Huntercombe Golf Club

Huntercombe Golf Club is a traditional heathland layout in Oxfordshire, designed by Willie Park Jr. and opened in 1901. With its understated charm, strong design character, and unique earthworks, the course offers something different from the modern norm. The par-70 layout includes a good balance of tight, tree-lined holes and more open shots. However, it’s the bold and natural-feeling earth shaping that truly sets the course apart, influencing strategy on several holes and giving Huntercombe its distinctive identity. The welcome was outstanding, with staff and management offering a personal, friendly experience. Facilities include a well-stocked pro shop and a clubhouse that overlooks the finish to the course and a great spot to enjoy post-round refreshments. The club’s signature drink, “The Willie Park,” is worth a try. Despite poor weather on the day, the course held up well with great drainage. Huntercombe is a course of historic value and subtle brilliance that is a must for those who appreciate classic Willie Park Jr designs and a more traditional golf experience.

Huntercombe holds a unique place in golf and is one of the friendliest clubs I have encountered.

It has a feel of stepping back into the 1950s when Bond-author and nine-handicapper Ian Fleming wrote his books in the library of the old clubhouse.

Its design has been altered over the years but it remains a two-ball course and members with trousers tucked into socks with dogs at their sides are a common sight.

Former Open champion, Willie Park Junior bought Huntercombe Manor in 1900 after his success at designing Sunningdale’s Old course.

It was intended to be his retirement project but cost him so much that he was forced to take on other work to pay his debts.

Nevertheless, he created a remarkable course on a base of chalk and flint with incredible mounds and chasms where people had dug for the stone. They are as omnipresent as bunkers at other venues.

A putter made by Park is on display at Huntercombe’s quaint clubhouse where my compadre and I snaffled a delicious pre-round bacon butty.

This is also where it becomes obvious by the number of times his name appears on honours boards that quadruple Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman is also a golfing star.

During a particularly wet winter, we were told that Huntercombe would still be in great shape.

And so it proved – some of the roads leading to the club were barely passable because of lying water but we only saw one small puddle during our 18 holes.

The members pride themselves on their pace of play (Fleming allegedly used to go around in two hours) and the friendly advice in the pro shop was to keep to three hours.

There was no pressure – the course is relatively short and there are no treks between holes.

That said, it has plenty of bite – and we were told that becomes even more evident in the summer when its swirling, multi-tiered greens become its major defence.

Incidentally, we were told that the grass pots, often as big as bomb craters, were caused by people ferreting for flint in the distant past. Park simply grassed them over and incorporated them into his fabulous design.

In order to provide robust and credible rankings the Leading Courses Panel provides a rating based on their own experience, interviews and rankings of the most reliable sources in the industry.

If you have played Huntercombe Golf Club or if you disagree with the current rating, then please also share your opinion!

Your review will help many other golfers!

#bygolfersforgolfers

Every year my appreciation for golf course architecture develops and matures. And it is my regular returns to Huntercombe that instills my love of the game and the minds that have shaped it. There will be an inordinate amount of hyperbole in this piece, but Huntercombe really is THAT good.

This Willie Park Jnr design is a playground for golf. A perfect juxtaposition against its traditionalist aspect. Playing Huntercombe should be like listening to Bohemian Rhapsody, you have to experience it every now and then to appreciate its nuanced brilliance and flamboyant expressions.

I have battled with this course over the years, what with my inability to hit the straight ball in my youth, but thanks to a number of changes, in addition to a concoction of hard work and determination, the Driver is now my friend. It is a well known fact that you enjoy the game more, the easier you make it. And in order to achieve this feat, the game needs to be played from the fairway – at this course more than others. The fairground undulations, penal grass bunkers and ancient oaks await you and your pesky ball. However, like I said, the Driver played its part and a comfy 75 did a world of good towards my ability to appreciate Willie Park Jr’s madness.

6ft-high tiers, thumb prints and funnel pins; the greens at Huntercombe are compelling. It’s the kind of stuff you would draw as a bored daydreaming schoolboy in Chemistry class (I didn’t like Chemistry). It definitely makes you concentrate and really consider where you can and cannot leave your ball. Successful or unsuccessful you pick your ball out of the cup and proceed to play as many other unfathomable and fascinating shots as possible before the foursomes group behind get too flustered. I really could play Huntercombe every day and never get bored.

The thing that blew me away the most however, was the conditioning. Huntercombe lies on glorious chalky ground and so there wasn’t a hint of a squelch in mid-November. It really was a sight to behold, and the grass coverage on the greens was exemplary. How lucky we were to tee it up on a classic, surrounded by friends, against a backdrop of autumnal flaming amber. The setting was theatrical, vivid even.

Thanks to Will for being our generous and gracious host. Many more rounds to come.

PLayed here a few times when I used to live in the area. If it's old school golf you want - and remember this is one of the two courses that James Bond was a member of - then Huntercombe provides it in spades. It is a tricky, beautifully maintained, clever course that needs all shots and a light touch on the greens. The staff are under-stated but friendly, the atmosphere is reserved but not austere and the whole experience will live long in the memory. This is not big, brash, corporate golf day golf. It is quiet, understated and old school in every way and all the better for it.