I have played at Ashridge a number of times over the last 30 years and always find it a golfing treat.

The golf course is a scenic and not overly difficult parkland/woodland layout, the welcome is very genuine, the modern clubhouse with its own ‘Henry Cotton’ room is simply sublime and the ambience is of a place very English in style and comfortable in its own skin.

I must at this point declare an interest for I love playing here as the course seems to suit my game. In this round, I chose Ashridge as a suitable venue for a good friend to complete his 100th and final course on the Top100golfcourses website for England. I believed that completing the long journey and reaching the milestone here would make him very happy, which it most certainly did.

We played on a glorious autumn morning with blue sky and sunshine making a welcome appearance after heavy overnight rain. The green of summer was just changing to the the brown, yellow and gold of autumn, there was no wind, the deer were out in force and the place was as pretty as a picture.

The three tee start at 1,10 and 13, all holes very near to the clubhouse, allows the starter to place golfing groups in 2s, 3s or 4s according to the playing group sizes on the day. A nice touch which allowed our twoball to be the second off the first, and without any rush we completed our 18 holes in just over three hours. This allowed plenty of time for a delightful light lunch afterwards in the clubhouse.

The opening holes are a pleasingly straight and uncomplicated introduction to Ashridge, but things get tougher from 4 with the signature 9th the standout on the front nine with its strangely raised green, three large bunkers and peculiar slopes. The second nine is more challenging starting with three excellent holes in their own section of the course from 10, with the 12th named ‘Deer Leap’ quite outstanding despite having no bunkers but requiring a pinpoint approach to the narrowest of greens. 18 is a splendid downhill romp ending with a two-tiered green that will test the best.

And I have made no mention of the 5 par threes which are all fine and varied holes, if similar in length from 166 to 182 yards.

Course maintenance is as you would expect of the highest order and with all 5 par fives relatively short, there is a good score to be made here if your game is in good order.