Wilmslow is one of the many fine wooded parkland courses to be found in the tranquil Cheshire countryside. It’s also one of the oldest, the club having been founded in 1889 and relocating to its present site in 1903.

Many notable players have walked its fairways over the years - including Jacklin, Gallagher, Langer, Woosnam, Torrance and Faldo - thanks largely to the staging of the Greater Manchester Open and the Martini International in the late 1970’s and early 80’s.

Fast forward to today and whilst the 6,600-yard, par 72 layout is no longer a tour test for the World’s best players in more recent times it has still been selected as a regional qualifying course for The Open and to this day is the venue for many county championships and inter-county matches. There are many subtleties to the course which has an understated persona.

Located a couple of miles away from the town centre, within 10-15 minutes of the motorway network and not much farther from Manchester Airport, the course was presented superbly on my most recent visit in the “summer” of 2016 for the Wilmslow Crow scratch tournament. Indeed it was testament to the greenkeepers that it was in such good condition especially considering the second half of this WAGR 72 hole event, due to be played at nearby Stockport the following day, was postponed due to recent rainfall. Here the fairways were generally firm and fast running so consider it a well-draining course.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.