Ingestre Park Golf Club

Having Played this club for the first time on the 7/10/06. I can only say it it was all I had been told about it and more. the course and greens were a credit to the Greens staff and the members were friendly and helpful. I would recomend this course.

For anyone deciding on a day’s golf in September it is really a matter of taking potluck with the weather: it’s generally either raining, blowing a gale or, as we had, a gloriously sunny day with blue skies. Having missed the previous three Society days I was really looking forward to getting in harness again, and on a course I had previously heard only good reports of. Ingestre Park Golf Club is nestled in the rural Staffordshire countryside, some 7 miles north west of Rugeley, and is set in the former grounds of Ingestre Hall. The hall, a magnificent Jacobean structure, was built in 1613 and was the former home of the Earl of Shrewsbury. Now owned by Staffordshire County Council, it is currently Sandwell Local Education Authority’s Residential Arts Centre. The house can be seen clearly from the 3rd fairway, and your golf is accompanied by the “music” emanating loudly from within! The course itself is of 6352yds (white tees) and Par 70. All holes are named, (The Hall, Chase View, Shugborough, etc) lending a charm to the proceedings, and features 4 par 3’s. The 6th (The Haywoods) is 169yds(Yellow tees), with the green well below the teeing area. The green slopes steeply upwards from the front leaving a tricky downhill putt if you over club. The 13th (Churchfield) is “only” 142yds (Yellow tees) yet plays much longer as this time the landing area is well above the tee, and the green is a 2-tiered affair. With the pin on the upper (back) tier this leads to difficult selection of what club to use. (On our day this was one of the nearest the pin holes. Nobody got to within about 12 feet!) Stroke Index 1 is the 459yd (Yellow tees) par 4 7th (Wren’s Church). All fairways are bounded by multitudes of mature trees (of great variety) and this hole is no exception. Any errant drives to the left will be collected by the foliage, and even though it is a fairly wide fairway, slices and pushed shots will be collected on the right. Your 2nd shot begins the climb to a blind green, your only indication of where it is being a marker post set at the top of the hill. A tough hole indeed. Big hitters will enjoy the par 5’s: at 528yds (Yellow tees), the 9th (Chetwynd) and the 18th (Kingston Hill, 506yds off Yellow tees) both are just reachable in two shots. The greens throughout can be very tricky, with slopes leading to subtle borrows and a couple of greens given the upturned saucer treatment, testing your putting skills on every hole. Green-keeping staff were much in evidence during our visit, and preparation for next season is obviously underway: many of the greens had been hollow-tined (yet on only 3 or 4 did it affect the roll of the ball) and one fairway (12th?) had been sand-seeded to improve drainage. With many Rabbits and Squirrels scampering about, an already pretty course was made very easy on the eye, and left an impression on your correspondent of what lucky people the members of this club must be – to play such a lovely course as this is, and on a regular basis, must be a real joy! Date of visit: September 2003 Report supplied by Graham Adams on behalf of the Barton under Needwood Golf Society

A FINE PARKLAND COURSE SET IN PLEASANT SURROUNDINGS. I RECEIVED A VERY WARM WELCOME FROM THE YOUNG GUY IN THE PRO SHOP, WHO KINDLY GAVE ME A REDUCTION IN THE GREEN FEE AS EXTENSIVE WORK WAS BEING DONE ON THE 11TH & 12TH HOLES. THE COURSE DOES NOT REALLY HAVE ANY MEMORABLE HOLES ALTHOUGH THE DOWNHILL PAR 5 18TH IS A STRONG FINISHING HOLE AND COULD BE REACHED IN TWO. THE 1ST IS A SHORT PAR 4 & I'D ADVISE PLAYING A 3-WOOD OR LONG IRON FROM THE TEE AS THERE IS A LARGE POOL AT DRIVER LENGTH. SEVERAL GREENS HAVE STEEP FALL OFF AREAS TO THE BACK AND SIDES OF THE GREEN WHICH WILL REALLY TEST YOUR SHORT GAME. THE 7TH IS A BRUTALLY LONG PAR 4 WHICH WHEN I PLAYED WAS INTO A VERY STIFF BREEZE AND MADE REACHING IN TWO VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE. THE 8TH IS A SHORT DOWNHILL PAR 4 AND COULD EASILY BE REACHED FROM THE TEE IN FAST RUNNING CONDITIONS. BEWARE, THE UPHILL PAR 3 13TH PLAYS A LOT LONGER THAN THE YARDAGE SUGGESTS AND HAS A TWO-TIER GREEN. DESPITE RECENT HEAVY RAIN THE COURSE WAS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND THE GREENS WERE GOOD AND PUTTED TRUE. IT IS A CHALLENGING COURSE THAT I WOULD CERTAINLY PLAY AGAIN.

I have played this course 3 times with my father who is a member, In my opinion it's one of the best in the area, all the holes are interesting and a "fair" challenge. The views are some of the best in Staffordshire, this makes the course even more of a pleasure. If you get chance to play any course in the Midlands, give this one a chance it is a true "English" course unlike certain Ryder Cup venues that should be avoided. Definitely one you will want to return to.