Lilley Brook

Cheltenham Golf Club moved to the south of the town in 1921. leasing land to build the construction of a new golf course that is laid out by Alister MacKenzie for the newly-named Lilley Brook Golf Club. In 1964, more land was purchased, which enabled the Club to redesign the layout, while retaining 11 of the original holes.

The course today is an area of about 80 acres. It measures 6,212 yards total and playing to the par that's 69 (35 out, 34 into). There's only one hole on the scorecard, a par five at 512 yards on the eighth ("Oak") which is where the right-hand fairway gets progressively narrower as it approaches the green.

Other holes that are worth a look include the left-veering 5th ("Plane") it is considered a tough hole for par 4 (rated stroke index 1.) which is the most short of the four par threes at the 11th which is 142 yards ("Willow")"Willow" the hole that is a par four ("Silver Birch") that is a sharp bend straight from the tee until the green at home.

In the latter half of 2023, The Lilley Brook secretary was very kind and gave us additional details regarding the course:

"The club purchased a piece of land that was to the right of the old 3rd in latter half of the 1960s, from the original quarry (the land was part of the railway line that carried limestone from Leckhampton Hill quarries into town and on to the former St James train yard in the middle of Cheltenham) This was done to safeguard Cheltenham's Golf Club as the land was described to be designated as "White Belt" with potential construction works being allowed. In the early days, it was a three-hole course in the southernmost point of the course. I'm guessing that since the land is located located on the Cotswold Escarpment and very steep the club saw the chance to relocate some holes onto the newly constructed land block along the old 3rd, and modify a few holes so as to "flatten" it to flatten it out. This is the area where one of three holes located on the southernmost part of the course was taken out. The "new holes" and modifications were conceived by C.K. Cotton.

In the late 1990s in the 1990s, the majority of the land that was left undeveloped in the southern portion of the course was designated as an Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of the limestone grasses that are rare and orchids that flourish there, and we are unable to utilize this area anymore. There is also land at the center of the golf course, and it is known as Organ's Field that the club acquired in the 1970s, and later turned into a field for practice. We've recently completed the ground's reconstruction on this field. We have recently opened the driving range. We are also working on an academy course in this area in the near future.

I'm able to confirm that the 11 holes are exactly as the good Doctor laid the holes out (albeit in an alternate order) The holes are 1-3 9-11, 13-15, 17 and 18. Five more from the greens originally utilized, but with a different layout of holes (at the 5th 7th, 8th the 16th)."