Tadmarton Heath Golf Club Course Review

Tadmarton Heath Golf Club Course Review

GF Round: £45-£60wd, £55-£70we
Par 69, 5,961 yard
Slope 124
GM Verdict – Perhaps the epitome of a hidden gem with its gloriously elevated setting and a delightful 18th-century farmhouse for a clubhouse.
Favourite Hole – The very short par-3 10th, which is so well-protected it will set the nerves jangling a little even if armed only with a wedge!

The county of Oxfordshire is not a Home County in the strictest sense, nor is it really quite Central England, more perhaps a gateway connecting the two, and sadly a gateway that one more often than not seems to be merely whizzing through on the M40 rather than actually stopping in. But this is a surprisingly beautiful county in places, especially the Cotswold area to the north, and one where there is great golf to be enjoyed not only at the best golf courses in Oxfordshire, such as former tour venue, The Oxfordshire, or the excellent 54-hole facility at Frilford Heath, but also at some of its more tucked-away treats - courses like Tadmarton Heath, perhaps the very essence of a ‘hidden gem’.

At a time when new golf courses stretch ever further beyond 7,000 yards, Tadmarton Heath near Banbury provides a patent reminder that length is not everything. It may measure just under 6,000 yards off the whites, but this is a testing and captivating track that will challenge even the most accomplished golfer. It’s a layout of two distinct halves. The first nine is relatively open while the run for home has more of a heathland feel, encroaching gorse making the fairways much tighter. 

Perched 650ft above sea level, Tadmarton Heath is a very pleasant and peaceful spot for a round, blessed with a clubhouse that from certain angles looks for all the world like a large, country cottage, which is entirely in keeping with the overall feel. The holes interweave intricately, which must allow members to play an almost infinite number of shorter loops if they haven’t got time for a full 18 and club rules permit. There’s a scary sleeper-faced bunker short right of the 6th, which must gather a lot of balls and certainly won’t tolerate anything less than fully committed bunker play, while the signature 7th that follows is a glorious short par 3 across a gully to a well-protected green near the clubhouse.

The 10th is then a classic example of the kind of hole we just don’t have enough of these days. It’s scarcely over 100 yards, but surrounding bunkers and tricky contours on the green make you think par would be most welcome even if armed only with a wedge – golf’s forgotten art. Later, the slender 15th with its fittingly small green, provides pure risk-reward golf, tempting you into going for it but leaving little margin for error. The course closes with one of its toughest par 4s at 432 yards (452 off the blacks!) one of a quintet of 400+ yarders, offset by a solitary par 5 in the 5th, which is long enough to be a genuine three-shotter for most.