy so I'm adding those to the list. Can tourists buy county cards ?

I've played Shrigley Hall - a Donald Steel course and found it interesting! (North of Macclesfield) If you don't know the layout, with one or two holes, you wonder where you hit the next shot to! If you just roll up, I would suggest a course guide. But good condition when I played it several years ago.

Plunky wrote:Thanks George. Mr P and I have yet to meet a golf course that we didn't enjoy so I'm adding those to the list. Can tourists buy county cards ?

No, it's a card offered by the county to which your home club pays county fees. It's usually about £10 each, and it gives you discounted green fees at every participating club in England (and there's a similar scheme in Scotland). Most clubs in England seem to have adopted it. It's well worthwhile when you travel away to play golf.

I don't know where you play, but for example here is the Hertfordshire GU website page about county cards - http://www.hertsgolfunion.com/countycards/

and every county seems to have the equivalent.

As far as I can see almost all courses in Derbyshire are in the scheme. And I forgot to mention Buxton GC - it was almost like a links course 60 miles from the coast! Very windy as well...

County Cards no good to Plunky then George. Not sure Long Island will be willing to join the scheme.

Doc is a member of Gorsty Hill but don't think he will be for much longer; he's been put off by the ridiculous toughening up of the course which by his account makes it pretty much unplayable for normal golfers. Fairways narrowed, rough grown up, cabbage and boonies coming into play for short hitters but fine for the big boys.

Yep, county cards sound like a great idea, but not for us. That's OK -- we're happy to pay full visitor rate and help out the economy !

Thanks for the suggestions George -- sounds like there's quite a selection of courses in the area. Can't wait to get started !

Plunky if you are happy with a drive each way(bearing in find youve come 5000 miles already) there are literally hundreds to choose from.Might want to pop over to Carden Park near Chester.

Oh - sorry Plunky, I didn't realise you were in NY. Must pay attention.

Long Island is great. I've spent many a happy day on Fire Island and Jones Beach and in the Hamptons.

If you are showing up here any time soon, you'll need waterproofs, thermal underwear and a change of clothes for every day you are here.

It's a miserable, miserable summer, cold and very, very wet. Be sure to check the courses you are planning on playing are open. Almost half the inland courses here are closed this week because of flooding.

If you haven't been to the Peak District before, it's pretty nice (weather notwithstanding). When you aren't golfing, try Dovedale (a really pretty river valley with stepping stones across the river). It's near Ashbourne. Also go to Matlock Bath and go on the cable car over the valley. It's pretty neat. Eyam is the old plague village and - if you feel the need - Alton Towers is Britain's best theme park with some really good roller coasters.

One more course to add to the list is Dore & Totley. It's near Sheffield, so just north of the Peak District. Remember you'll be in Yorkshire, so best to defer to the locals. There's an old saying - "you can always tell a Yorkshireman, but not very much".

http://www.doreandtotleygolf.co.uk

This is a partial list of courses in Derbyshire (most of the Peak District is in Derbyshire). Depending on what you like, there'll be something to suit...

http://www.hertsgolfunion.com/countycards/county-card-clubs-in-england.asp?ecid=7

George funny about the yorkshiremen.I was asked to play an invitation day at Wakefield with a particularily grumpy/tight/moaning local who was a client(nice fella though).Arriving in the clubhouse for lunch before and looking and listening in the bar realised they were all the same,needless to say the beer wasnt right. Wakefield has a quaint little single plain wood door on the back of the clubhouse where the ladies are allowed to enter-not allowed to use the front door!

Dyna, yes it's a whole different world in Yorkshire. I lived in North Yorkshire from when I was 9 to 17, so it left me with a lasting impression. Formative years indeed.

I remember some professional Yorkshireman - can't remember if it was Brian Close or Geoff Boycott or Howard Clark, but someone like that - saying "There are three types of people in the world. Those who were born in Yorkshire, those who wish they were born in Yorkshire and those with no ambition at all".

A good friend of mine from college days was from yorkshire (Wakefield funnily enough) and he used to say that his favourite weather was drizzle.

Dore & Totley looks inviting, "Where friendliness is par for the course" according to their website. We're hoping for drastic improvement in the weather -- our holiday plan generally involves splitting our time between pubs and golf courses, and we'll come home pretty heavy if we don't get the split just right.

ROFL.

D&T is very nice. Not quite Peak District, but it's lovely round that side of Sheffield.

Pubs - I can't remember the name of any of them, but Ashbourne has some nice pubs in the town centre. Then if you follow the road to Dovedale (which is really worth a trip - take your camera) there are a few more village pubs on the way up the valley. The Peveril of the Peak Hotel is a nice hotel in that area, and Isaac Walton Hotel is nice too. Matlock Bath has some nice pubs also (again, sorry but I don't remember the name of any of them), and a regular invasion of motorbikers. By and large though, they are very nice fellas, and for some reason I never fathomed, the biggest and most powerful bikes are always ridden by the women. I had way too much beer one night with a group of those guys and galls, but a really pleasant evening. Great company.

Thanks for the help guys -- had a great time. Played cavendish, matlock, kedlestone park, and ashbourne (twice). Also played kirtlington (near Oxford) on our way home. Cavendish was prob my favorite,and would have liked to have played it again but they had a week of open comps so not easy to get out in our second week. Matlock was a little tight in some places, which always makes me nervous ! Kedlestone is right across the river from the NT property so is very scenic. Ashbourne has great views over dovedale -- only played the front nine there though. All the courses were in great condition but the rough everywhere was brutal, thanks to all the rain ! In each case we had a warm welcome, got out to play pretty quickly, and the pace of play was brisk -- perfect !
George, you were right about matlock bath -- haven't seen that much black leather since Halloween in Greenwich village !

Glad you had a good time.