Reddish Vale Golf Club

Reddish Vale Golf Club: seemingly ringed by golf courses, the town of Stockport can boast two nationally recognised layouts. North of the town is the Alister MacKenzie designed Reddish Vale; to the southeast lies Stockport Golf Club, designed by Harry Colt.

Far from thinking the terrain here was too difficult to work with, MacKenzie relished the task of creating a fair and playable course, albeit one with some notable slopes. The opening five holes, played north of the clubhouse, are riven with dramatic gulleys and valleys ... holes that will certainly get your attention. Amongst the opening four are two testing par-3s.

After the opening five-hole loop, the long par-3 6th (Needle's Eye), plunges downhill and away from the clubhouse into the "Vale" of the River Tame. The steepness of the descent at 6, is matched by the severity of the ascent you'll need to make at the adjacent par-5 18th (Hill).

Down at the layout's lower level, the river meanders alongside the par-5 7th, then returns to circle around much of the back-nine, from the 14th (River View) onward. The par-4 8th (Barn) through to the long and testing par-4 13th (Copse), occupies a flatter and enjoyably open part of the course.

At just a fraction under 6,000 yards from the tips, this very natural course plays considerably longer than its yardage suggests. Beyond the generally good-width fairways lies quite deep rough, and if you're really wayward, the River Tame. Maintenance standards are good without being pristine, but that fits well with the layout's ever-challenging and occasionally quirky character.

Pick of the holes: certainly the most talked about hole is the steeply ascending par-4 18th, which offers the best view of the solidly square clubhouse. The long-par-4 13th is a seriously testing S.I. 1 hole, played into a semi-blind green that sits down in a tree-surrounded dell.