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Hertfordshire Golf - A Selection of Great Golf Courses in Hertfordshire

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With over two thirds of the county recognised as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it's no wonder that over 60 golf courses in Hertfordshire have been created. Luscious fields, vast woodland, heathland and plenty of natural hazards make this region perfect for golf, which is why there are some special golf courses that truly stand out from the crowd.

Hertfordshire Golf - Brocket Hall Golf Club

Brocket Hall Golf Club is a stylish and classy place to play golf and has not one, but two outstanding championship quality courses, named after the prime ministers who used to reside there.

The par 72, Melbourne Course was designed by the famous voice of golf, Peter Alliss, together with Clive Clark, and follows the natural undulations and contours of the 18th Century parkland. The River Lea runs through this course providing many glorious scenes but also presenting a daunting hazard along the way.

There are not many closing holes finer in golf than the 18th at Melbourne. A tee shot which gives a golfer two options, over the brow or down the left, leaves a decision to lay up or go for the hole. Either way, the culmination of the round involves crossing the Broadwater of the Lea by a ferry, presenting a stunning view.

The par 73 Palmerston course was designed by Donald Steel and measures over 7,000 yards from the Championship tees making it a real challenge. Pine, Hornbeam and Beech trees as well as 300 year oak trees create some of the most spectacular but difficult hazards you may encounter on a golf course.

If you are fortunate enough to avoid the tree hazards, Steel included a number of well positioned bunkers across the fairways and greenside to punish the less accurate golfer.

One additional thing to mention about this superb venue is its fantastic facilities including the Faldo Golf Institute. This state-of-the-art golf instruction centre includes an indoor teaching school, a long game zone, a short game zone, a chipping and bunker zone, a putting zone and a par three, six-hole approach zone.

Hertfordshire Golf - The Grove Golf Course

Designed by Kyle Phillips, the former home of the Earl of Clarendon, The Grove Golf Course, offers an outstanding 18 hole championship golf course located in 300 acres of mature parkland.

For a course that has had the prestige of hosting the 2006 World Golf Championships, it comes as a surprise that this is not a members club and is in fact open to any golfer who wants to play. This is reflected by four sets of expansive tees and fully integrated cart paths which are set into the landscape, enabling visitors to select the length of the course to suit their ability.

Phillips' course design combines the strategy of the modern game with the great traditions of British golf course architecture. With a tree lined landscape, thick grassed fairways and undulating greens which make approach shot accuracy key, this course is a challenge to all levels of golfer.

"What I am doing now is looking back at the architecture and landforms of the classic British course and recognising that we haven't been moving forward in the past decades," said Phillips. "My goal is to create equally great new courses that appear as if they have existed naturally for many years, where artificial landforms are indistinguishable from natural ones."

Hertfordshire Golf - Hanbury Manor Golf & Country Club

First designed by Harry Vardon in the early 1900s, Hanbury Manor Golf and Country Club was originally developed as a nine hole course. Jack Nicklaus II completely revised the course in the 1990s, extending it to 18 holes using an undulating piece of farmland behind the manor house. The new 18 hole PGA course has been home to many PGA tour tournaments including Women's European Open in 1996 and the Men's European Tour's English Open from 1997 to 1999.

The course has a distinctly modern American style, especially on the newer front nine built on an undulating landscape. With numerous lakes, double fairways, elevated greens and thick oak trees scattered around, this is without doubt a challenging course and scoring well is dependent on accuracy and control.

Without doubt, the 8th hole is one of the most difficult par 4s found on any golf course. Distance from the tee will be substantially rewarded, while missing this wider than average fairway will be punished with a difficult lie and uneven stance. Water guards the left and a hollow guards the right of a treacherous green.

Hertfordshire Golf - Ashridge Golf Club

Founded in 1932, Ashridge Golf Club was designed by architects were C K Hutchison, Sir Guy Campbell and N V Hotchkin, with Tom Simpson making some changes in 1939. Set amongst thousands of acres of National Trust-owned woodland, this is one of the most stunning golf courses in the county.

Success on this course depends on accuracy off the tee. The par 3s are particularly challenging, with strategically placed bunkers making life difficult for even the lowest of handicappers. Although flat in appearance, subtle borrows make the greens deceiving so reading the contours perfectly is not an easy task.

Golf writer Bernard Darwin described the course brilliantly: 'The romantic and traditional names have not been lost. Witchcraft Bottom and Nob's Crook, Thunderdell - a wood of splendid beeches where blasted trunks bear witness to its evil reputation; Princes Riding - a long avenue with a stately monument at the end of it; were there ever more thrilling names? Today they have been transferred to appropriate holes upon the course, and the holes are worthy of the names.'

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