High Legh is a golf complex, with a 24 bay driving range, practice area, large shop and both a 9 and 18 hole golf course. It’s located 4 miles outside of Knutsford and 14 south of Manchester, and was opened in 1998 having been designed by Manchester-born former Ryder Cup captain Mark James. The Championship course is around 5,500 yards and a par 70 of the yellows, and on the afternoon we visited, the weather forecast looked good.
It was also, wrong. Wetter than an otter’s pocket comes to mind. Biblical rain, at the end of a wet week, hardly made for ideal circumstances, or show the course at it’s best. But credit to the greens team, it was in remarkably good condition considering. It’s a parkland course, fairly typical of those on the Cheshire Plains, being very flat, with tree-lined fairways and – in this case – a succession of marshy ponds.
These are the primary hazard at High Legh, and claimed all of our premium balls, before we were forced to delve to the bottom of the bag for those found Top Flites and Slazengers… which of course were then naturally, unlosable! But for what the ponds take in terms of our favourite balls, they give through the added feature of wildlife, with coots – and their chicks, if you’re lucky – a sweet addition. There’s ducks aplenty too, though but it was so soggy on our visit that even they seemed a bit fed up.
But it’s not Wet Wet Wet that we find ourselves singing in our drenched delirium, but Britney Spears, as we plead for the course to ‘give me a sign!’ As first timers, and with no course maps on the scorecard or online, a few ‘next tee’ signs would have been welcome for some of the more convoluted routes, as we trudge aimlessly looking for clues on on two or three occasions (top tip: take a photo of the course map at the 1st tee).
As the groups around us abandoned their rounds and pass by muttering what we’ll presume was admiration… but may well have been pity, we soldiered on, determined to see all 18 holes so we can provide a fair assessment. Thankfully, our fortitude was eventually rewarded, with the closing holes being played out under a blue sky.
The Academy course is a pleasant 9-holer, somewhat living in the shadow of it’s big brother, and often remarkably empty as a result. This makes it ideal for beginners who don’t want the pressure or being sandwiched between better groups, or a solo practice round. It’s layout means playing short par 3’s in front in front of the clubhouse for the first and last, and venturing across the road for the middle seven.
Hole number 7 is the biggest challenge; a sharp dogleg over water than punishes anything other than an accurate layup and approach, and many a ball has been lost either to the water or woodland that fills the area behind the dogleg’s ‘knee’. It’s a course we’ve played plenty, and you never quite know what you might encounter… be it frequent dog walkers, a gaggle of models on a clothing shoot, or having your final putt cheered by a gallery of 60 local primary school children!
Key Info
Holes: Championship: 18. Academy: 9
Par: Men: 70. Women: 72. Academy: 33
Yards: White: 5,785. Yellow: 5,557. Red: 5,321. Academy (Black tees): 2,274
Slope: White: 132. Yellow: 121. Red: 130.
Visitor Green Fees: £18-30 / £10-12.50 for Academy
Website: http://www.highleghpark.com
Location
Prices correct at time of writing (September 2023).
Find out where this course ranks in the list of toughest courses in Cheshire here, and see our overview of Golfing in Cheshire here.
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