Hawkstone Park (Hawkstone) - Shropshire - England

Really enjoyed the Hawkstone course. In the Shropshire countryside, a nice clubhouse with balcony views over the course, a well organised team event and well presented golf course with good greens, all helped by a nice sunny October day …. what is there not to like ?. A well established mature parkland course but more than that because it makes full use of the natural ground and features and in places almost has a moorland type feel, for example the second green is set in a gulley with banks either side and this extends into a ravine short of the fourth green. It is an undulating course but the design is very clever as you never feel you are hitting uphill, and the many side slopes makes it an interesting driving course where placement is more important than length. The first hole is typical where you need an accurate drive between the fairway bunkers (making sure you don't go too far into trouble), then it is about club selection downhill to a visible flag and when on the green it is a case of judging the slope/line on a well paced green. Only three par 3's and three par 5's, and a great variety of par 4's with no two holes the same and many dog-legs. Not too many straight holes, although the par 4 7th (stroke index 1) is pretty straight but narrow with trees left and OB right. I thought all holes were good, but the par 5 8th was probably just my favourite; a dog-leg requiring an accurate tee shot (gorgeous views of the autumn tree colours on the hill beyond from the tee) although there is a risk (huge I think) and reward tee shot over the corner for bigger hitters, and then you approach a fairly narrow target with bunkers, trees and slopes to negotiate. Generally the course is in a delightful setting but an added feature as you wander around holes 10-13 are the Hawkstone follies which are fascinating to gaze at. Personally I would rate The Hawkstone course higher than Oswestry and at least on a par with Llanymynech, infact possibly higher because I felt there were a couple of weaker holes at Llanymynech. Well worth playing and wouldn't hesitate to play again

Hawkstone Park Golf Club is a venue that benefits greatly from having two 18-hole parkland golf courses. There is also a six-hole par three academy course on site making this one of the most popular venues in Shropshire. Both of the main courses offer something slightly different.

The older of the two layouts, the 'Hawkstone' is a peaceful, tree-lined course which after an 'up and down' start wanders around the historic Hawkstone Follies. And it is the holes just after the turn that come close to these fascinating cliffs, crags and caves that are also the best on the course.

The front nine will test virtually every part of your game with no easy holes with the seventh being the toughest. There are a few blind drives where placement is required rather than length, this is especially the case the first and eighth where the fairway falls away from you at around the 200-yard mark. The first half of the course closes with its best hole, the impressive downhill par three ninth with a tricky green, bunkers to avoid and out-of-bounds close to the putting surface.

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

A pretty course - the 10th is most striking with a view of the follies, but in general not that hard in terms of either length or strategy, especially 5, 6 &7 which seemed a bit bland. It's quite reasonable to stay over and play both this and the Championship course over two days, it was very busy on a sunny Friday in June, and given the traffic it sees, it seemed in reasonable condition.

We played the course last year in May, as with many of the hotel courses it could be amazing but isnt that well looked after, probably due to the numbers of golfers and poor greenkeeping/lack of investment. A good layout, with the holes around the follies especially due to the landscape. The visitors tees were in poor condition, the clubhouse was scruffy, and one of the early greens was really suffering. Worth a game on a sunny day, at the right price, if only for the views around the follies.

A really good place to have a late evening fun knock about. I play here roughly 2 or 3 times a year. There is a real mix of different holes where you do have to think. From fairway cross bunkers, to ravines, drivable Par 4's and an island-ish Par 3, there is everything. Plus a large section is played through the beautiful Hawkstone Follies. This is the better of the two courses, and is well worth playing if in the area.