Food & Drink
Manor Course
Consisting of two mature loops of nine holes twisting through established countryside, Manor is the easier of our two courses, but still provides an engrossing challenge.
The course measures 6,098 yards from the Men’s competition tees and 5,434 yards from the Ladies’ competition tees.
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Both loops of nine start and finish at the Clubhouse, with traditional greens and wide approaches, this is the ideal golf course for mid-handicap golfers.
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Members, guests and visitors are all welcome to play Manor Course
Manor Course map
Hole by hole
Hole 1: Beadlow
The delightfully tough starter hole for this course can put you in danger straight away. With a narrow exit off the tee out of the trees, it is easy to think this is a straight drive, but think ‘slight left’ to the green to land on the fairway with a short approach to the green.
Hole 2: Quarries
A straight par 4 which plays uphill with a narrow exit off the tee. Your second shot will need the accuracy to get you up onto the green past the awaiting bunker.
Hole 3: Wrest Turn
The first par 3 of the Manor provides a small sloping 2-tier green. Club choice is vital when the pin is at the back of the sloping green, as anything short will end up rolling back down to the front of the green.
Hole 4: Cainhoe Park
This par 5 plays slightly uphill but with a good, long drive down the left half of the fairway you will leave the chance of reaching the green with a fairway wood. This large sloping green is guarded by two bunkers on the approach, so your landing point is key.
Hole 5: Mepershall
Hole five provides a chance for the longer hitters to start with a long sweeping drive, avoiding the tall trees on the left side of the fairway. For the shorter hitters, a fairway wood to find the right side of the fairway will leave a short iron for your second shot and the chance to set up a birdie putt.
Hole 6: Whitbread
A short par 4 with a large pond short of the green. Allows the brave a chance to drive the green, but beware, anything short and a big score awaits! Alternatively, a lay-up with a mid-iron will leave another short iron to a green which slopes gently from back to front. Birdie chance on this hole but equally happy with a par.
Hole 7: Woodhall
As this hole is a long par 4 it can be played in several ways. The longer hitters can drive the ball straight over the pond on the left side of the fairway. Shorter hitters can alternatively hit an accurate drive down the right side of the fairway to avoid the hazard. Another option is to lay up short of the water leaving a long second shot to the green. Watch out for the hidden bunker in front of the green.
Hole 8: St. Mary's View
The fairway starts wide, then is pinched by a short row of trees on the left and a couple of single trees on the right. The fairway takes a curve around to the left, beware that a big drive down the middle could end up in the well-placed bunker. The right side of the fairway opens up the green for your second shot to attack the pin, but anything short will find the greenside bunkers.
Hole 9: Polehanger
A long slight left-to-right dogleg, so a well-judged drive to the corner is required to leave a mid-to-long shot over the ditch towards the green. Beware of the hidden bunker to the left front of the green.
Hole 10: Elephant Cage
Great course management is required on this hole as danger lurks everywhere! A narrow fairway with the mound from the range on the left with a ditch running along the bottom all the way up the fairway, a ditch going across the fairway near the halfway point, and trees all down the right to catch a stray ball; a well-judged tee shot is required. Getting on the green is just as tough, as it’s narrow and long, and therefore difficult to get the ball close, especially when the pin is located at the back of the green.
Hole 11: Haynes Park
Longer hitters relish this hole, as a straight drive leaving your ball over the second ditch is best off the tee. Be wary though, the slight left-hand dogleg can mean your approach to the green is a little tricky, with a hidden third ditch awaiting and water to the left.
Hole 12: Shefford Turn
This is one of the toughest holes on the course. With a narrow exit off the tee onto a left to right dogleg the ideal tee shot is a slight fade, but over cook it as the out of bounds down the right awaits! Find the fairway and you are left with a long second shot to a well-guarded green.
Hole 13: Priory Pop
Looking up from the tee, the green seems much shallower than it really is. Accuracy is key here with winds likely to affect the high shot, plus the bunker guarding the right side and the sloping rough on the left. Hit the green there’s a chance of a birdie.
Hole 14: Bloomfield
Great risk and reward abounds on the longest hole on the course. A good long drive over the ditch will leave a tantalising choice of a lay up with a mid-iron or the chance to drive the green with a fairway wood; but with the pond on the right cutting into the fairway, accuracy is paramount. Also not forgetting the sunken ditch between the bunker and pond waiting for that unsure shot.
Hole 15: Campton
The penultimate par 3 is played over water to a big green protected at the front by a large bunker and a second hidden smaller bunker to the right, so over clubbing is a good option.
Hole 16: Gilbertine
The toughest hole on the course awaits you with a large straight fairway pinched by a short row of trees either side. The ideal tee shot is struck down the centre. This ensures you don’t block yourself out for your approach shot. A ditch runs through the fairway just in front of bunker positioned just short of the green, giving the impression you need to play shorter than you think.
Hole 17: Southill Park
One to flex your shoulders if you feel confident to get onto the wider area of the fairway past the oak on the left. Don’t overcook it as out of bounds invites anything stuck too far down the left side. Once on the fairway you face a slightly blind approach as you won’t see the apron to the green, so club selection is vital. Not forgetting that there is a ditch running up the approach on the right and a semi-hidden bunker on the left.
Hole 18: Shuttleworth
The tranquil final hole plays towards the clubhouse and over water. But don’t relax just yet! You clean strike with an accurate mid-iron to reach the slightly elevated green. Anything which leaks right, or is short, will find sand; leaving a tough up and down to finish your round.
