JCB Golf & Country Club

JCB Golf & Country Club: set amid Staffordshire's green rolling countryside this superbly presented championship layout was built for top-level professional golf and aspiring amateurs alike. Robin Hiseman's modern design makes full use of the pleasantly undulating terrain, with top-quality bunkering, huge greens and plenty of elevation change in the mix.

This expansive bold layout, with its swirling fairways, lays down one of England's tougher golfing challenges. You'll find many doglegging holes (double-doglegs on the par-5s) rolling across the relatively open parkland terrain. There are fewer straightaway holes. The green complexes feature many slick run-off areas, areas of deeper rough, and substantial stylish bunkering.

Water hazards, in the form of small ponds and a larger lake, as well as plenty of deep rough beyond the tightish fairways, all play their part. The greens, as with many modern designs are large and undulating, rather than small and subtly sloping.

Pick of the holes: pride of place inevitably goes to the island-green par-3 17th. This memorable hole plays downhill to a green adorned with huge beach-style bunkers and a park-like array of indigenous trees to left and right. The island also plays host to the tee of the long uphill doglegging par-4 18th, another challenging hole on which to end your round.

Limited access: this is a private golf course, generally playable only by JCB employees, corporate members and JCB's most valued clients.