Cumberwell Park (Blue & Orange) - Wiltshire - England

Not the best 18 at this huge golf resort but still a very good course.

Couple of very good par fives on Orange.

Until you have played several rounds here quite hard to remember which hole is in which nine and which two nines you play ?

Usually well maintained and all on undulating ground with plenty of water.

Cumberwell Park, to the East of Bath, is an ambitious and popular Club with the equivalent of two 18 hole and one par3 golf course. I believe there are now plans to develop this offering further. It could be seen as a ‘golfing factory’, but the pretty undulating Wiltshire countryside just makes it a wonderful arena in which to enjoy playing the game.

The golf courses were built as four separate 9s, with the Red and Yellow opening for play in 1994, the Blue in 1999 and the Orange in 2007. Unsurprisingly the older 9s are normally played as one course, leaving the younger 9s as the second course. We played Blue & Orange and were in for a treat, on a course not yet reviewed on this site.

The Blue has a lot of water features in play, which is a large factor on its two par3s known as holes 24 and 26, and two beautiful par4s at 20 and 21. Other than at the par3s, none of the flags are visible from the tee which demonstrates it’s undulating terrain.

The Orange is built on a grassy hillside with the fairways meandering gracefully between the grass hillocks and around the elevations. The contrast between Blue and Orange works well, giving both 9s a very distinctive and different feel.

The fairways are generally wide but shots off line are heavily penalised with deep grass rough a constant companion alongside.The maintenance of the course is very good, in particular the smooth-running and gently-sloping greens.

There are many fascinating holes with stacks of variety and in my view no weak ones. On the Blue, hole 21 is a dogleg right over water with a large tree on the right guarding a long raised green and presenting a challenging uphill approach. Hole 26 is a thrilling par3 over a large expanse of water requiring a carry of over 150 yards to a long green with three cleverly placed bunkers. The last three holes were to me the highlight on the Orange with Hole 34 being a long downhill par5 which played its full length of 520 yards, with the third shot approach over what seemed a huge bunker to a big green. This was followed by another par5 running parallel with the previous hole but with a different set of challenges, starting with a fairway seemingly full of bunkers from the tee. And the course ended with a delightful uphill par3 beautifully framed by a stone wall behind.

We were lucky in that we played on an almost wind free day which also made scoring easier. The challenge and sheer joy of this unusual set up is memorable for all the right reasons and, with a very modest County Card green fee, a strong comparable with the county’s top two ranked golf courses at Bowood and Castle Combe. I am looking forward to returning to play the two older 9s, the Red and the Yellow, which by now will be strongly established. If they are as good, it will surely confirm Cumberwell Park as Wiltshire’s No.1 golfing destination.