Cumberwell Park Stay And Play Review

Jeremy Ellwood pays a visit to Wiltshire’s biggest golf complex

Cumberwell Park Stay And Play Review

Jeremy Ellwood pays a visit to Wiltshire’s biggest golf complex

Cumberwell Park Stay And Play Review

Red/Yellow: par 71, 6,435 yards; Blue/Orange: par 71, 6,377 yards; Par 3: par 27, 1,411 yards

Greenfee: £35-£45 per round

Cumberwell Park is 25 years old next year, and things have come a long way since the first 18 holes opened in 1994 – today’s Red and Yellow nines.

These offer a mix of woodland and parkland holes, with water making its presence felt on the Red’s well-bunkered par-3 3rd, and unnervingly so on the Yellow’s par-3 16th.

The Blue nine, which arrived in 1999, is the longest of the four main nines and has two more par 3s over water.

The Orange nine (2007) plays over higher terrain and features a pretty rockery behind its final green.

Two years ago, an excellent par-3 course was added, with the Sawgrass-style island-green 8th the standout hole.

There is a great variety of holes from 109 to 180 yards and a further par-3 nine is under construction.

Also play… Kingsdown (kingsdowngolfclub.co.uk) is Wiltshire’s oldest club and enjoys a wonderful elevated setting just ten minutes away.

Accommodation

Cumberwell Country Cottages opened just over a decade ago, when an old tithe barn was converted into seven spacious one- and two-bedroom properties set around a courtyard.

The cottages are light and airy, and look out over a rear lawn flanked by well-tended gardens.

Cumberwell Country Cottages

All cottages are well equipped with everything you might need for a self-catering break, from microwave to George Foreman grill!

All rooms are ensuite, with underfloor heating downstairs.

There are free laundry facilities should you get through the golf gear at an unexpected rate of knots, and each cottage has patio furniture for al fresco dining when the weather allows.

If you want to eat out, the golf club’s traditional oak-framed Wraxall Bar and Brasserie offers a comprehensive all-day menu.

Where else… The fabulous Roman spa city of Bath (visitbath.co.uk) a few miles west is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Best Deal

A two-night bed and breakfast stay at Cumberwell Country Cottages, including three rounds of golf at Cumberwell Park, costs from £175pp.

Where

Cumberwell Park lies on the A363 in Wiltshire, a couple of miles outside Bradford-on-Avon and seven miles east of Bath.

Checklist

Buggy hire: £20 per round Trolley hire: £5 per round Power trolley hire: £10 Club hire: £20 per round Driving range: Yes Putting green: Yes Short-game area: Yes Pro shop: Yes Changing rooms: Yes Sky TV: In the clubhouse Price of a pint: From £4.20

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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!)