Centurion Club

Centurion Club is home to a big, expansive championship golf course. For much of the time the layout roams across a large area of undulating open parkland, where large grassy mounds trimmed with gorse bushes give a distinctly linksy feel to proceedings.

This relative newcomer to the high-end golfing scene in the south of England, will thoroughly test amateurs and professionals alike. Setting off from an elevated tee, the right-to-left doglegging par-4 1st may give the impression that tightish tree-lined holes are the norm for this layout. Not so. After the par-4th, which links the two halves of the course (as does its neighbour, the returning par-3 14th), the rest of the design occupies largely open undulating parkland. Plenty of elevation change, stylish bunkering, large grassy mounds and Simon Gidman's excellent golfing challenges, all add up to a thoroughly enjoyable golfing test.

Neat square-cut teeing grounds, fast-paced and excellent greens (with plenty of bunkering and run-off areas around), are all part of the excellent presentation of this well-crafted big-dimension design. The only negative, is the almost constant drone of traffic noise from the M1, one of the UK's busiest motorways.

Pick of the holes: among many memorable holes, the par4 12th plays downhill from one of many elevated tees. After a good drive down the hill, you're left with a testing approach to a wide (but not particularly deep) green, fronted by a stone walled pond. The pond and stone wall theme returns on the leftside of the par-3 17th and rightside of the par-5 risk-reward 18th.

Limited access: this is a private golf course, generally playable only by members and their invited guests.