Delamere Forest

Playing Delamere Forest for the first time is a genuinely surprising experience. The north-west of England is associated in most golfers' minds with the great coastal links of Lancashire, and the idea that Cheshire contains a heathland course of comparable quality and character is not widely appreciated outside the region. Fowler's design confounds expectations from the opening hole, as the sandy forest terrain reveals itself to be ideally suited to the kind of strategic, ground-game golf that heathland design at its best produces.

The course's position between Chester and Manchester gives it a catchment area that should, by rights, make it one of the better-known courses in the north of England. That it remains relatively obscure beyond the region says something about the tendency of great golf to concentrate its reputation in a few celebrated counties. Delamere is fully the equal of many courses with far greater national profiles, and the forest setting, with its combination of birch, pine and heather, produces a visual and atmospheric experience that cannot be found anywhere else in the north-west.

Fowler's design philosophy, evident also in his work at Walton Heath and Saunton, is on full display here: a routing that uses the natural landscape rather than fighting it, bunkering that is strategically placed to reward careful thought from the tee, and greens that demand accuracy of approach without being excessively tricked up. The sandy soil means the course drains quickly and plays well in all seasons, an advantage that many north-west courses on heavier ground cannot claim. For golfers based in the region or passing through, Delamere Forest is an essential visit. Details and visitor arrangements can be found at delameregolf.co.uk.