Kedleston Park - Derbyshire - England

What makes a course worthy of a place in England’s top 100? Clearly links and heathland are considered to have the edge over parkland.

Some might also dare to say that being in a favoured location might help – the south-east and the north-west have a plethora of high-rated clubs and the south, south-west and East Anglia are highly represented.

By comparison, the Midlands has fewer representatives and Derbyshire doesn’t feature at all.

I would like to wave a flag for my adopted county, having always been impressed by Cavendish and being blown away today by the condition of Kedleston Park in gorgeous October sunshine.

After digesting salmon and scrambled eggs in a clubhouse where food never fails to impress, we headed for a course with the stunning backdrop of Kedleston Hall, the National Trust property the former ancestral home of the Curzon family.

The fun begins on the first a downhill par-five with trees, bunkers and a small brook which hints at the trickier water hazards to come.

Before the most picturesque holes, there are two long bending tree-lined par-fours which demand both accurate drives and approaches.

The fifth is one of my favourites – a par-five left dogleg with bunkers which entice drives, trees which lure second shots, before a deceptive approach to a green at the bottom of a dip.

This is the first time that the glorious Derbyshire scenery comes truly into its own.

The seventh is a picture par-three over a lake. It is only 150 yards and I struggle to explain why I have found the water as often as I have.

The eighth is a curiosity – a short par-four which has an almost 90-degree bend, tempting big hitters to cut a corner protected by trees. The over-ambitious may kick themselves for not treating it with respect.

The back nine opens with arguably Kedleston Park’s most attractive hole with a tee-shot down to a now-familiar dogleg and an approach to a target defended to the left by water, to the right by bunkers and to the rear by thick rough. I evaded all of the above and then three-putted!

Indeed, my clumsy play around the greens cost me again on the long par-three second and the par-four 12th which requires two lengthy hits before reaching a raised green.

The closing stretch will live long in the memory as my pals and I battled it out over the high-rollers’ five pound note.

The 17th is a par-five which can yield results if a drive reaches the top of the hill because it then filters down to an accessible green with bunkers either side. I hit a six-iron to ten feet but sadly missed my birdie.

Indeed, it looked as if the money was out of my grasp as we headed into the long par-four finish in front of the clubhouse. I set up to play this curving 420-yarder as a five but, thankfully, needed only three because I chipped in from 86 yards.

Sadly, I didn’t witness the glorious finale because the target was out of sight but watching my partner fish my ball from the hole and metaphorically wrap it with cash was satisfaction enough.

It was a great end to a day when we found Kedleston Park at its best.

Apparently, the arrival of a new head greenkeeper has pushed it up a notch. It already attracts Open qualifiers and, noting how well manicured the course is with lush fairways and true but intriguing green complexes, I wonder now about top 100 recognition.

In a list of type of courses to play, parkland courses would always be bottom of my list. There’s something about tree lined holes playing up and then down, often with views across several fairways that really don’t get my juices flowing. So the biggest draw to play Kedleston was simply that it was ranked 2nd in Derbyshire and I hadn’t played it before. Also, having played No1 and No3 in Derbyshire, I’d get a good sense on the accuracy of the rankings.

Kedleston Park did tick a lot of boxes; the tee boxes were immaculate, the fairways lush and green, often with a velvety feel to them, the wispy knee high grass which formed part of the rough and greens that offer variety in shape, contouring, conditioning, quick and true.

All good so far, and if you’re a fan of parkland courses then this course will rank higher than 4 balls even, but its the lack of real standout holes that hold this course back.

After a gentle opener, a par 5 494 yard in length, from an elevated tee near the clubhouse, the main protection being the bunkers at around 250 yards, there are 2 par 4’s, both over 400 yards, the 1st favouring a draw and the next a fade. This is common feature of the course with holes playing up and down against each other. This is a rather uninspiring part of the course, including the 4th, the par 3 at 161 yards, a rather straightforward tee shot to a receptive green that slopes back to front with only the bunkers front left and right providing any real protection. This par 3 is almost replicated at the 11th and 16th which is a great shame, as with only 4 par 3’s on the course, some variety to the challenge would have been welcome.

The 5th is a slightly longer par 5 playing down to the river and lovely views of Kedleston Hall. A tee shot to the right of the bunkers on the left hand side of the fairway leaves a 2nd shot which has to be accurate to navigate the tress on either side of the fairway.

