The Cheshire Resort That’s Not Only Home To A Jack Nicklaus Golf Course But Also One Of England’s Most Luxurious Spas

Although I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many golf hotels across the spectrum in the UK, and play several of the best golf courses in Cheshire, Carden Park near Chester and the Welsh border, which famously boasts a Jack Nicklaus course, had somehow never come on my radar. That all changed with a two-night visit this in autumn 2024 to play the Cheshire and Nicklaus courses and experience its very high-end spa.

The entrance drive must be one of the longest in the UK as you weave through the Nicklaus course before arriving at the very impressive hotel, where I got to stay in one of the courtyard suites. The two courses are set alongside each other, but have a very different feel, with the Cheshire playing over more rolling terrain and the Nicklaus over largely flatter ground, save for the 1^st and 18^th holes which play down from and back up to the clubhouse.

First up was the Cheshire course, where the 4^th and 5^th in a separate corner have replaced a couple of the original finishing holes. The 5^th proved highly memorable as my 8-iron approach from 150 yards hung on the lip, half a roll away from my first long-range hole-out for aeons. When you come back out of this corner, you’re greeted by a tree in the middle of the fairway on the second half of the par-5 6^th.

The 10^th is a lovely short par 4 playing up towards a stand of pines that gives it just a hint of a Hillside or Formby feel, while the amount of water knocking around on the approach to 12 will make even the most formidable iron player a tad nervous, especially to the sucker left pin we were treated to. The unbelievably tight par-4 16^th is followed by a slightly downhill par 3 that is beautifully framed. Perhaps the piece de resistance though is the short par-4 18^th played from an elevated tee, with sand, trees and a cheeky little penalty area lurking in the hitting area.

Jack’s handiwork
The Nicklaus course opened five years after the Cheshire in 1998, but the weather proved a little unkind, with persistent rain and plummeting temperatures bringing a premature taste of the winter golfing months ahead. I played with an old journalist friend, Clive Agran, and it was great to see him back in action after a very nasty cycling accident that had seen hospitalised for some weeks.

The 1^st sweeps down and round to the left, and you’ll notice the little back tier on the 3^rd green, especially when the pin is on it. The 6^th then bends steadily around a lake to a raised, well-bunkered green. On the run for home the 14^th offers risk-and-reward in certain winds, while the excellent 15^th requires precision off the tee for a good angle into the green beyond a stream. The signature 17^th curves sharply left in front of the hotel and there’s a real danger here of the sight of the green goading you into a more aggressive line than is wise. The final ascent comes via a par 5 alongside the 1^st that swings right on the approach.

Relaxation then one final round
The following morning it was time to enjoy the excellent spa via one of the resort’s morning spa experiences. The indoor and outdoor facilities here are superb and the thermal experiences inside and hot-tubs outside in the spa garden were just what were needed to restore body and mind after our cold, wet round on the Nicklaus course the previous day.

Vicars Cross Golf Club lies 12 miles north on the outskirts of Chester, and I had time for one more (wet) round there before driving home to Sussex. There are chances early on via the short par-4 1^st and two par 5s in the opening quartet, but beware – you must be far enough down the 1^st to get a good look at the green around to the left, and the par-5 2^nd doglegs right at first, before then suiting a bit of a draw if going for it in two. The long par-4 6^th serves up a tight drive, made tighter by two sentinel trees at around 150 yards, while the 9^th is a real birdie chance at just 260 yards, despite playing uphill.

Carden Park
Cheshire course
Par 72, 6,653 yards
GF: £95-£105 summer; from £40 winter
Nicklaus course
Par 72, 6,302 yards
GF: £95-£105 summer

Vicars Cross
Par 72, 6,410 yards
GF: £50wd, £60we

Stay
Carden Park Hotel & Spa
Broxton Road, near Chester, Cheshire
W: cardenpark.co.uk