Manor House Golf Club sits just outside Castle Combe in Wiltshire, on the southern edge of the Cotswolds. It’s a course I’ve known for a long time and one that is difficult to forget once you’ve played it.
Designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark, Manor House opened in 1992 and makes full use of the rolling countryside around it. There are mature trees throughout the course, the River Bybrook comes into play, and there are some fairly dramatic changes in elevation.
It’s certainly not one of those golf courses where you feel as though you’ve played the same hole eighteen times.
Playing Manor House
The elevation is probably the first thing that stands out.
There are elevated tees, holes played down into valleys and others where you have to make your way back up again. It creates some great views across the course, although it can also make judging distances rather interesting.
Fortunately, there are buggies.
I’ve used one for the Kingy On The Course videos below and, having travelled around all 18 holes in one, I can confirm that this isn’t the worst course in the world on which to accept mechanical assistance.
There are plenty of interesting holes along the way.
The 3rd is the stroke-index-one par 5, while the 8th is a short par 4 which gives you the opportunity to have a go from another elevated tee. The par-5 12th twists its way through the landscape, but perhaps the hole most people remember is the 17th.
It’s a short par 3 played from a dramatically elevated tee to the green well below. The original course information puts the drop at around 120 feet.
It isn’t particularly long. That doesn’t necessarily make standing on the tee with a golf club in your hand any more straightforward.
Kingy On The Course – Manor House Golf Club
A while ago I filmed my way around Manor House for my Kingy On The Course series.
Rather than filming a conventional 18-hole golf vlog, I travelled around the course in a buggy, looked at each hole and played a few shots along the way.
The result was six short videos covering three holes at a time:
Holes 1–3 · Holes 4–6 · Holes 7–9 · Holes 10–12 · Holes 13–15 · Holes 16–18
They’re now also part of my A Weekend Golfer YouTube channel, where I’m gradually bringing together the various golf videos I’ve accumulated over the years.
Practice Facilities
Manor House also has proper practice facilities, including a grass driving range, short-game area and putting green.
The putting green deserves a mention of its own because it has some fairly substantial slopes.
Thankfully, that isn’t necessarily a preview of eighteen greens built on the side of mountains.
A Course Worth Seeing
Manor House is one of the more visually interesting courses I’ve played in Wiltshire.
It’s not simply the condition or individual holes that make it memorable. It’s the landscape the course sits in. The elevation changes, trees, water and views give different parts of the course their own character.
And if you’re thinking about playing it, the six videos above probably tell you more about what you’ll encounter than another thousand words from me could.
Just remember that watching me drive around it in a buggy is considerably less tiring than walking it.
