Hidden away, down a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it driveway, sits the delightful Knutsford Golf Club. Nestled alongside the spectacular 50-acre National Trust site of Tatton Park, KGC enjoys the same beautiful and mature heathland / parkland landscape, with the very real prospect of having the neighbour’s majestic Red or Fallow deer for company, whilst tackling the first three holes. Indeed, the unusual wildlife isn’t exclusively viewed through fencing, with a variety of birds of prey often seen overhead, and even a muntjac once spotted.
There course is also the year-round home of a pair of Egyptian Geese – at time of writing together with a gaggle… or ‘wedge’ (another collective noun, amusingly) of tiny ‘ducklings’ (not ‘goslings’, we now learn). The club has a long and interesting history, established in 1891 as Lord Eldon’s private course, with only the town’s gentlemen permitted to play, with the family eventually selling the club to it’s members in 1962.
Thankfully, whilst the magnificent collection of trees have endured the duration, the archaic lack of diversity has not, and the club now boasts a flourishing ‘Get Into Golf’ programme, with a seemingly much healthier gender mix walking the oak panelled corridors of the beautiful clubhouse. The GIG gig has been taken on by the club pro’s wife, Suzy Maxwell, with husband Tim an accomplished and friendly figurehead, providing a superb source of both wisdom and equipment deals!
The course itself offers a good test for mid and high handicap golfers in particular, with visitors frequently commenting on the fine condition of the fairways and greens. This is no doubt somewhat on account of the restricted member numbers, and refusal to chase the quick buck from a GolfNow listing, as a result of being a not-for-profit enterprise, owned and run by it’s members.
The friendly greenstaff must also be commended, who work tirelessly on a seemingly never-ending enhancement programme, that’s seen significant improvements to drainage, greens quality, and bunkers. Rumour has it, that pre-pandemic, there were NO TEE TIMES. But, we don’t mean this in the way an ad hoc enquiry to Royal Birkdale might be greeted. That is, you didn’t need to book… you simply turned up, and if you had the misfortune to arrive just after another group, you had a cup of tea in the clubhouse, and teed off 20 minutes later!
Even now, it’s not uncommon – particularly in the winter and evenings, to be playing ‘millionaire’s golf’, with not another sole to be seen. All in all, whilst Knutsford may be overlooked by those who pooh pooh any 9 holers (or even 10, as Knutsford is, given the different routes to the conjoined green housing the 9th and 18th), that just allows the rest of us to enjoy this beautiful, spectacular and high-quality course all the more.
Key Info
Holes: 9 (11 tees, 10 holes with 9th and 18th on conjoined green)
Par: 35 / 70
Yards: White: 6,217. Yellow: 5,918. Red: 5,477
Slope: White: 131. Yellow: 124. Red: 128
Visitor Green Fees: £20 / £40 for 18 (summer rates)
Website: http://www.knutsfordgolf.com
Location
Prices correct at time of writing (May 2023).
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