A Pod By The 9th Green... Is This Modern Golf Travel At Its Finest?

Jeremy Ellwood heads to the point where south-east Cumbria meets Yorkshire and Lancashire to stay and play at Bentham and take in other courses nearby

The 16ht hole at Bentham Golf Club
Looking back up the 16th hole at Bentham
(Image credit: Jeremy Ellwood)

Inspiration and ideas for my trips comes from various sources. Reputation, word of mouth, striking photos or a timely email all play their part, but there is no doubt that a video from Bentham Golf Club by Liam of Golf Mates had piqued my interest this time. I’m a bit of sucker for hidden gems in out-of the-way locations and Bentham looked just my sort of place.

Even better, when I made enquiries, owner John Marshall kindly offered me a night in one of the excellent pods, which it transpired were set just above the 9th green. I'd played many of the best courses in Cumbria before, and Bentham lies at the point where Cumbria meets Lancashire meets Yorkshire,

Pod interior at Bentham Golf Club

Inside one of the excellent pods near the 9th green at Bentham Golf Club

(Image credit: Wenningdale Escapes Ltd)

It was warm, cosy and very comfortable and, even better, when I played the course next day and ran into a bit of traffic with no-one behind, it formed the perfect personal halfway hut. I stopped for a cheeky cuppa, soaking up the views across to Ingleborough on an unexpectedly fine mid-October morning.

A little piece of heaven

Bentham’s story is intriguing. Golf here dates back to 1922, with the club expanding from nine to 18 holes in the 1990s in a bid to halt the exodus of members to 18-hole courses. Then, in 2009, it switched from members’ club to proprietary set-up.

The pods are set above the 9th green at Bentham

My home for the night was one of these at Bentham Golf Club

(Image credit: Wenningdale Escapes Ltd)

The Marshall family, owners of the Riverside Caravan Park in the village, saw its potential and started Bentham off on its journey to becoming a stay-and-play venue in this beautiful part of the country. As well as the very competitively priced pods, there are luxury lodges here.

I really loved my short stay, with the course boasting a number of fine holes and those ever-present views across to Ingleborough – one of the Yorkshire Dales’ famous Three Peaks – which you forge straight towards on the up-and-over par-5 2nd and risk-reward 3rd, which is definitely worth having a pop at.

The 3rd hole at Bentham Golf Club

The short par-4 3rd at Bentham with Ingleborough in the distance

(Image credit: Jeremy Ellwood)

You’ll know all about it after the steep climb to the 7th green, and that 9th hole mentioned earlier is a real toughie as you turn left and cross a stream on the long approach.

Having walked the path across the 11th several times and wondered quite how this hole played, I finally got to find out – it’s a sharp dogleg left to a raised green with two bunkers set into a bank. After this, there are chances to score from 12 to 15, with 16 then a strong par 4 played between trees to a very small green for a 432-yarder.

The par-3 10th at Bentham Golf Club

The beautiful downhill par-3 10th at Bentham Golf Club

(Image credit: Jeremy Ellwood)

Up to the Lune Valley

If it was a video that drew me to my first course, the second was the result of a timely email from reader, Roger Whitaker, captain of Casterton Golf Club, with whom I had liaised several times over various Rules issues.

Jeremy Ellwood and Roger Whitaker

Me and Roger Whitaker at Casterton Golf Club

(Image credit: Jeremy Ellwood)

When I realised his club was a mere 20 minutes away, it seemed too good an opportunity, so later that same day we teed off together on this lovely little nine-holer, whose exposed rock outcrops reminded me of Windermere golf course not a million miles further north-west.

The opening par 4 is a tough cookie, playing over a crest then round to the right, with the 2nd playing along a valleyed fairway flanked by some of those outcrops. The 3rd then has one of the most striking tee complexes I’ve played from as you turn back to a green 142 yards away set in a sort of col. Watch out for what must be golf’s original upturned saucer green on 4!

The par-5 9th at Casterton Golf Club

The 9th is the only par 5 at Casterton Golf Club

(Image credit: Jeremy Ellwood)

On the short dogleg-left 8th, it was hard to hit it far enough off the tee into a strong breeze to make the apex and get a sight of the green. There is also a lovely par-3 course here that I sadly didn't have time for, and a state-of-the-art Sim Studio.

The 8th hole at Casterton Golf Club

There are a couple of testing doglegs at Casterton

(Image credit: Jeremy Ellwood)

Chatting afterwards to Roger and owner, Peter Makinson, I was fascinated to learn that the course used to be the home of Kirkby Lonsdale Golf Club before the latter’s move to a new home at Barbon just up the Lune Valley in 1991, which I had played a couple of years earlier.

The 17th hole at Kirkby Lonsdale

The Barbon Beck comes very much into play on 17 at Kirkby Lonsdale

(Image credit: Jeremy Ellwood)

And a lovely setting it is too, with dry stone walls aplenty and stirring views. The hole I remember most is the par-3 17th, where the Barbon Beck angles across just in front of the green, adding greatly to the challenge.

Bentham
Par 71, 6,071 yards
GF: Mon-Thu: £17.50-25wd; Fri-Sun: £35: Day: £35-£45

Casterton
Par 70, 5,802 yards (twice round)
GF: 9 holes: £15; 18 holes: £24; Day: £38

Kirkby Lonsdale
Par 72, 6,594 yards
GF: Round: £48; Day: £70; Twilight £25

(green fees correct at time of publication in March 2025)

Stay
Bentham Golf Course
High Bentham, Nr Lancaster,
W: benthamgolfcourse.co.uk

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf

Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Kramski HPP 325

Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)

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