Harleyford Estate
Marlow, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Harleyford is ranked as the 7th best golf course in Buckinghamshire, is home to PGA professional Tyrrell Hatton, has had a multi-million pound makeover and is still the number one inclusive golf course in the area.
Harleyford Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-72 parkland course measuring 6,903 yards from the championship tees (SSS 71), set within the historic Harleyford Estate on the north bank of the River Thames near Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The estate dates back to the 12th century and is situated adjacent to a Grade I Listed Georgian manor house. The course was designed by Donald Steel and opened in 1996.
Steel's design makes extensive use of the natural landscape, with minimal earthmoving required thanks to the south-facing, well-drained terrain. The course is notably lightly bunkered — fewer than 30 bunkers in total, the majority greenside — and five holes on the historic parkland sections (the 1st, 2nd, 16th, 17th, and 18th) carry no bunkers at all, relying instead on grassy hollows and angled greens as the primary challenges. Playing corridors are generally wider than the tree-lined setting suggests. Greens are built to USGA specification and drain well, allowing year-round play without winter tees or temporary greens.
The signature hole is the par-3 12th, a 176-yard downhill shot to a severely sloped green backed by a prominent chalk bank, with bunkers short-left and short-right. The stroke index 1 hole is the 7th, described as the most vertically demanding on the course. Bunker restoration work was carried out by Profusion Environmental in winter 2022.
