Hawkstone Park Golf Club – Championship Course

This quality stay-and-play venue sits in picturesque Shropshire countryside and is where former Open champion Sandy Lyle learnt his trade.

The Championship layout may play second fiddle to the exquisite neighbouring Hawkstone course, but it’s a fine track in its own right: an American-style course which was re-constructed in the mid-1990s and features mounds, lots of water hazards and undulating greens.

A six-hole Academy golf course provides a great opportunity for a quick warm-up round and is complemented by a range of off-course practice facilities including a 12-bay range and two large putting greens.

The purpose-built golf centre has a restaurant with balcony seating, which overlooks both finishing holes of each 18-hole golf course

Click here to find out where Hawkstone Park ranks in Golf World's Top 100 Resorts UK & Ireland

There is a wonderful contrast between the two courses at Hawkstone Park Golf Club - the Hawkstone golf course which opened in 1920 is very traditional in design, compared to the more recent Championship golf course, which is very modern with a distinctly American flavour. Both golf courses are fair and rewarding to play for golfers of all standards with the emphasis on strategic play rather than length. 

A six-hole Academy golf course provides a great opportunity for a quick warm-up round and is complemented by a range of off-course practice facilities including a 12-bay range and two large putting greens.

The purpose-built golf centre has a restaurant with balcony seating, which overlooks both finishing holes of each 18-hole golf course.

• Course has: Bar
• Course has: Buggy Hire
• Course has: Driving Range
• Course has: Practice Green
• Course has: Pro Shop
• Course has: Restaurant
• Course has: Trolley Hire
• Course has: Dress Code
• Course has: Club Hire
• Course has: Handicap

• 5 out of 5 Tremendous 02 June 2015

  By Jonesy

  Played the championship course this Saturday just gone with 2 of my good friends and fellow golfers. What a delight. Tees and fairways top draw. And as for the greens my word they were in tremendous conditions.not a bobble in sight. £19.50 well worth the hour drive from Chester. We are returning this week to play both courses and have a light lunch between rounds. Both courses £26.50 a man on tee times. If the word out there is true that the old course is better then we will be getting exceptional value for money. handicap 14 34pts.

• Not yet rated 02 June 2015

  By Jonesy

• 1.5 out of 5 Champ course not champ. Hawkstone course fantastic. 31 October 2012

  By Anonymous

  Visited for an overnight stay. Played the champ course on day one and totally a disgrace, this course shoud be shut, just a total bog on the fairways. We then played the hawkstone course the following day and what a difference, a fantastic course with views and scenery, great greens and fairways. The hotel was ok but basic, the food was not up too much at all, bad starter and bad main course, but the breakfast really made up for that. Overall for what we paid it was ok, but the Hawkstone course really is a great course and well worth the visit.

• 4 out of 5 So What's the problem guys?! 06 October 2010

  By farrer95

  My friends and I have just spent the weekend at Hawkstone, and played 2 1/2 rounds on the Championship Course. We travelled from Sussex only to find the courses shut due to the recent heavy rain, no suprise really. So, after rearranging our tee times to get 36 holes in on the Monday (the staff and the Pro were super helpful and accomodating, really very good), we headed for a pub to watch some of the Ryder Cup (thier Sky was also down due to the weather). On our return we found the course had recently reopened and had a chance to get 12 holes in at least. The following day we played both the Champioship and the Hawkstone, and on the Tuesday the Championship again. Yes, the fairways were wet and quite boggy in places but nothing a pick and place can't sort out, and between holes was bad due to trolley traffic. But the tees and greens we found exceptional, especially considering the conditions, and I cannot praise the greenkeeping staff highly enough for producing such results. Looking at some previous reviews, albeit from last year, some people expect a lot for the time of year they play a course! It comes with the territory of Autumn/Winter golf. The course itself was pretty tight (particularly for an 18 handicapper), but still the rewards for shot making and selection were there to be had. The ball obviously didn't run for us, making even the shorter par fours long, but again one of the challenges of Winter golf. The greens were pretty quick despite the wet, and most offered testing putts from 10 -15 feet out without being extreme. I really could find nothing to fault about any aspect of this course if the weather is ignored, and I'd love to get back and play it again sometime when the weather is a little more agreeable. If anything, I found this course more consistant in the challenge offered per hole than the Hawkstone which initially seemed a little bland, but don't get me wrong, again what a beautiful course with some truely spectacular holes. Play both, you won't be disappointed!!

