Cleeve Hill Golf Course

Dit zijn toch de banen waarvoor gaat golfen in het VK. Parkland banen heb je overal bosbanen ook maar dit soort juweeltjes kom je alleen maar hier tegen. De schapen en geiten houden het gras kort. Er lopen diverse wandelroutes over de baan, mensen laten er hun hondje uit. Het uitzicht is fantastisch. Kortom deze baan moet je beleven. Ga voor een goede score elders golfen. Het clubhuis gesticht in 1901 is aan een flinke opknapbeurt toe. De sanitaire voorzieningen zijn ronduit ranzig.

Met enige verwachtingen naar Cleeve Hill getrokken, maar niet helemaal waar gemaakt. Ik apprecieer de low profile, hippe flow. De baan layout is tof, vergevingsgezind van de tee,... Prachtige uitzichten,... Maar onderhoud is er volgens mij niet... De tee boxen kan ik nog mee leven, de schapen zullen een mindere week hebben gehad 🫣de greens echter waren slecht. Onderhoud in Kington was beter Layout holes Cleeve Hill dan weer leuker

Cleeve Hill evokes thoughts of the rawest of the UK’s acclaimed layouts—think a mix of Kington, Brora and Royal North Devon. Yet those echoes are only fleeting because Cleeve Hill is unique. Much of its character stems from its pedigree; originally laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1891, it possesses a rugged, "mountain-links" soul. What makes it different? Its history, the quality of its holes, the turf shared with non-golfers and sheep, and the views… boy, those views. Standing at the summit of the Cotswold Edge—the highest point in Gloucestershire at over 1,000 feet—the panorama is breathtaking. Beyond Cheltenham Racecourse (home of the fabled Gold Cup) and Tewkesbury Abbey, you can just about see the Severn Bridge to Wales. We were incredibly lucky; this was the clearest winter day in weeks, meaning we avoided the infamous "Cleeve Cloud" mist that often swallows the hill. Instead, every hole was set against a backdrop akin to a painting. To be kind, the clubhouse is rustic. The great news, however, is that planning permission for a completely new building and car park has been approved, with work due to begin this summer. Most of the greens here are small compared to championship courses and feature startlingly steep run-offs—none more so than on the short par-four second. Each of our four-ball had pitches into the green after negotiating a blind tee shot. However, only Mrs W walked away with two Stableford points; the rest of us floundered around a green that runs steeply from back to front. I gasped when I stood on the sixth tee. This short par-three plays over the remnants of limestone excavations to a green perched on a plateau. To the right lies a deep quarry—the equivalent of the deepest bunker I have ever seen. Apparently, there is no free drop if your ball is impeded by the Cotswold stone at the bottom. At this point, it is worth remembering that there is no irrigation at Cleeve Hill, and sheep handle most of the greenkeeping. Meanwhile, the old quarries and gorse provide habitats for myriad plants and wildlife. We had also heard much about the par-five 13th but wondered what the fuss was about as we hit our drives over the marker post into a wide fairway. Then came the reveal. It was staggering. The green sits on the site of an Iron Age hill fort and is surrounded by its original moat. Directly behind are incredible views of Cheltenham. We were glad we hadn’t realised how deep the gorge was in front of the 15th until after our balls had sailed onto the green, unhindered by negative thoughts. Cleeve Hill s one of the most invigorating rounds in the country. The walk across the hills and hollows certainly made our legs ache, but we smiled throughout.

Het is lastig deze baan te beoordelen. Het is allemaal gebaseerd op historie en verwacht geen strakke golfbaan en resort. Het is bedoeld om golf te spelen zoals het ooit bedoeld was en dan nog eens met prachtige vergezichten erbij. Je speelt tussen de schapen door. De tees zijn gemarkeerd maar soms moet je wel even zoeken. De markering is beperkt omdat het beschermd gebied is. De fairways zijn netjes gemaaid door de schapen en heel breed. De greens zijn klein en hard. Het gaat om je approach-shot. Wij vonden het een hele mooie ervaring. Wat een prachtige baan! De hond mocht( uiteraard) aangelijnd mee. Ik raad het iedereen aan om hier te spelen en ook nog eens niet duur. Het clubhuis was netjes met een aardige lunchkaart. Bij terugkomst was het helaas al wel dicht.

Cleeve Hill Our golf tour was built around Cleeve Hill, and it didn’t let us down. It’s a wonderful place, and quite unlike any other course I’ve played. It did remind me, because of the wild undulations, of Mullion Links down in Cornwall. But it has a very unique character. With roaming sheep and ramblers, stunning views of the Cotswolds and an atmosphere all of its own. And whilst I really enjoyed this wild joyride of a golf course: hitting over crags and quarries, off of tee boxes perched on outcroppings - I did find it a bit of a slog. Also, some of the greens were a bit rough, although not poor. My sand wedge is also grateful not to have been in use, as the bunkers don’t just feature sand, but also sand stone shards. We played a 2v2 Greensomes match and the challenging nature of the course, combined with the prevalence of blind tee shots on the front nine, made the match a bit testy at times. But that’s more on us than the golf course, obviously. What was quite clear though, is that if you hit a long ball, there are scoring opportunities. So, I can recommend it mainly for handicaps of 18 or better. For me the standout holes were the long (but very downhill) par 3 10th. There, I hit my usual 160 yard club all the way to 205 yards. Which is nice. The 13th is a sharply undulating par 4, where the tee shot takes you over a high brow, and it’s all downhill from there. The green complex is in a gap between two rings of an iron age fort wall, up against the very edge of the plateau. A really hard green to hold from 140 yards out, hard downhill! Finally the 18th is straight out of someones surrealistic golf course design manual: a rollicking downhill par 4, where you tee of from one of several outcroppings. A great finishing hole - that we all made a right mess of, due to our match having ended on teh 17th green. All in all we did really have a great time there, and all hope to revisit. I am slightly worried as to the new owners plans with the place. They intend to knock down the clubhouse to replace it with a new building that will also serve the many ramblers. But it is hard to fathom how it could work financially unless they raise the green fees a bit - which I am obviously not advocating for - nudge, nudge, wink, wink. In closing: I recommend Cleeve Hill to anyone with strong legs and healthy heart and ideally a handicap of 18 or better. It’s wild, and it’s out there. You may be frustrated, but you won’t be bored.