Woodhall Spa Golf Club / The National Golf Centre

The Broadway,

Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire LN10 6PU

  • Office

    +44 (0)1526 352 511 (bookings)
  • Pro shop

    +44 (0)1526 351 831
  • Fax

    +44 (0)1526 351 817
  • Golf pro

    Adam Keogh (Head Professional & Academy Mgr).
  • Academy

    The National Golf Centre Golf School

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Heathland course. Gently undulating terrain - easy to walk.

  • Surroundings:

    Woodland.

  • Designer:

    Original nine-hole design by Harry Vardon (1903), with bunker design by J.H. Taylor (1904). Extended to 18-holes by Harry Colt (1911); significant modifications during 1920s by Major Cecil K. Hutchison & Colonel Stafford V. Hotchkin (the then owner).

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Yards
7080
6501
5772
Par
73
71
73
SSS or slope
75
73
74

At the same location:

Above distances are for the Hotchkin course. Also at Woodhall Spa is the 18-hole Bracken Course (par-72; 6735 yds from back tees).

Location

Latitude:

53.154414

Longitude:

-0.204277

How to get there:

19 miles E of Lincoln

Head east on the B1191 from Woodhall Spa town centre; golf entrance is on the left.

Woodhall Spa - The National Golf Centre (Hotchkin course)

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.

Est. 1891

Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin course): Many golfers and golf writers rate the National Golf Centre's Hotchkin course at Woodhall Spa as one of the finest heathland layouts anywhere in the world. It's certainly not one for the faint-hearted, with relatively tight fairways, long carries over heather, and some of the deepest and most fearsome greenside bunkering you’ll ever experience.

The wonderfully natural environment here at Woodhall Spa is home to fairways lined by large tracts of heather that stretch away into the distance. This relatively flat area of heathland is not characterised by prodigious elevation changes and rolling fairways, making the Hotchkin an easy walking course.

The front-nine is played in a relatively open landscape, with wonderfully challenging golf holes demanding good shot-making and solid course management. More trees become evident as you head for home on the inward nine; the course takes on a distinctly tighter and more restricting feel as you hit the finishing stretch. These closing holes demand even greater precision from the tee, with a mix of birch and pine trees hugging the fairways and accounting for anything hit too far offline.

Woodhall Spa's newer Bracken course, is not quite in the same elevated league as the Hotchkin course, but it does provide a gentler and more forgiving outing than its ever-challenging big brother.

List of courses: England - Central

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.

Must book in advance. Maximum handicap (Hotchkin course): men 24; women 36. Proof of handicap required.

Green fees

Visitor fee, 18-holes in high season (May thru' Oct): weekdays £185; weekends £205. England Golf members: £130/£145.

Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2023].

Other information

Players generally walk this course. The club has two one-seater buggies available for hire if required on medical grounds (book in advance).

Practice facilities

Excellent

Did you know?

The National Golf Centre at Woodhall Spa is the home of England Golf. At the start of 2012 the English Golf Union (EGU) merged with the English Women's Golf Association (EWGA) to form England Golf, the governing body for all amateur golf in England. England Golf is one of the largest sports governing bodies in England, looking after the interests of over 1,900 golf clubs and 713,000 men and women club members.

Published ranking

Hotchkin course:
England's 4th best course (Golf World, 2023).
Britain & Ireland's 15th best course (Golf World, 2022).
World's 58th best course (GOLF Magazine, 2023/24) and 26th best public access course (Golf World, 2023).

Where2Stay

  • The Petwood Hotel3-star

    Stixwould Rd, Woodhall Spa, Lincs LN10 6QG

    +44 (0)1526 352 411

    Visit website

    Bursting with character and history, Petwood is unique among hotels in Lincolnshire. The elegant hand-carved staircase and extensive oak panelling typify the hotel's old world charm, while guests can enjoy discovering features such as the Squadron Bar and immaculately kept gardens. The original features of the house are sympathetically maintained in harmony with comfortable rooms. The famous RAF 617 or “Dambusters” squadron put Petwood firmly on the map; the intrepid RAF officers found the house a “splendid place” to return to after their daring wartime raids.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      Woodhall Spa

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      No

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