The following edited extract is taken from John F. Moreton and Iain Cumming’s book James Braid and his Four Hundred Golf Courses:
“The 6th Earl of Fitzwilliam was a keen golfer and had a private course in his back garden at Milton Hall. A far-sighted man, the earl recognized that Peterborough was a town ripe for development. Rather than permit his land to be purchased for housing or industry, he invited two local 9-hole clubs [Peterborough and Milton Park] to amalgamate and play on a new 18-hole course to replace his own 9-hole layout.
James Braid was invited to design the course, visited in 1934 and the new course opened in 1937, following several visits by [contractor] John Stutt. It appears Braid dealt with the earl and Stutt with the newly formed committee. Braid played in the opening day exhibition match on 20th May 1937.
It is a parkland course which suffered severely from Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s and a tree planting programme was set into operation to repair the damage. Each hole is much as Braid intended it, but the order of play has been changed. This has resulted in a challenging finish, as Braid would have desired.
Peterborough Milton, although very flat, has extremely subtly contoured greens which are consistently fast throughout the year. The 10th has a two-tier green to add to the problems set by the drive and the long second, made more problematical by the deep swale at the start of the fringe. This hole so impressed Sir Henry Cotton that it became known as Cotton’s Fancy.
Braid’s bunkering was also craftily conceived on the flattest holes. The par threes offer great variety, the 16th at only 118 yards being especially hazardous when the hole is tucked behind the huge, long bunker at the front left of the deep, hourglass-shaped green.
Thanks to the placing of new trees and Braid’s use of those existing, Peterborough Milton offers an enjoyable and rewarding round to the player capable of accurate judgment of distance and a feel for fast greens.”
Peterborough Milton Golf Club is affiliated to the Northamptonshire Golf Union despite its location in Cambridgeshire, so that’s why the course is assigned a position in our Northamptonshire Best in County rankings.
