Huntercombe

Huntercombe Golf Club is one of the leading venues in Oxfordshire, and also one of the most charismatic on the NCG Top 100s: England list. 

Willie Park Jr, twice Open Champion, was the man to design the course, dates back to 1901. Since then, not much has changed. 

Tree-lined fairways and grass bunkers are the name of the game at Huntercombe, with plenty of space to run your ball into the green complexes. 

Visit Huntercombe’s website here.

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Huntercombe Golf Club was one of the first golfing venues to open in the United Kingdom in the 20th Century, with its history dating back to 1901.  

Willie Park Jr, the Open Championship winner in 1887 and 1889, bought out Huntercombe Manor and the land around it, before then designing and constructing the golf course within the space of a year.  

The club has seen some incredible members, including Henry Broadhurst MP, James Bond author Ian Fleming and Gloria Minoprio.

Huntercombe is a crucible of golf course architecture. It was one of the first courses designed by Willie Park Jnr, and with its sandy soil and pristine playing surfaces, this is an inland Oxfordshire course that has much in common with England's great heathlands. Huntercombe is lightly bunkered and relatively short so you might well wonder what its defences are. The answer principally lies in an extraordinary set of green complexes that often feature outrageous contours. In addition, Park dug out a series of hollows, which complicate approaches to the greens more than you might consider conceivably possible. For those who like to think about their golf, this creates a very appealing course indeed. It is not the longest course, coming in at just over 6,300 yards and playing as a par 70, but it will still test your game. 

There is a fine quartet of short holes that can easily upset your scorecard, and indeed the opening hole is a par 3. At just 140 yards to a large green it looks innocuous – and yet the hog's back on the green can have you prodding at your tee shot when you should be settling for the middle of the green. The 2nd and 3rd holes feature the only significant elevation changes, with the former playing much shorter than its yardage and the latter much longer. Typically of Huntercombe, they encourage you to feed your approaches in to the greens from one side or another and it is immensely satisfying if you can manage to calculate your angles and then implement the theory.  

The 4th is a short par 4 at just 322 yards, and it is a hole that certainly does not require that you take drive off the tee. Two grass bunkers sit in front of the green, which is square-shaped. 5 is a dog-leg right, and one where your tee shot has to go far enough so as to not be blocked out by the trees down the right side. The 6th is the opening par 5 on the course, coming in at more than 520 yards. There are two cross grass bunkers and a road running across the fairway halfway down, but again, the trees lining each side are the main danger. It requires a long and accurate drive if you are going to have a crack at the 6th green with your second. 

7 is the longest of the par 3s, playing more than 210 yards from the back tees. It does play slightly downhill, but not enough for you to change which club you are using. Think wisely on this tee box. The last two holes on the front nine are long par 4s – the 8th turning slightly to the right, the 9th to the left. The back nine then begins with another par 3 – the 180-yard 10th. There is one of the few sand bunkers in front of the green, so you have to carry the ball all the way to the putting surface, unlike most of the greens at Huntercombe. 

After the short par 4 11th, you come to a difficult stretch of holes, with 12, 13 and 14 all being par 4s of more than 400 yards in length. The 12th and 13th both have the added danger of out of bounds running down its right side thanks to the boundary of the property. The 14th then plays back in towards the centre of the course, and has a wide fairway that allows you to take a swipe with driver. That will still leave a mid-to-long iron for your second, though. The 15th is the last of the short holes at Huntercombe, and this 185-yard par 3 is played to a large, round green, but one where you need to be on the right part of it to have a chance at birdie.  

The closing stretch begins with the short par 5 16th. At just 468 yards, this is a definite scoring opportunity for all, especially so for those that can fade a long ball around the corner. Manage that and you should have no more than a mid-iron to the green. A sand bunker sits to the right of the putting surface, while there is a large hollow in front of the green, so anything running up to the surface might stop and roll back down/. Do you then take the 17th on? At just 272 yards from the back tees, most golfers will fancy their chances, but if you have a good score going, is it worth the risk? The final tee shot is through a funnel of trees, before the hole widens out to the fairway. The green is again, large and round, and with no sand bunkers, it seems like an easy approach, but don’t be fooled. You will know what to expect following the previous 17 holes... 

Little has changed at Huntercombe but several of our panel loved their most recent visits here hence the significant rise.

Chris Myatt: The greens make it memorable

David Walker: Huntercombe is synonymous with Willie Park and the layout showcases the best of his design with wonderfully exotic greens, terrific grass bunkers (and 13 sand ones) and delightful springy fairways. A majestic experience

Michael Verity: Daring, creative design with wicked greens and features

Read more about our panellists here.

Where is Huntercombe Golf Club located?  

Huntercombe Golf Club, in Oxfordshire, is part of the Chiltern Nationals Landscape, to the west of the English capital city. It is close to the towns of Henley-on-Thames and Wallingford, while Reading is a few miles to the south. London is just under 50 miles to the east of Huntercombe, while the M4 and M40 are close by, providing great transport routes to both the north and west. 

Cholsey and Henley-on-Thames are the two nearest train stations to Huntercombe, with the former operating services between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway. Trains from Henley-on-Thames only run to Twyford, with services running every half an hour. London Heathrow Airport – the country’s biggest and busiest international airport – is also the closest to Huntercombe. It sits 40 miles to the east of the course. London Luton Airport is also within 50 miles of Huntercombe.

Are there any other NCG Top 100s: England venues nearby?  

Huntercombe’s location to the west of London sees it as the only venue on the NCG Top 100s: England within a 30-mile radius. Outside of that, Swinley Forest, Camberley Heath, The Grove, Sunningdale's Old and New, and The Berkshire - with its Red and Blue Courses - are within an hour’s drive.

What golf facilities does Huntercombe Golf Club offer?  

Along with the cracking golf course, Huntercombe also has some stunning practice facilities to offer both its members and guests alike. There is a covered driving range, along with grass teeing areas as well. Add in a short game area and a putting green, and you’ve got everything you need before you take to the course.

What are the green fees at Huntercombe Golf Club?  

The price of a green fee at Huntercombe changes throughout the year, depending on the season. It is also different depending on whether it is a weekday or weekend. 

For more information on current green fees at Huntercombe Golf Club visit their website here.