• 3.5 out of 5 championship course 02 September 2009

  By joneswill

  Three of us are retired and play a different course in Shropshire and North Wales every week.We took up the offer of playing a round for £15 each - which we find reasonable. One of us had booked a tee for 10 am. but on Monday evening on looking up the reviews I have to admit we nearly cancelled.We arrived just after 9 am and a very pleasant young man booked us in and as the course was practically empty told us we could go when convenient. To cut a long story short we found the tees in good nick, the fairways in excellent condition ,although they were being cut the grass cuttings were not a real problem and the greens were top notch ,well cut and maintained. It is a challenging course and although none of us came in with a low score we all thoroughly enjoyed the day. The only thing that marred the day was the 19th there was a small society of about 20 in the clubhouse, we waited nearly 20 minutes to be served and walked out like four others, without being served

• 2 out of 5 Championship course - you are joking! 16 April 2009

  By mwgraham1

  My wife and I played this course having visited the website, it looked really interesting. We played the championship course, this is the only course we were told we could play with 2 fore 1 vouchers. The fairways were a disgrace, our municipals on the Wirral are far better, weeds covered the majority of the fairways and the greens were a mess. Not a course I will be recommending to anyone and a shame we wasted £35 on it when there are far better courses to play for less money.

• 2.5 out of 5 The 'Championship' 03 February 2009

  By philmus

  This course waspreviously known as the Windmill, due to the ruin behind the 9th tee.   The change of name is nothing but an attempt to give the course greater gravitas than it really deserves.   Off the back tees the course is challenging but there is  a big difference in difficulty between the two nines.   The front nine is tight and must be played conservatively.   The back nine is more open and many birdie opportunities can be had.   The stand out hole is not the par 5 tenth but the tight difficult seventh (no bunkers but a par feels like a birdie).    There are several probelms with the course, most importantly the drainage.   There is a drainage system under the surface somewhere but the use of poor quality soil during construction means that the course is mainly made up of heavy clay.   In good weather the course is fine but in winter, or after heavy rain the course is more like the Somme in places.   It is the only course I know where duck boards are needed at one point to stop the mud coming over your shoes.   Attempts have been made to improve the situation, putting gravel under fairways for example, and the course is slowly drying out but it is obvious major work is required to get the course playable all year round.   It also appears that the course is very much treated as second priority to the near pristine Hawkstone course.   There has been, and there is currently, some disease in the greens.    Bunkers are rarely raked after wet weather and can be like playing off concrete.    I have been a member for several years, usually playing the Hawkstone course. It is a great pity that the same level of attention that is payed to the Hawkstone course is not payed to the Championship.   It is clear that there is not sufficient greenkeeping staff to look after the two courses to the same consistent level.   Built properly and looked after this course could be a cracker. There are one or two minor design faults (try hitting a ball into the fairway bunker on the 8th, which is 360 yards up the fairway from the tee and is between the first and second shots on the par five.  I am a pretty long hitter and cannot reach, so average players have no chance).   Any investment in the course is to fire fight drainage problems rather than to tweak the course to provide an even challenge. It's not great but the course is improving.   If playing two rounds, use the championship as a warm up and keep you A game for the Hawkstone Course.

• Not yet rated Championship course was disappointing 04 August 2007

  By wookie

  I played the open in June this year, and was very disappointed in the quality of the tees and greens , the greens seem to be in very poor condition. the layout is interesting with some very well designed holes. But I walked away with a poor impression. Happy to be told different.