Bedwell Park
Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Essendon Country Club is a 45-hole golf facility situated within a 400-acre estate at Bedwell Park, near the village of Essendon in rural Hertfordshire, formerly operating as Hatfield London Golf and Country Club. The complex comprises two 18-hole parkland courses — the Old Course and the New Course — along with a nine-hole pitch and putt layout. Both courses wind through mature tree-lined ground in rolling Hertfordshire countryside and are playable year-round.
The Old Course was designed by Fred W. Hawtree of the prominent Hawtree architectural dynasty and opened in 1976. It plays to a par of 72 over 6,808 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 73.4 and a slope of 139. The layout meanders through Bedwell Park, featuring a varied mix of challenging par 3s, tight par 4s, and expansive par 5s framed by an abundance of mature trees. Five par 5s offer birdie opportunities but demand straight driving, while several par 4s require considerable precision. The par-4 sixteenth is particularly noted for a large oak tree positioned in the middle of the fairway at around 250 yards from the tee, forcing a careful decision on line and length. The par-3 second presents a demanding early test with its two-tier green and uphill putting challenge. The original clubhouse was the imposing red-bricked Bedwell House, historically associated with the London brewer Samuel Whitbread, though following its sale in 2002 both courses have been served by a restored 16th-century barn to the north of the property.
The New Course was opened in 1992 and designed by the Landscape Design Company, commissioned by the then-Japanese owners, Tokyo Leisure Development Company, who acquired the estate in 1986. It stretches to around 7,000 yards and plays to a par of 73, with a course rating of 73.7 and a slope of 135. Its most distinctive characteristic is the presence of dual greens on sixteen of its eighteen holes, an approach associated with Japanese golf course design that allows each hole to vary in length and angle of approach depending on which green is in use on a given day. Each hole was also planted with a specific species of tree or shrub. Notable features include a par-5 fourth measuring nearly 650 yards from the tips with a pond guarding the approach, and a par-3 eighth with a green almost entirely encircled by water and two separate teeing areas offering a substantially different challenge depending on the day.
