Northamptonshire County

James Braid, who with J. H. Taylor, Ben Sayers and Tom Ball, opened the course in 1910, returned after the last war to bring it up to date but, broadly speaking, there have been few major alterations since H. S. Colt designed the layout on a site acquired from Earl Spencer.”

Originally nominated as a Gem by Paul, and added to pages of the Top 100 platform in January 2008, Northamptonshire County was ranked for the first time in our 2016 English Top 100 and it's undeniably Northamptonshire's premier layout. Paul’s original nomination article follows, which paints a very pretty picture of this relatively undiscovered centurion.

“Northamptonshire County Golf Club borders the Althorp Estate and is set in the village of Church Brampton. It is a very traditional course and although parkland in style, it has a heathland feel to it. Designed by Harry Colt in 1909 and standing the test of time very well after a bunker layout change in 1947 by James Braid, the club is now extending the course further with many new tees opening in spring 2008 to lengthen the layout to over 6,700 yards.

The course is rather unique with three extra holes – designed by course architect Cameron Sinclair – added to the front nine layout giving players who are looking to play only nine holes the option to play 7a, 8a & 9a, which return back to the clubhouse leaving the 18-hole circuit clear after the first six holes for those playing a full round. These new holes have a feel of Woburn about them and are well worth playing if you fancy 27 holes in one day. The greens are very true with some very difficult pin positions available and the whole course is always well presented.

For many years now the course has been used as a regional open qualifying venue and has staged the British Girls Open Tournament and recently the PGA Seniors Club Professional Championship. The club itself is very friendly and the members are very courteous towards visitors with a good selection of food available in the clubhouse.

This is a course with a very good pedigree and offers a great golfing challenge any time of the year as it drains very well during the winter months.”