Executive Golf Magazine

Woburn boasts three layouts that are in the country’s top 100.

It would be only right if, having hit two mighty shots to the top tier of the fourth green, you should pause to allow yourself a few moments to savour not only your achievement but also the splendour of what’s been left behind.

Uphill, dogleg left, and at a shade under 400 yards to a well-guarded target, the 4th hole on the Duke’s course is a classic par four test. The view from the putting surface with tall, elegant pines on either side of a narrow fairway is oh so classic Woburn. Milton Keynes may be just over the hill and the M1 within a few minutes’ drive, but, close your eyes, smell the rhododendron bushes and savour the moment, for life as a golfer rarely gets any better than this.

Winners over the Duke’s since it first became a venue on the professional tour in 1979 have included Lee Trevino, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Helen Alfredsson, Patty Sheehan, Liselotte Neumann and Karrie Webb. And it is through two decades of professional play - first, the Dunlop Masters, then the British Masters and, more recently, the Women’s British Open - that we’ve been informed of the delights of this marvellous tract of land which, it would be fair to say, is no where close to the game’s traditional heartlands.

Scorecards that 10 minutes earlier were marked with great diligence may, after having tackled the 7th, been buried deep in the bowels of your bag

But while it may be true that in the subjective business of course judgment you or I may be able to list 50 or more courses in the country that are at least as good as the Duke’s, no where are there three inland courses running side-by-side of such rare quality.
As if to illustrate that point, the Duke’s layout has in many people’s eyes been surpassed by the new Marquess course as the best at Woburn while there are those who have always ranked it as inferior to the Duchess anyway. One of the game’s most respected publications regularly lists all three in the nation’s top 100.

If there is to be a criticism of the Duke’s – and we might as well get it out of the way early – it is that we don’t quite get to play it like the pros once did.

It is a “televisual” trick. Trevino’s victory on the Duke’s was secured at the 1985 British Masters with a scorching 3-wood second shot to within three inches of the stick on the final green. Only it isn’t the final green; the magnificent 514-yard par five 18th - or at least that’s how we used to see it on the box – is actually the 1st.
The actual 18th is rather the short par four 17th which we used to see the pros regularly take on with a driver. To us more humble souls, though, it is a long iron or hybrid down to the elbow in the fairway and a wedge on.

But back to Trevino’s 18th – and our 1st – which sets us off on a spectacular outward half which has been talked of as the best in Britain. What will have certainly dawned on you by the time you’ve buried your tee peg at the 2nd hole is that the key to a successful day out at Woburn is a carefully considered and struck first blow. The fairways are frequently narrow, a fact only emphasised by the mature pines, silver birches and chestnut trees that, more often than not, line them on both sides.

If achieved at the 2nd all that will remain is a short and inviting approach to a green well below your feet. Meanwhile, beyond the target and above the level of the trees is a view of the Aylesbury Plain and a few distant houses. It’s just about the only glimpse you’ll get all day of life outside Woburn’s perimeter fence. How often can you truly say that on a golf course these days?

The reputation of the 3rd for its unpredictability – a 134-yard par three – was sealed with an appearance on BBC’s A Question of Sport and its What Happened Next? round. The action was frozen after the Australian pro Brett Ogle had hit his tee shot to within 18 inches. He went on to miss the birdie putt and hole out for par from 25 yards. Needless to say, the green has a wicked slope with the skill to managing it starting on the tee where the aim should be to not only find the green, which lies 100 feet or so below the tee, but, more significantly, leave yourself an uphill putt.

Not everyone’s experience need be like Ogle’s but, suffice to say, you should be aware that it is tales like this one that have earned the Duke’s first short its place in Jeff Barr’s book, 1001 golf holes you must play before you die.

Immediately beyond the marvellous 4th is a 510-yard par five – it’s listed as 1989 winner Nick Faldo’s favourite – which is a sweeping left-hand dogleg, flanked on either side by trees, and with a deep ravine which runs along the left-side of the fairway for its last 200 yards.

At around 200 yards from the back tees, the 6th is the toughest of the shorts – all four come in the first 12 holes - while the par four 7th is at 464 yards a tough slog. Its difficulty is underlined in its status as 1 on the stroke index while the Norman church and tiny graveyard beyond the green have a symbolic resonance. Scorecards that 10 minutes earlier were marked with great diligence may, after having tackled the 7th, been buried deep in the bowels of your bag.

It is fair to say that the Duke’s reputation as a formidable test is built on its par fours, a fact that is emphasised on the run for home starting with the 13th which is 440 yards from the back tee and all carry with the long iron or fairway metal approach shot being across the side of a ravine to a well-fortified putting surface.

The 14th is a genuine three-shot par-5 while the 15th, 16th and 17th holes are par-4s out of the top draw.

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