Shipley - Yorkshire - England

This course is set amidst a wonderful wooded valley on the outskirts of Bingley, the course is the creation of the renowned Dr Alister Mackenzie. It stretches across the rolling valley floor of Beckfoot.

Unusually for a course of this standard there are six Par 3 holes one of which, the 7th, is the Course's signature hole. A testing downhill, mid to long iron shot with the babbling Harden Beck both to the left and rear of the small green ready to swallow up the errant shot. Seven tough Par 4's and 5 medium Par 5's make up the rest of the challenge with mature trees lining the fairways, and several ditches and ponds.

The course opens with the first of five par 5s, four of which are on the front nine, and then a cracking par 4 to a beautifully-sited green in the picture above. You then encounter the first of six very varied, testing and enjoyable short holes

The 6th is a strong par 4 before you reach two fabulous par 3s, unusually back to back. The first of these, the 7th, is played down to a green flanked by Harden Beck, a tributary for the River Aire which runs all the way down the left and then round behind the green.

I know that a hole that crosses back over another one is not ideal, but the short 13th is a fine par 3 to a well-protected green

The last short hole is one of the prettiest, no great distance to an attractive, shady setting in the trees.

I played this in a Texas Scramble and had the most fantastic day. Highly recommend