Luffenham Heath Golf Club Course Review

Luffenham Heath Golf Club Course Review

GF Round: £50-£85 Mon, Weds, Fri; £60-£95 Fri-Sun. Day: £85-£95 Mon, Weds, Fri; £95-£105 Fri-Sun
Par 72, 6,418 yards
Slope 140
GM Verdict – A very fine Harry Colt heathland course in England’s smallest county that starts and finishes particularly strongly
Favourite Hole – The 7th is an excellent mid-length par 4 to a raised green, with a very attractive uphill approach and bunkers set into the upslope.

Rutland is England’s smallest county, wedged into an area between Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire that’s just 18 miles long and 17 miles wide at its maximum dimensions. While the best golf courses in Lincolnshire, for example, would include the world-famous heathland Hotchkin course at Woodhall Spa, not surprisingly, Rutland isn’t blessed with many golf courses at all. It is, however, home to a surprisingly fine course, and one of Harry Colt’s best heathland creations, in Luffenham Heath, five miles south-west of Stamford.

The course gets off to a flyer with three excellent opening doglegs that move left to right on the opening duo, then right to left on the 3rd, with the 412-yard 2nd the most challenging of the trio. The 4th, with its fine distant views from the tee, takes a bit of ‘knowing, for the fairway plunges down dramatically to a green that then slopes deceptively away. It can be easy to overclub off the tee and run out of fairway here, especially in the summer when the ground is firm.

The 5th is then a pretty par 5 across a broad dip, not long but very well-protected by sand, while the 7th is perhaps the visual star of the whole course, thanks to its gorgeous uphill approach to a long, well-bunkered green. The short par-4 8th could well then tempt anyone with a soft draw in the locker, but as with all good risk-reward holes, trouble awaits if you get it wrong or don’t find the shape you were looking for.

The long par-4 13th will come as a bit of a shock to the system, covering 481 yards off the tips via a fairly significant right-to-left dogleg, with par allowing you just four strokes! But perhaps the standout holes visually coming home are the two par 3s at 12 and 17, the former playing to a very pretty, enclosed green and the latter stretching to over 200 yards and dropping steeply to a target heavily defended by sand, mounds and hollows. The closing hole is quite a long par 5 playing downhill back to the clubhouse, but even though it’s not a short par 5, there may still be a chance to get reasonably close in two in the right conditions to bring hopes of a closing birdie.

In recent years, a comprehensive bunker upgrade programme under the guidance of Mackenzie and Ebert has enhanced both the visuals and strategy of this fine golf course.