The 5th starts a nice little section with a 436 yard par 4, followed by the best of the par 3’s, an all carry over water, 160 yards to a large receptive green. This is then followed by a short risk and reward par 4. Measured at 326 yards but less as the crow flies, this is driveable, but get it wrong, you could find your ball in the trees, the rough or the river! To finish the front 9, the 9th is a gentle right to left, to a raised green, protected by bunkers to the front left and right, making that 2nd shot in all the harder.

Then you cross back in front of the 1st tee to commence the back 9. And the best looking hole on the course in my view. A beautiful looking hole, played from an elevated tee, 240 yards to the corner then dog leg right and a short iron to the green, protected by a pond to the left and bunkers to the right. The green has undulations, like they all do, making your iron approach shot crucial and testing your green reading skills.

The section 10-15 moves into more mature trees, birch, oak, even pine and it therefore has more of a woodland feel to some of the holes. The grass was wispy surrounding the holes, the bunkers well designed and with the sun shining, this felt a very pleasant part of the course. The 12th is a strong hole, a 440 yard par 4 and whilst the fairway slopes downhill, the green is then raised with a false front so again all carry.

The 13th is a par 5, short at 484 yards, again with a gentle left to right followed by the 14th playing right to left. I really liked this short par 4, where a good drive over the edge of the left hand trees yielded a wedge into the green which was long and narrow and multi layered. The 15th standout feature is the green, wheel designed and contoured. The pin was placed in a hollow which did make the approach shot easier.

You then head back out into more parkland for the last 3 holes, the best of which is the par 5 17th, pleasant shaping and fairway bunkering although not challenging. The 18th almost replicates the 9th, sweeping right to left and to an uphill green, similar distance as well. That was a shame.

And I guess that what’s sums up Kedleston - too many holes which are similar to others on the course, with only a few standout holes. Don’t get me wrong, the conditioning and quality of presentation and care given to the course is excellent, so is the short game area and practice range, and the friendly welcome I received, plus the sale price merch I bought in the pro shop made this a lovely day out.

In terms of rankings for Derbyshire, I totally agree that it’s not at Cavendish level but it is a big step up from Chesterfield, so 2nd spot seem right.

In terms of rankings, English parkland courses will always be behind links and heathland categories, unfortunate but that is the way it is and most would agree with this. There are some exceptions to the rule; Woburn, Stoke Park, Moor Park and few others but it seems that however much the parkland style of course tries, many times it will come-up short of dining at the top table.

Kedleston Park is in that category:- the positives are that it is presented and conditioned well, it has a healthy membership, this year will host regional Open qualifying and the 10th hole is a beauty. This hole is from an elevated tee that turns right at around 240 yards to a green and setting that could be described as Augusta like. Other good things about Kedleston are the strength of the par-4’s with at six of them over 400 yards, so a great test.

My slight issue, after these positives are that some holes are a little dull; the par-3 161 yard 4th would be much improved with an elevated tee. The very next hole is a par-5 at 527 yards and very straight and the only protection seems to be two bunkers on the left at about 220 yards – to make this a stronger hole, the last 300 yards needs a re-think – I would suggest some fairway shaping and bunkers at the lay-up area would do wonders. The par-3 7th over water is a good and memorable hole but the par-3 11th for me is just to similar to the 3rd – it is about 20 yards longer and has a decent green but not a great looking hole, maybe an offset tee option? The run of holes from 12 to 15 are a little up and down and again, nothing to get juices flowing.

I was looking at a 3-ball ranking for Kedleston, which means average but I think I will just give the ‘good’ ranking here (4-ball) because of the positive points. I hope I have not put visitors off or upset any of the membership but after a good day at the club, I just wasn’t that excited about the course. I suppose your feelings of courses like Kedleston Park also have to be taken in context in terms of how many courses you have played and your own personal favourite style.

Derbyshire is not renowned for high quality golf and only a handful of courses could be described as worth going out of your way for, however KedlestonPark definitely falls into that category. The course flows through mature parkland offering a stiff test for players of all abilities whether from the yellow tees at 6440 yards or from the back tees which stretch the course out to a demanding 6900 yards. Fine views of Kedleston Hall form the backdrop on a number of holes which only adds to the relaxed feel of the location. There are plenty of well designed holes here and two of my favourites are both protected by water. A shot of about 150 yards is required on the pretty par-3 7th to clear the lake and on the downhill par-4 10th you will need both an accurate tee shot and approach to find the well protected green. The well conditioned fairways are in the main tree lined so straight hitting is necessary to score well. Good bunkering is prominent throughout and at the time of my visit many were being renovated and re-shaped. When the course work is completed Kedleston could well be a contender for the number 1 in county position. Brian W