Leeds Castle Golf Club

There aren’t too many golf courses which weave their way around a spectacular castle but Leeds Castle at the heart of the Garden of England does. And very impressively too. The mature parkland layout opened in the mid-1920s but went up a notch in 1988 when Neil Coles carried out a major re-design while nine years later a thrilling new par-3 6^th hole was created beside the castle moat.

With the public golf course open nearly every day of the year, this delightful nine-hole, par 33, 2681-yard golf course was built on the 500 acre Leeds Castle Estate in 1924 for the Hon. Lady Baillie, the then owner of Leeds Castle.

The maturity of the parkland surrounding Leeds Castle provides both challenging and spectacular holes from start to finish.

Intervals of 10 minutes between tee-off times, which can be pre-booked six days in advance, will mean that the golf course is rarely congested. The golf centre has a fully-stocked shop for all your golfing needs. There are also locker rooms with shower facilities and hot drinks are available.

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

• 4 out of 5 well kept 9 hole course 14 October 2008

  By Anonymous

  Well, It was to be my first time on what i'd call a "propper course". A friend and I drove into the fairly large car park just off of the M20, making the venue very easy to find, and if you can't spot a castle a way off, you must be having problems! As we wonder up the winding pathway to the clubhouse, you don't really get a view that does this course justice, all you can see from here is the start of the blind 1st, and to the right, the flag for the par 3 9th. To the side of the small club house you have a couple of driving nets to get your swing in order before you set off! The clubhouse itself is nothing ore than a shop, with some toilets which back onto it, which is a real shame for those who like to have a pint after a round of golf, to reflect on their game, however, i would recomend the pub right next to the car park for food and drink! Not knowing what to expect from my first "big boys course", I tee off at the first over the lip of a hill, and just hope to god my ball landed in a respectable place! no such luck! my ball had dribbled off to the right putting me in some thick rough, and the rough at Leeds castle, is very rough due to the very wet ground. you can have the likes of bullrushes to contend with in some tricky spots. The 2nd posed a similar problem, with another blind pin position, wat this point, i was really beggining to think maybe, i should have spent more time at a local pitch and put! Alas, my disasters were to be short lived as i moved further around this course. there are a few road to cross while navigating the course, but nothing to worry about too much. the 3rd and 4th holes are pretty straightforward, one dogleg left followed by a straight 160 yard par 3, which has four bunkers, and if your clever enough (I wasn't), they won't come into play! You then have a short walk to the 5th, uphill all the way i'm afraid, but when you get to the tee, you realise, this is exactly what golf should be about. From this elevated tee position you behold a beautifully kept, wide open fair way, with the flag some 435 yard in front of you. However the flag itself is dwarved by the gargantuan image of the glorious Leeds castle in full view, surrounded by a large moat, which comes slightly in to play later. If there ever was one, this my friends, was a Kodac moment for me! from here, all thats left is a short par 3, which i managed to Par, making me feel much better! the 386 yard 7th, which hugs the moat of the castle on one side, and is hugged by a treeline on the other side, tricky, but not so much so that you want to give up on it. hole 8 is a 359 yard par 4 with water in the midle, making you chose between safety, or taking the risk the longer hitters, and 9 presents us with a picturesque par 3, split by water, with a green next to the club house. All in all, in my mind, I would rate leeds quite highly, unfortunately, it's let down by lack of facilities, It would be nice to see a driving range, and also, a good club house with a bar wouldn't go a miss! and in my opinion, although this was actually a great course for a begginer, with the amount of land available to them, surely the could squeeze in another 9.....

• 3.5 out of 5 Good all-rounder 08 February 2007

  By Anonymous

  This is quite a good all round course that is hilly in places and can be quite wet at times. It gives high-handicappers a chance with some short holes. The signature hole is definitly the 5th - coming down the hill towards the castle. Don't forget your camera!