Staverton Park

Situated halfway between Northampton and Royal Lemington Spa, the village of Staverton lies on the edge of an escarpment, with westward views across the River Leam valley into the neighbouring county of Warwickshire.

The Staverton Estate sits less than a mile to the northwest of the village, with its 18-hole golf course occupying 140 glorious parkland acres around De Vere’s recently refurbished retreat.

The course is a 1970s John Harris design so it’s one of the last projects undertaken by the respected architect before he passed away at the age of 65 in 1977.

Fairways are laid out on a rolling landscape and a number of the holes are routed around four small lakes. It’s a well-bunkered layout with plenty of fairway and greenside sand hazards to focus your attention both on the tee and around the greens.

The signature par five 11th is the hole that gets all the attention here, doglegging left to the green with a ditch slashing diagonally across the fairway 75 yards short of the green.