We don’t often plan a fun day in Crewe, and visits are usually reserved purely to avail of the excellent rail links to London. But having been impressed by previous golfing adventures around the town, both at resort complex Wychwood Park, and accessible 9 holer Queen’s Park, we’re not averse to another trip to the home of Bentley Motors. We’d have checked out Crewe GC years earlier, but being somewhat tucked away down a long narrow track to the east of the town, and seemingly shunning a listing on GolfNow, it seems its public profile is handled on a need-to-know basis.
But having finally got wind of the course’s charms, we celebrate the end of the dark days of winter with a sunny spring excursion to CW1. The club was founded in 1911, initially as a 9 hole setup, thanks to the 53 men and 16 women who made up the founding members. In 1949, the course was extended to 18 holes, and a junior section incepted soon after, which we hear is thriving to this day.
One of those founding men happened to be the Marquess of Crewe, who leased a pocket of the 50,000 acres he inherited to create the initial course, and who’s trophy is still contested annually, 110 years after its inception.
Passing up on what appear to be excellent practice facilities, and with only a brief nosey inside the spacious clubhouse, we tee off, and course architect and five time Open champion James Braid’s trademark style is soon apparent. There’s a very natural feel to the design, with what imagines are the natural contours of the land, utilised sympathetically to create a thinking golfer’s course. Tee shots often require accuracy, but errant ones are not harshly punished, with rough rarely what would be considered deep. There’s not many hazards to navigate, either, with little water, and mainly cunning bunker placements the greens’ primary defence.
Our pick of the front 9 has to be the 5th; a theoretically straightforward 142 yarder, but with a green perched atop a hill that spells big trouble for a tee shot that’s in any direction.
The back 9 is flatter, and home to the pretty ‘halfway’ house (main pic) at the 11th, but what it lacks in challenges through undulations, it makes up for in other ways. It’s the home of both of the course’s par 5s, and water becomes a much more prominent feature, with a meandering stream threatening to punish a right-handers slice on any of the first three (or more) shots on the 13th. The 15th also proves tricky to navigate successfully, with a greenside pond punishing any approach left short.
Despite being spread over a spacious-sounding 150 acres, 26% more than the average UK 18 hole course, several of the fairways cross over. This can be a little confusing for the uninitiated, and cause delays (and one would suspect, the odd incident), at busy times. In its winter setup, there’s even two holes that share the same temporary tee. Speaking of which, the precision and patience one requires to balance a golf ball on a long tee, in the Astroturf used at Crewe, for the requisite 5 or more seconds, feels like a test only Mr Miyagi would manage!
But minor niggles aside, our abiding memories will be of excellent greens, thoughtful design, and an oasis of golfing beauty. No wonder they don’t want to shout too loudly about it!
Key Info
Holes: 18
Par: White / Yellow: 71. Red: 73
Yards: White: 6,448. Yellow: 6,218. Red: 5,599
Slope: White: 130. Yellow: 127. Red: 130
Visitor Green Fees: £30-55 depending on time of week / year
Website: https://www.crewegolfclub.co.uk/
Location
Prices correct at time of writing (March 2025).
Find out where this course ranks on the list of toughest courses in Cheshire here, see all of the county’s courses plotted onto a Google Map here, and try our fun quiz to find your perfect course here!
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