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Woburn Duchess Course
Year Established
1978
Designed by
Charles Lawrie
Location
Milton Keyes, England
Address
Little Brickhill, Milton Keynes, England
Woburn Duchess Course
The Duchess Course offers a different challenge. It is the shortest and prettiest of the three courses at Woburn Golf Club. Major competitions, accolades and honors are usually heaped on the Duke's and more recently the Marquess courses, but the Duchess is lovely in its own right, and a stern challenge.
The course offers an accurate driving and pinpoint iron play are the order of the day on a course with narrower fairways and approaches to greens. Anyone who has played the course knows this is a layout that demands as much respect as the adjacent Duke's and Marquess courses.
A Brief History
- The Duchess course was used to stage the Ford Ladies Classic between 1985 and 1994 with Laura Davies and Liselotte Neumann amongst the winners.
- The Seniors Open Amateur Championship and The English Amateur Championship were also played on the Duchess Course.
- The course has hosted the Ford Ladies Classic, Seniors Open Amateur Championship and The English Amateur Championship.
Featured Hole – 17th
While the Duchess course at Woburn Golf Club doesn't have a universally agreed-upon "featured" hole, many consider the 17th, a quirky, short, curving par-4 down a dale before climbing to a bowl green, as its 'Marmite' hole.
Other very notable and well faired holes on the Duchess course are:
- 18th: A bending par-four with plenty of trouble down the right and bunkers all around a sloping green, serving as a splendid finale.
- 1st: One of the most demanding tee shots, requiring a drive as far left as possible to avoid fairway slopes and trees on the right.
- 2nd: A fairly long but extremely narrow short hole, considered by many to be a "signature" hole.
- 9th: A par four with a long, narrow chute off the tee.
Known For: Needing strategy and precision
The Duchess Course at Woburn Golf Club is known for being a challenging, tight, and "thinking golfer's" course, carved through a pine forest, with narrow fairways and smaller greens, often referred to as a "hidden gem". It's a course where players need to keep their ball in play, and finding the small greens in regulation is a significant challenge. The course is known for its strategic layout and the need for precise shot-making, rather than relying solely on power.
