Without doubt, Brocket Hall Golf Club is a classy and stylish place to play golf and the Palmerston course is a delightful contrast to the Melbourne.
Without doubt, Brocket Hall Golf Club is a classy and stylish place to play golf and the Palmerston course is a delightful contrast to the Melbourne.
Brocket Hall Estate (Palmerston)
Located a mere 20 miles to the north of the capital and close to leafy Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, lies Brocket Hall Golf Club. With two courses named after Prime Ministers who used to reside at Brocket Hall, the Palmerston is the new kid on the block, opening for play in 2000.
Designed by Donald Steel and measuring a whopping 7,080 yards from the championship tees, the Palmerston is a real test. The course winds its way through the undulating estate where majestic specimen trees, including hornbeam, beech and pines create a feeling of intimacy and pose as impressive hazards. Steel’s design philosophy was to provide a top quality course with the least possible intrusion on the site. We think he has exceeded his objective with the Palmerston course and it’s probably just as well, because this is top quality land.
Unlike the older Melbourne course, the River Lea doesn’t come into play on the Palmerston course. Instead, there’s bold bunkering to contend with and, of course, avenues of trees. Steel has created a thinking man and women’s course where the golfer is presented with options. Central bunkers divide the 3rd fairway and the 4th tempts the big hitters to drive left, over a small hollow and across the corner of the dogleg. The short par five 9th is also tempting to attack in two shots, but cleverly positioned greenside bunkers await anything but the best struck approach shot.
Your approach shot on the par four 12th must negotiate an unusual chalk face which lies some 100 yards from the green. This really is a delightful hole, which requires pinpoint accuracy from the tee.
Without doubt, Brocket Hall Golf Club is a classy and stylish place to play golf and the Palmerston course is a delightful contrast to the Melbourne. In many ways the Palmerston is reminiscent and almost as good as Woburn’s Marquess course. Add in the famous Auberge du Lac restaurant and you’ve got a tasty venue.
The purpose of the Review of The Month feature is twofold. Top100GolfCourses has always aimed to salute and encourage those who are putting admirable effort into reviewing the world’s great golf courses. Moving forward, we are also looking to learn from these experts! We’ll be chatting with the month’s star authors and discussing topics such as golf in their area, what they like to see in a strong course review, and of course dig a little deeper into their own winning review. December 2023’s Review of The Month comes from David Scoular, who traveled to the northernmost corners of Hertfordshire to play the chalk-soiled gem that is Royston Golf Club, which claims to be the oldest 18-hole golf course in England. You can read David’s winning review, and find other Royston writeups here. -- There is truly something special about traversing out and back across Therfield Heath. Although Royston Golf Club was founded in 1892, the course will be celebrating 400 years of Golf in 2024, providing justification to the note emblazed across the scorecard, "The Oldest 18 Hole Golf Course in England". The course features firm, fast fairways, playable all year round. This is thanks to its location, upon fast-draining chalk-based downland. Making the course a worthwhile pilgrimage for any golf starved individuals throughout the winter months. Royston is regarded as short by modern standards, measuring 5,910 yards. but due to its exposed position, perched high on common land. The varying wind direction and small green targets require well planned shots. None more so than the 8th, "Rand's Folly" . The hole stretches along an undulating fairway with a slight right-to-left slope from a blind tee location. requiring a drive to the left side of the fairway setting up a precise shot into the raised, fort like green. The par threes are all interesting. The two stand out holes, been the 5th & 10th. The fifth, requires a long iron across a broad valley, played predominately into the prevailing wind. The Tenth, a 221 yard valley hole, played from an elevated tee to a well guarded green, can be regarded as the courses hidden gem. Pars on either holes are well received. The stretch from the fifteenth to the eighteenth tee, offers wonderful variety, and excellent opportunities to improve a score. The climb up to Wee Knock, the short 16th will require a few moments to catch your breathe, in this moment make sure the correct club is selected. Anything short or left will be thrown off this blind raised green. The18th, played from a high tee with wind normally behind offers most golfers the opportunity to reach this Par 4 in one. I am pleased to see Royston feature in the county rankings. A county well regarded for its parkland golf. The Par 70 course has no two holes alike and should delight the enthusiastic golfer. I look forward to my next visit.
Bishop's Stortford Golf Club, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England Click any of the large images to return to the main Bishop's Stortford page All photographs courtesy of Bishop's Stortford Golf Club 2nd green 7th hole 3rd hole 12th green 17th tee 18th tee Aerial view Clubhouse
Hadley Wood Golf Club, Barnet, Hertfordshire, England Click any of the large images to return to the main Hadley Wood page All photographs courtesy of Hadley Wood Golf Club On the tee 7th hole 12th hole 13th hole 17th hole The clubhouse
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
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New York, United States
