Carden Park (Nicklaus) - Cheshire - England

The Golden Bear team of Jack and his son Steve worked their magic on Carden Park’s Nicklaus course and it opened for play in July 1998. It was quickly recognised by a leading golf magazine as one of the ten best new courses to have opened since 1996. The historic 17th century Carden Park estate occupies some 750 acres of prime Cheshire countryside and has become a golfing Mecca in the northwest of England; it’s worth a detour on the way to the links wonderland between Liverpool and Blackpool.

The Nicklaus course has appeared highly in our rankings but has recently fallen from favour. So, what is it really like? Well, it's a tough golf course but then it would be, wouldn’t it, if Nicklaus had a hand in it, it was bound to be challenging.

Park-like ground is not always conducive to all-weather golf, but the drainage has been installed well. The conditioning of the course is generally good and the holes are typically Nicklaus-like, pleasurable but eminently fair, everything is laid out clearly in front of you. There are two double fairways, there’s plenty of water and many strategically placed bunkers. Additionally, as is normal on Nicklaus courses, there are plenty of teeing areas, five in total. Consequently, it makes the course playable for golfers of all standards. Measuring a chunky 7,045 yards from the black tees to a leisurely 5,211 yards from the reds.

In essence, the Nicklaus course at Carden Park is fun. It holds your interest very well. It isn’t the most inspiring piece of parkland in the world, but Nicklaus has made full use of the land that was readily available. Despite being in its infancy, the Nicklaus course at Carden Park has already played host to the PGA Seniors Tour on two occasions.