Dale Hill Golf Club (Woosnam)

Former Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam OBE needs no introduction and tucked away in the East Sussex countryside a few miles south west of Tunbridge Wells is where you'll find the course that Woosie built – Dale Hill Golf Club. This is his inaugural architectural ensemble (with a little help from European Golf Design) and it's perfectly in tune and finely balanced. Built in 1997, the par 71, 6,512-yard layout flows gracefully through the ridges of the High Weald, perhaps reminiscent of the hills in Woosie's native Shropshire.

The Ian Woosnam course is the superior of two courses attached to the Dale Hill Hotel – a modern and functional four-star complex – the second course is called Dale Hill Old. Leaderboard Golf Limited own Dale Hill and they also have The Oxfordshire Golf Club near Thame and Sandford Springs Golf Club in Hampshire in their portfolio.

Dale Hill is set between the chalk escarpments of the North and South Downs and is unfortunately laid out on predominantly clay-based soil.

According to Woosnam, “the course has been designed to have the perfect balance – tough enough for the pros and easy enough for the amateurs – and can be enjoyed by all”.