The Autumn Wind
Assistant Pro
Yesterday I visited Northamptonshire County GC for the first time with 2 friends from LBGC.
This is a wonderful traditional club with a fantastic Harry Colt course through mature heathland and parkland. The main entrance and the car park are very low key and don't really make much of a first impression, but as soon as you set eyes on the course itself you know you are at a seriously good course. Looking down the 1st and 18th holes from the clubhouse you see heathland golf at its best with tall pines, gorse and heather framing the fairways.
We had County Cards so the green fee was reduced from £70 to £42. The men's locker room was as you would expect at a top course - acres of wood panelling, spotlessly clean, courtesy towels etc.
Standing at the first tee, we watched a fourball of senior members tee off. We then experienced a complete first for all of us : the 4 members then invited us to tee off and go ahead of them as they said we would be quicker. Myself and my 2 friends were stunned - we all agreed the seniors at our club would never make such a nice gesture to 3 green fee paying visitors.
So so we all teed off, hit 3 nice drives down the middle of the long straight par 4 hole, I then managed to hit my iron approach to 12 feet and made the birdie putt, and we were off and running ! True to their word, the four seniors behind us played at their own sedate pace so it felt like we had the course to ourselves.
I won't go into full detail of all the holes, because there were so many standouts. The opening 5 holes are all fantastic, and you stand on manicured tees, hitting between or over gorse bushes to greens surrounded by towering pine trees. The fairways were cut tight, the bunkers were immaculate with imposing revetted faces, and the greens were large and ran true.
The 6th hole was the only weak hole on the course for me. The longest of the par 3's at around 200 yards but it didn't provide the same wow factor when standing on the tee or the green. But then the 7th hole is another gem, followed by a classic risk/reward short par 4 8th, and a strong par 4 9th hole.
The front 9 ends a long way from the clubhouse, almost at the farthest end of the course. Walking from the 9th green you have a bit of a walk to the 10th tee crossing under a railway bridge, and we chatted about how much we were all enjoying the course and what a good front 9 it was. You then reach the 10th tee and the course gets even better. Holes 10 to 14 on this side of the railway line are as beautiful and enjoyable as any stretch of 5 holes I've played this year.
Holes 15 to 18 return you back to the clubhouse. The 16th is a fantastic long par 4 to the most undulating green on the course, once again set in front of a backdrop of tall pine trees. The 18th is a great par 5 finish, with a slight dogleg to the right. It's a tight drive between mature woodland on the left and gorse/bunkers on the right. As you turn the corner of the dogleg about 230 yards from the green, the clubhouse looms into view. As much as the course is a classic design which feels very natural, so too is the clubhouse. It's low level with dark stone walls and just looks so natural in this setting.
The post-round food and drinks were good. The scores were totted up. I had played really well and carded a gross 75 for 39 points, and my playing partners had 36 and 31 points playing off 16 and 13. So the course is very playable and fair.
We all agreed it was a great course, deserving of its current place just inside the Top 100 courses in England (ranked around 90th). If it wasn't hidden away in Northants and was located in Surrey or Berkshire, we all feel it would be ranked even higher. You surely can't play many better courses for £42. We'll definitely be going back next Summer.
This is a wonderful traditional club with a fantastic Harry Colt course through mature heathland and parkland. The main entrance and the car park are very low key and don't really make much of a first impression, but as soon as you set eyes on the course itself you know you are at a seriously good course. Looking down the 1st and 18th holes from the clubhouse you see heathland golf at its best with tall pines, gorse and heather framing the fairways.
We had County Cards so the green fee was reduced from £70 to £42. The men's locker room was as you would expect at a top course - acres of wood panelling, spotlessly clean, courtesy towels etc.
Standing at the first tee, we watched a fourball of senior members tee off. We then experienced a complete first for all of us : the 4 members then invited us to tee off and go ahead of them as they said we would be quicker. Myself and my 2 friends were stunned - we all agreed the seniors at our club would never make such a nice gesture to 3 green fee paying visitors.
So so we all teed off, hit 3 nice drives down the middle of the long straight par 4 hole, I then managed to hit my iron approach to 12 feet and made the birdie putt, and we were off and running ! True to their word, the four seniors behind us played at their own sedate pace so it felt like we had the course to ourselves.
I won't go into full detail of all the holes, because there were so many standouts. The opening 5 holes are all fantastic, and you stand on manicured tees, hitting between or over gorse bushes to greens surrounded by towering pine trees. The fairways were cut tight, the bunkers were immaculate with imposing revetted faces, and the greens were large and ran true.
The 6th hole was the only weak hole on the course for me. The longest of the par 3's at around 200 yards but it didn't provide the same wow factor when standing on the tee or the green. But then the 7th hole is another gem, followed by a classic risk/reward short par 4 8th, and a strong par 4 9th hole.
The front 9 ends a long way from the clubhouse, almost at the farthest end of the course. Walking from the 9th green you have a bit of a walk to the 10th tee crossing under a railway bridge, and we chatted about how much we were all enjoying the course and what a good front 9 it was. You then reach the 10th tee and the course gets even better. Holes 10 to 14 on this side of the railway line are as beautiful and enjoyable as any stretch of 5 holes I've played this year.
Holes 15 to 18 return you back to the clubhouse. The 16th is a fantastic long par 4 to the most undulating green on the course, once again set in front of a backdrop of tall pine trees. The 18th is a great par 5 finish, with a slight dogleg to the right. It's a tight drive between mature woodland on the left and gorse/bunkers on the right. As you turn the corner of the dogleg about 230 yards from the green, the clubhouse looms into view. As much as the course is a classic design which feels very natural, so too is the clubhouse. It's low level with dark stone walls and just looks so natural in this setting.
The post-round food and drinks were good. The scores were totted up. I had played really well and carded a gross 75 for 39 points, and my playing partners had 36 and 31 points playing off 16 and 13. So the course is very playable and fair.
We all agreed it was a great course, deserving of its current place just inside the Top 100 courses in England (ranked around 90th). If it wasn't hidden away in Northants and was located in Surrey or Berkshire, we all feel it would be ranked even higher. You surely can't play many better courses for £42. We'll definitely be going back next Summer.
