Goodwood is a spectacular Estate in the heart of West Sussex and is home to the world famous Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival and the annual ‘Glorious Goodwood’ horseracing meeting.

Amongst many other things this idiosyncratic venue also boasts two distinct golf courses; the Downs and the Park.

The much praised Members' Downs Course plays up towards the racecourse, initially through dramatic valleyed fairways before climbing even higher where the remainder of the course is mostly perched on the South Downs giving golfers incredible views over Chichester in the near distance and the Isle of Wight and sparkling Solent beyond.

Although one of the oldest golf courses in Sussex, designed in 1914 by the legendary James Braid, it has a rather modern feel to it. This is presumably the result of recent renovations that have retained the essential character of Braid’s concept whilst providing a challenge for the present day game.

It’s a big course for sure; demanding yet fair with almost a pro-tournament feel to it. We played it off the ‘Silver’ 7,102 tips and after a spell of heavy rain the going was good-to-soft, heavy in places. I’m led to believe that this downland course usually consists of fast-running fairways but on our visit it played every pace of its seven kilometre layout with very little run on the ball. That said, the course stood up remarkably well to the biblical rain that had drenched the course only a couple of hours before we teed off and I suspect the following day it would have played much firmer when other venues would still be closed.

The Downs is also a tough hike with several lengthy walks from green to tee so be prepared for this if carrying otherwise I would strongly suggest taking one of the funky custom-made ‘Woody’ buggies, based on the 1934 designed Brakenvan. The walk from the first green to the second tee is longer than the 202-yard par-three opener itself and this is probably the same for getting to the seventh tee following the 329-yard sixth! Making your way to the next tee on some of the early holes involves big climbs up the hillside too although the fantastic elevated drives that you play are definitely worth it; just make sure you get your breath back first.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.