Woburn Golf Club Duchess’ Course: Course Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info

Woburn Golf Club Duchess’ Course Key Information

Woburn Golf Club Duchess’ Course

The Woburn Golf Club Duchess’ Course is one of three lovely layouts on this expansive estate. If you asked anyone who has played them to sum Woburn up in one word, that word is quite likely to be ‘trees’. Majestic pine dominates the estate and lines and frames just about all of its 54 strong holes of golf which make up the three best golf courses in Buckinghamshire.

And it is on the Duchess’ that trees are at their most imposing and narrow-minded! Here, they hug the holes so tightly at times that golfers may experience a touch of claustrophobia. There are few leading courses anywhere that place quite such a premium on straight hitting. And while you might imagine that the counterbalance for this would be less of a demand for length, that’s not really the case here. On several holes, you also have to drive it long enough to be able to get a sight of the green.

The course opens with a particularly strong and good-looking par 4 that calls for a long approach over a dip and where encroaching trees are an ominous threat. Any tee shot too far from the optimum line here, as well as on other holes, can result in an impeded second. This is followed by a par-3 that sums up Woburn in the space of 188 yards. It appears so narrow from the tee that you really feel as though you are playing down a corridor.

Accuracy is not just a premium off the tee, but also vital on a good number of the approaches because the greens offer a relatively small target. On a few holes, trees close to the green can actually block the line to the flag. If all this sounds scary, fear not as it’s still very enjoyable. Play within yourself, and you will fully enjoy the conundrums that it sets. It certainly requires a strategic and skilful approach, so if you are to score well, the four par 5s probably offer the best chance to pick points. 

At any such venue, there will be differing opinions as to which course is the best. Here, all three are among the best golf courses in England so you are spoiled for choice. The Marquess' Course tops the Golf Monthly rankings, while the Duke's Course sits in the middle of the three. Regardless, the Duchess' is a very scenic course that rewards good shot-making and a patient and flexible approach. As such, it’s been a popular venue for competition over many years and from 1982 until 1994 it hosted the Ford Classic on the Ladies European Tour.

What The Top 100 Panel Said

Chris Dobson

A golfing oasis where you won’t believe you are so close to the M1. All you can hear is the tweeting of the birds in the trees, and the crack of your own tee shot reverberating through them. A real test where you need to be straight off the tee but great fun.

Peter Hurst

I don’t want to come across as unfair, as there is lots to admire from many angles and in lots of ways, but the course just needs to lighten up and not be so brooding and fearsome!

Cameron Roy

The Duchess' is the least vaunted of the three options at Woburn but it is by far the most difficult for me. Tree-lined corridors of fairway leading to small greens make accuracy and distance control imperative. The most exacting test off the tee in the top 100!

Woburn Golf Club Location

Woburn Golf Club Green Fees

Woburn Golf Club Duchess' Course scorecard

Best Courses Near Woburn Golf Club

ASHRIDGE

The beautiful parkland design at Ashridge dates back to the 1930s and benefitted in its early years from the creative genius of various architects including the great Tom Simpson. What remains is a genuine oasis away from the hurly-burly of the modern world with great variety and beauty.

BERKHAMSTED

Berkhamsted dates back to the 1880s and its commonland setting accounts for a design that preserved the heathland, and made use of its mounds, hollows, gorse and heather. James Braid followed this principle when he revamped the course in the 1920s, since when little has changed.

Best Places To Stay Near Woburn Golf Club

The Woburn - Book now at Booking.com
Sitting proudly at the heart of picturesque Woburn Village, you’ll find The Woburn – a charming 18th-century property under the stewardship of the award-winning Oakman Group. Part of the Duke of Bedford Estates, The Woburn has 48 hotel rooms plus seven stylish, individually decorated cottages that sit just across the courtyard.

The Bell Hotel, Woburn - Book now at Booking.com
Located in Woburn, The Bell Hotel Woburn is run by Greene King Inns and provides comfortable accommodation with a restaurant, free private parking and a bar.

Woburn Golf Club Duchess’ Course

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Historical Top 100 Rankings UK&I

• 2023/24 93
• 2021/22 92
• 2019/20 92
• 2017/18 89
• 2015/16 94
• 2013/14 94
• 2011/12 97 New Entry

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