Cleeve Hill Golf Club Course Review

Cleeve Hill Golf Club Course Review
GF Round: £25-£35wd, £30-£40we
Par 71, 6,400 yards
Slope 118
GM Verdict Old-school charm and fabulous views, golf as natural and elemental as it comes at a bargain rate
Favourite Hole The long 13th played to a bell-shaped green on the edge of the escapement with Cheltenham lying below in the distance

The original design here is attributed to Old Tom Morris in the early 1890s. Way before that, however, the land was quarried for its stone. The result is a rumpled carpet of golfing fun. Lightly bunkered and usually with masses of room off the tee, this is a course which will test your short game at the same time as delivering a history lesson in golf course design.

A rolling par 5 kicks off proceedings, following the prevailing wind to the most easterly point on the course. A good drive here will set you up for par or better. A pair of par 4s take you in the opposite direction and then up the hill to the 4th, the second of the three-shotters.

The 5th is a middle-distance par 4 played to a sloping green nicely sited beside some humps left and long, and with a run-off into a bunker on the right. The 6th is a cracking little par 3, the only one going out, before a hat-trick of solid par 4s takes you to the turn.

The 10th is another really interesting short hole, this time played from a tee way up high down to a circular green. The next climbs gently again, and the 12th runs south-west and usually into the breeze. Talking of which, the hilltop setting is very exposed and so wind will often be a strong factor.

The 13th is the third and final par 5, and it heads to a wonderfully-sited and unusual bell-shaped green at the far end of the escarpment. Its location feels like, and almost certainly is, one of great historical significance!

You turn for home along the edge of the hill from the 14th, with a brilliant sting in the tail waiting at the back-to-back par 3s that follow it. Each is played over rocks and crevices, and the 15th is actually SI18 although it’s very easy to be distracted by the brilliant views on your left.

The 16th is a shade under 200 yards and fraught with hidden dangers; a three here feels very much like a birdie.

The closing pair of par 4s head back to the sanctuary of the clubhouse and should ease you home if the wind is behaving.

If far-reaching and unspoilt views are your thing, Cleeve Hill will tick all the boxes. It is also undoubtedly one of the best golf courses in Gloucestershire and offers great value for money. It is the epitome of natural golf, running as it does up hill and down dale at the highest point in the beautiful Cotswolds. Recently saved from the brink of extinction, there is every hope that this idyllically-situated course now has a long-term, healthy and happy future.