Manchester Golf Club Course Review

This glorious escape to the country at Manchester Golf Club is a beautiful and rewarding test of golf

Manchester Golf Club - Hole 4
The beautiful par-3 fourth, the first short hole at this classic Harry Colt design
(Image credit: Rob Smith)

Manchester Golf Club Course Review
GF
Round: £40-£50wd, £50-£60we
Par 72, 6,491 yards
Slope 133
GM Verdict An expansive and undulating Colt design that embraces elements of moorland, heathland and parkland to create its very own character
Favourite Hole The not-so-short short 16th - a very strong one-shotter played over the Trub brook

Familiarly known as Hopwood after the park to which it relocated more than a century ago, Manchester Golf Club is blessed with a wonderful Harry Colt course that sprawls over a glorious expanse of gently undulating countryside. Just a few miles from the city centre and close by the M62, the contrast could not be greater as you work your way around eighteen distinct, testing and memorable holes, all in fine condition.

Manchester Golf Club - Hole 2

The second is the first of back-to-back par 5s and is reachable for some

(Image credit: Rob Smith)

Opening with a short but beautifully framed and appealing par 4, it is then immediately time to put on your driving boots with back-to-back par 5s at two and three.

Manchester Golf Club - Hole 3

The approach to the third with Hopwood Hall beyond

(Image credit: Rob Smith)

The 4th is a beautiful short hole in a natural dell beyond a stream, and the 6th is a belter, stroke index one with a blind drive over the hill to who-knows-what beyond.

Manchester Golf Club - Hole 8

(Image credit: Manchester Golf Club)

The 8th is another photogenic par 3 before a downhill par 5 takes you to the turn.

Manchester Golf Club - Hole 12

The twelfth is a strong par 4 with a hard-to-hit green

(Image credit: Rob Smith)

The back nine begins with two short but strategic and challenging par 4s, before another super-tough and very characterful two-shotter at the 12th.

Manchester Golf Club - Hole 13

Played over a valley, the short thirteenth is the easiest hole on the card!

(Image credit: Rob Smith)

The 13th is another standout and memorable hole, a must-hit par 3, and the 14th a meandering par 5 round to the left and up the hill.

Manchester Golf Club - Hole 15

Heading due east, the fifteenth is an excellent and very well-bunkered par 4

(Image credit: Rob Smith)

The finishing four holes are all very tough and provide a real sting in the tail. Into the wind, the par-3 sixteenth frequently requires a driver.

Whether the club is in Greater Manchester or Lancashire is academic… or geographic… but not too vital for golfers. Assuming the latter, then this extremely strong Colt design is an excellent alternative to the county’s historic links and is one of the best golf courses in Lancashire. It also offers terrific value for money, and fully deserves to be on the travelling golfer’s radar.

Rob Smith
Contributing Editor

Rob Smith has been playing golf for 45 years and been a contributing editor for Golf Monthly since 2012. He specialises in course reviews and travel, and has played more than 1,200 courses in almost 50 countries. In 2022, he played all 21 courses in East Lothian in 13 days. Last year, his tally was 81, 32 of them for the first time. One of Rob's primary roles is helping to prepare the Top 100 and Next 100 Courses of the UK&I, of which he has played all but seven and a half... i.e. not the new 9 at Carne! Of those missing, some are already booked for 2024. He is a member of Tandridge in Surrey where his handicap hovers around 16. You can contact him at r.smith896@btinternet.com.