Leighton Buzzard - Bedfordshire - England

Located on the northern outskirts of Leighton Buzzard, close to Rushmere Country Park and the village of Heath and Reach, Leighton Buzzard Golf Club started out with a 9-hole course in 1925 and its original clubhouse still operates as a swing analysis and club fitting studio.

The course has since evolved into an 18-hole layout within a 105-acre estate, where tree-lined fairways wind through a pleasantly undulating landscape, playing to relatively small putting surfaces that are often subtly-contoured and well-guarded by greenside bunkers.

Highlight holes include the uphill par five 5th, where only the longest of hitters will be able to see the green after playing their tee shot. The other par five on the front nine at the 7th hole is a little shorter, but it doglegs quite a bit to the left and is no easy birdie opportunity.

On the back nine, the 11th, 17th and 18th are routed through a lovely forested part of the property and the first of these three holes is considered the “signature hole” on the card, dropping fifty-five feet through the tall conifer trees to a long, sand-protected green.

It's not known who designed the original course or who extended the layout from nine to eighteen holes, but for four years, from the age of nineteen, Ian Poulter was the club’s Assistant Pro.