Great Courses To Play In The County Where Double Major Champion Sandy Lyle Honed His Game

Glancing at my ‘courses played’ spreadsheet ahead of an autumn trip to the county with colleague, Rob Smith, I was surprised to see I’d already played 11 of the best golf courses in Shropshire.

Among those previously played were the two 18-holes courses at Hawkstone Park, where Sandy Lyle famously honed his major-winning game under the guidance of the club pro, his late father, Alex Lyle. The courses were a little different in Sandy’s day, but the two layouts there provide wonderfully contrasting tests.

The Hawkstone course is the one that plays up to and around the extraordinary cliffs of the Hawkstone Park Follies, while the Championship course is more of an American-style layout with water aplenty. It is relatively rare to find two such contrasting, but enjoyable, courses at the same resort within these shores.

But I still had Shropshire gaps to fill, and on this latest trip we filled them with The Astbury, Ludlow and Bridgnorth. First stop was Ludlow on a sunny afternoon. The club moved to a James Braid creation on free-draining sand and gravel inside the racecourse in 1927, one of several UK courses set inside or close to racecourses.

I’ve always feared such layouts will be flat and featureless with the racecourse infrastructure too obtrusive, but those concerns proved unfounded, as Ludlow does a fine job of sustaining visual interest and variety throughout, with the racecourse adding to, rather than detracting from, the experience.

You start out with the grandstands to your right on the 1^st and 2^nd, before turning left for the 3^rd and 4^th, the latter a par 3 identical in length to the 13^th (off the yellows) just to its left at 151 yards. The 4th features a bathtub hollow short of the green so make sure you take enough club, while the 13^th plays blind.

Tougher tests include the sharp dogleg-right 12^th, where you’ll need to decide how aggressive to be, and the long par 4s at 8 and 16, which took almost all I’d got with the going soft.

A grand place to stay and play
Afterwards, we headed to The Astbury near Bridgnorth, where the club’s three-bedroom cottage would be our base for two nights. There are also options to stay in high-class holiday homes and luxury lodges.

Not only was our cottage warm and comfortable, but it also had its very own hot tub to soothe tired golfing muscles. There are two things to note here: The Astbury is not to be confused with Astbury Golf Club 65 miles further north in Cheshire; and Judas Priest guitarist, K.K. Downing, whose brainchild the course was originally, no longer owns it.

Playing next morning with director of golf, Tom Storrar, it became clear from the off – a strong 435-yarder – that it was going to play long in soft conditions. This was less of a problem for Tom, with youth and power on his side, but somehow all three of us managed to par the 1^st – Tom conventionally, Rob and I with a little improvisation.

Overall, I preferred the back nine but there are strong and enjoyable holes on both. Heading out, the 5^th is a lovely par 3 down at the bottom followed by a cheeky little dogleg-right par 4. The 9^th is a big hole that doglegs sharply left then down and up to a testing shelf green.

Coming home, the par-5 13^th cambers against the right-to-left dogleg and 14 is a very attractive hole playing towards a backdrop of sloping fields. After losing a ball on 17 with a reasonable score in sight, I was pleased to par the signature 18^th, a long par 3 over water (and swans) towards the grand red-brick hall.

A moment to savour
Five miles away, Bridgnorth Golf Club has 14 tree-lined holes close to the River Severn that are largely flat, and four holes the clubhouse side of the road that are anything but. Those first three serve up a rollercoaster ride and will stick in your mind for their unusual topography.

The par-3 3^rd is a cracker, dropping steeply to a good-sized, well-bunkered green. The 4^th to 17^th play the other side of the road, with the par-5 10^th providing a memorable moment for me.

Overhanging branches forced a long 7-iron pitch-and-run from 115 yards, which seemed to come out perfectly, so I was disappointed to see nothing when the green came into view. Seconds later I was ecstatic, for that hopeful peek in the hole (invariably a pipe dream) revealed I had, indeed, holed out for eagle.

Straying above the hole is not recommended on the par-3 16^th and, back across the road, the 18^th will see all but the longest of hitters firing in blind to a green set close to the clubhouse terrace. Less club is the wiser option here, as the slope means even balls landing well short will likely find their way home, especially in summer.

Ludlow
Par 70, 6,277 yards
GF: £60wd; £70we; twilight £20 after 4pm

The Astbury
Par 71, 6,014 yards
GF: £50wd; £70we; twilight £30-£35

Bridgnorth
Par 73, 6,552 yards
GF: £37-£43wd; £52we (reduced rates in afternoon)

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

Stay

The Astbury
Chelmarsh, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
W: theastbury.com