Woburn Golf Club – Duchess Course

Very nice and usually in good condition. Definitely Top 100 material, with testing par 5s where positioning off the tee is essential. A neat course set in sweeping woodland. As tight as the strings on Roger Federer’s racket. With trees on the very edge of the fairway, anything resembling a slice or hook is likely to lead to a tricky recovery. Several of the par 3s are particularly challenging as they require a long iron approach to be hit accurately. An exacting companion for the more famous and open Dukes’ and Marquess’. For some people, it is the best course in this woodland heaven.

Woburn is renowned for holes that play through avenues of pines. Nowhere is this truer than on the Duchess’. The layout is 322 and 562 yards shorter respectively than the Duke’s and Marquess’. Course architect Charles Lawrie created a course that calls for a different sort of challenge to the one he presented when he laid out the Duke’s. Of the three Woburn courses, the Duchess’ is the one that puts a premium on that most elusive of golf talents: the ability to hit the ball consistently straight. The Marquess’ may be the jewel in the Woburn crown, the Duke’s the course that gave Woburn its name, but the Duchess’ is the little gem, the one that will strike more fear into golfers than the other two combined.  

The Top 100 Golf Courses in Britain and Ireland

Click here to find out where Woburn ranks in Golf World's Top 100 Courses England

The Duchess' Course is sometimes considered to be the least challenging of the three Woburn courses, the junior sibling lying in the shadow of well respected and much heralded family members (Duke and Marquess).

However, like many younger siblings, it's not a charge the Duchess' takes lying down. Nor is it one recognised by true aficionados. Anyone who has played the course knows this is a layout that demands as much respect as the adjacent courses.

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

• 5 out of 5 Played all 3, this is by far the prettiest & more playable... 01 July 2014

  By Villa8008

  All 3 courses at Woburn are fantastic, as is the clubhouse & brilliant practice facilities… The Duchess is visually stunning, layout is superb - yes you need to be straight but it is a truly memorable place to play - arguably the prettiest golf course in England ( Sunningdale apart) it doesn't need sea views like Porthcawl - because the layout is awesome, played all three courses here at least three times - the Duchess isn't as long as the other two but it doesn't need the length - more precision golf, the welcome, the food, the ambience of the place makes this a must play venue...