Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel & Country Club (Aylesford Course)

Marriott Forest of Arden Golf Course lacks the quality and memorable holes of the star-studded neighbouring Arden  – but not too much.

The much-improved Aylesford is a highly creditable no. 2 golf course and a fine test of golf in its own right. As you would expect from a major venue, it is extremely well maintained and the greens are pure class – as good as the Arden’s in fact. It’s a pleasant easy-walking golf course but you can tackle it aboard a GPS buggy if you prefer.

Tends to get overshadowed by neighbouring parkland superstar the Arden, but is a fine par-69 layout in its own right though obviously shorter and not so demanding.

Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel & Golf and Country Club started life as a nine-holer in 1979 before Donald Steele's highly impressive re-design in 1992.

Set in 10,000 acres of Warwickshire parkland, many varieties of wildlife can be found within the boundaries of the golf course. This provides the perfect backdrop to a Championship Golf Course regarded as one of the finest in the country.

The Arden Golf Course was designed by Donald Steel in 1970 and redesigned in 1992. The layout of the golf course is a true test of golf designed to make the golfer play a wide range of shots, as some of the best professionals on the European Tour will tell you.

A variety of different tee boxes, water hazards, trees, which neatly outline the fairways and thick rough make the Arden Golf Course long and tough but still a very enjoyable test of golf.

• Course has: Bar
• Course has: Buggy Hire
• Course has: Driving Range
• Course has: Practice Green
• Course has: Pro Shop
• Course has: Restaurant
• Course has: Trolley Hire
• Course has: Dress Code
• Course has: Club Hire
• Course does not have: Handicap

• 4 out of 5 A good test and great VFM 25 September 2015

  By Levers!

  The Aylesford Course never fails to spring a surprise on the unsuspecting golfer, who pre-judges it by its yardage. Acknowledge it is shorter than its 'Big Brother' the Championship Arden, it is without doubt, not without bite: tighter fairways and smaller greens mean even the two short (sub 300 yard) Par 4s are not a push over, and with the trees coming into play off the tee on the majority of holes far more often than the Arden, good course management is a must if you want to play close to handicap.

• 3.5 out of 5 Confidence building 29 September 2008

  By arnold_evans@hotmail.com

  We are a group of 4 golfers who started to play regularly about two years ago. We play once a week from March to November, and then holiday time.We are all 18 - 22 handicapp now and play mostly at the various municipal courses around Birmingham. I arranged a visit to the Aylesford courses for the group during June. We found it the ideal course to develop our overall confidence to play the game, with a fair few 'testing holes' on a course set in a truly parkland setting. We have since returned to the course, and other 2 for 1 locations. We even treated ourselves to a round on the Arden in July - that was even better. We did find the bar resturant area a very pleasant place to sit and 'watch' but there was a lack of lunch time snacks available.

• 4.5 out of 5 The second best course in the midlands 15 January 2008

  By gareth67

  urse set out great, tight in places which does not go well with my driving, well kept quick fairways and green for the time of year

• 4 out of 5 Arden's little brother 23 October 2007

  By ianball

  Pale's in comparison with the Arden but was in great condition for October. Narrow fairways, lots of trouble, and excellent fast greens. Once the trees mature even more the bail out areas will go and this will become a severe test of your skills. A great weekend awaits if you play both courses - do this one first.

• 1 out of 5 Good test but...... 19 March 2007

  By Anonymous

  Played yesterday as part of a Red Letterday package. The lesson with the pro was excellent and the facillities in the Teaching Academy were top notch. 18 holes on the Aylesford were good and I would echo the comments of previous reviews as to the condition and test of the golf course. The only negatives were no course guide, which made judging distances difficult, and poor sign posting that allowed our group to get lost a couple of times.

• 1 out of 5 Good test but...... 19 March 2007

  By Anonymous

  Played yesterday as part of a Red Letterday package. The lesson with the pro was excellent and the facillities in the Teaching Academy were top notch. 18 holes on the Aylesford were good and I would echo the comments of previous reviews as to the condition and test of the golf course. The only negatives were no course guide, which made judging distances difficult, and poor sign posting that allowed our group to get lost a couple of times.

• 4 out of 5 Excellent condition 22 December 2006

  By Anonymous

  A fine parkland layout, easy-walking with a good variation of holes. It's nearly always in excellent condition and you can't ask for more than that.

• 4 out of 5 Fantastic 22 December 2006

  By Anonymous

  Fantastic! It's not as hard as the Arden but it's hard enough as you have to carefully plot your way round it.

• 4 out of 5 Pick of the bunch 22 December 2006

  By Anonymous

  Fabulous course. Compared to lots of courses in the area, this is the pick of the bunch. I never get tired of playing it.