Woburn Golf Club – Marquess’ Course

You might imagine a golf club would be satisfied with two elite courses on its property, but that wasn’t the case with Woburn. It was already home to two very fine courses when plans were revealed for a third – the Marquess’.

Opened in 2000, nearly a quarter of a century after the first (the Duke’s) at the club, it was created by a quartet of designers, professional architect Ross McMurray of European Golf Design being assisted by BBC trio Peter Alliss, Clive Clark and the late Alex Hay, a Woburn stalwart. Within a year it had hosted the British Masters and then in 2002 local hero and Woburn ambassador Ian Poulter was edged out by his great friend Justin Rose. The Marquess’ is every inch a Tour venue, a 7,214-yard championship course which requires plenty of brawn when played off the backs. It can however morph into a different test via the 6,329 yards off the yellows, allowing ‘normal’ golfers to enjoy the forgiving nature of its relatively wide fairways as well as the tranquility among the mature woodland that is the dominant theme of all three courses here.

The middle of the front nine has a terrific three-hole section beginning with the 5th, an attractive par 4 among a scene that makes you feel like you’re in the heart of Sherwood Forest. The next is a gorgeous par 3 to a green that slopes from the back edge and spits balls off to the right as well as back down the large front apron. Then comes the signature, a fabulous par 5 on a rollercoaster fairway of deep dips that asks you to choose which way to go round the line of pines in the middle of the fairway. You never forget how you played the 7th on the Marquess. Coming home, the par-5 11th among the pines maintains the pace, as do the 14th, 15th and 16th – a par 3, 5 and 4 combination that offer tremendous variety and quality.

As well as the 7th, you also won’t forget the 12th, and you’ll either decide it is really cool or a bit out of place. A U-shaped water feature affects every shot (even your putt, as it gurgles away as you hole out) and while it might not be for everyone, we like it – as we do most things about the Marquess’.

Set through the sort of mature woodland that typifies golf at Woburn, the Marquess’ looks like it’s been around for a 100 years instead of just coming into existence in 2000. A big challenge in every sense of the word, what marks this 7214 yard, par 72 layout apart from Woburn’s other two courses are the putting surfaces. Great imagination is called for around the greens. The Marquess’ course is a Tour-calibre venue, with spectacular holes. It’s challenging, but more open than the Dukes, so a bit more forgiving for average players. The par-5 7th on the Marquess is hard to beat as a star hole. It’s beautiully framed by pine trees.

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The Marquess' Course, designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark, European Golf Design (Ross McMurray) and Alex Hay opened in 2000. The course was named after the then Marquess of Tavistock and was soon referred to as the 'Jewel in the Crown'.

Set within 200 acres of mixed woodland the Marquess's course overlaps the county boundary dividing Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and presents a variety of rolling and undulating terrain. The predominant tree species are pine, spruce, sweet chestnut and oak, while there are a number of rare specimens such as Corsican pine, yew, rowan and beech.

Within a year of opening the Marquess' Course hosted the first of two British Masters and hosted the English Amateur Championship in 2011. In 2014 The Marquess' Course will be one of four courses in the country to be used to stage Final Qualifying for The Open Championship.

• 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