Our course

Porters Park is a classic parkland course that is not only picturesque, inspiring and challenging, it is also playable 12 months of the year. With its base of sand and gravel, the course has a natural and remarkable ability to recover quickly from even the heaviest rain.

As a result, it drains so well that we don’t have temporary greens or tees and our course rarely closes - quite often we’re open, even when every other local course is closed.

Each hole is individual and memorable, with undulating, fast-running fairways and magnificent greens. The putting surfaces remain firm and true all year round, as good in winter as they are in summer.

A brook weaves through nine of the holes, providing a natural water hazard and, in some cases, prompting a dilemma of whether to lay up or to take on a shot that will carry you over.

With panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, the 6,362-yard course features an impressive variety of trees, including evergreen and deciduous, that provide different shades of colour throughout the seasons.

The magnificent course is kept in first class condition by a dedicated team of green keepers, under the guidance of Martin Smith, the Course Manager. Martin - who has worked on the course for over 35 years - won the National Artisans Golf Championship in 1977 and was a six-time winner of the County Artisans Championship. His team has very high standards and closely monitors every aspect of the course including the quality and speed of the greens, the depth of sand in the bunkers and the height of the rough.

Porters Park hosts prestigious golf events such as the King George V Coronation Challenge Cup for Men, the Ladies’ Centenary Challenge Cup and the England Boys’ Malcolm Reid Trophy. It is a frequent venue for County Championship matches and it has been used six times as a regional qualifying course for the Open Championship.

Developing the course

In its early days, the design of the course was influenced by a number of architects including John Henry 'JH' Taylor, one of the pioneers of the modern game. Before becoming a significant golf course architect, he was a five-time winner of the Open Championship and a member of the fabled Great Triumvirate of golf, with Harry Vardon and James Braid.

Between 1946 and 1969, several improvements were made to the course under the supervision of Charles Kenneth Cotton. In 1945, he was the club’s secretary but he went on to become one of the UK’s most distinguished post-war golf architects.

Since 1997, the club has invested over £1 million in course improvements and new green-keeping machinery, to meet the needs of today’s players and the latest golf technology. This work has included installing a new irrigation system, which is fed by a 25,000-gallon water tank and our own 75m-deep bore hole.

Neil Coles, our current course architect, has supervised the creation of 30 new bunkers (plus the removal of 18 old bunkers) and the rebuilding of two of our greens. Neil is a former European Tour and Ryder Cup golfer who has won the PGA Seniors Championship and the British Seniors Open.

Today’s course is a true test of golf. To score well, you’ll need length off the tee, accuracy and careful course management.

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