I first joined Sherwood Forest in 1975 and I’ve loved the place ever since. Having left the area in 1999, I’ve been a country member (apart from a short gap) since then. I get back to play around 15 times per year.
The course is an original Harry Colt, with some later enhancements from James Braid and it is a classic Heathland design, with a rapid drying, sandy subsoil base.
Before you get out into the course, enjoy the newly added practice facilities - a really good range and an excellent short game area (which is still bedding in to be fair)…. these two areas, to the left of the car park, enhance the open practice area which is a short drive from the clubhouse to the side of the 16th - bring your own balls and ask in the pro shop for details.
The start of the course itself is pretty gentle, to be honest, with the first a straight up shortish par 4, which would no doubt relinquish more birdies if it came later in the round. It’s just the start you want but, like all holes at Sherwood, if you miss the fairway or the green you’ve got a real job on your hands to make par!
After that things rather step up with the 2nd and 3rd being great par 4’s demanding tee shots which are not only in the best part of the fairway but also the optimum length to allow pin point accuracy with your second shots…. both greens, like many at Sherwood, ask serious questions of your short game, especially if you’re “wrong side” of the pin on greens which will run at 12+ in the summer months!
The first par 3 then confronts you and like all the short holes at Sherwood, it’s a beauty - ranging from a 4 iron to an 8 iron, depending on the tee and the prevailing wind, the hole takes you back to the clubhouse for a handy little loop of 4 holes. When I was a kid, I used to love going up to the club to play 4 just before dinner on a nice summer’s evening.
The course then works it’s way out to the far boundary via holes 5 to the 12th tee and amongst those holes are more fantastic tests of every part of your game. Holes 6,7 and 9 are 3 of the best on the front 9; with 6 and 9 being strong +420 yard par 4’s demanding great tee shots and the 7th hole is one my favourite short holes in golf…. at just 125 yards it’s a classic test, surrounded by bunkers and a rapid 3 tier green. Superb hole! Just one note to the present management committee - the worst thing about this hole is the “new” tee added some 10 years ago, to the right of the original tee. It really does spoil this great little hole - please dig it up!
So, once you’ve negotiated your way to the turn - no worse than 1 over for me, or I’m getting nowhere near my handicap(!), then you turn for home ….. and what a test the back 9 is! It starts with a brutal par 3, which is touching 190 yards off the back tee, is nearly always into the wind and has a huge, rapid,3 tier green, which was once 6 putted by a 1 handicap golfer in the annual scratch trophy played at SFGC (The Forester)!
Holes 10-14 inclusive are then the stretch where you’re clinging onto your score; all are 420+ par 4’s, with only 11 downwind (if it’s the usual prevailing) and all requiring long tee shots, on the fairway, with accurate seconds into tricky greens.
After this monster stretch, you’ll be getting the respite (!) of the 15th, a great180 yard par 3 to yet another well bunkered green - this hole will always have a place in my heart as I holed my 5 iron on a barmy summer’s evening in 1993! The last of the excellent par 3’s is followed by probably the easiest hole on the course in 16, which gives you a chance of getting home in 2, if you get a good drive away down the left half of the fairway….. a much needed birdie chance after a stretch of holes to test the best of players!
The conclusion to your round is then another really tough 17th, followed by a slightly less challenging but visually superb 18th back to the clubhouse ….. by which time most people’s nerves are totally frayed.
In summary, Sherwood is, in my opinion a fantastic test of golf, which is now starting to get the recognition it deserves after hosting the Brabazon in 2020 and it’s well worth a visit…. dare I say it but everyone I take rates it as the best course in Nottinghamshire - no apologies to my friends at Holinwell, which is our more famous neighbour!
If you get the chance, go and play it and you’d do worse than a 3 day trip to SFGC, Holinwell and Coxmoor which would match many golfing places you’ll visit in England.
David Wheatley
Home Club; Luffenham Heath, Sherwood Forest Country member.

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