Staffordshire
JCB Golf & Country Club sits in the rolling Staffordshire countryside near Rocester, roughly equidistant from Stoke-on-Trent and Derby. Built across 240 acres adjacent to JCB's main manufacturing headquarters, the course was designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design and opened in 2018 as a sloping, undulating track that rides the natural contours of the Staffordshire hills, starting from a hilltop clubhouse and winding down around the area's lakes and streams. The whole enterprise was the vision of Lord Bamford, chairman of JCB, who wanted a venue capable of standing alongside the finest parkland courses in the British Isles and of carrying the company's name to an international audience.
The course stretches to 7,433 yards off the back tees and plays to a par of 72. The underlying terrain is heavy clay, which required the movement of more than half a million tonnes of soil during construction, along with an extensive drainage system to ensure playing surfaces remain firm and fast. The result is a layout that, despite its modern origins, shifts in character from open, almost links-like parkland to dense woodland within the space of a single hole. Alders Brook and the remnants of the old Uttoxeter Canal weave through the property as natural hazards, and both nines loop back to the clubhouse.
The 9th, a par 3 of around 170 yards, plays downhill into a mature arboretum, its green ringed by five bunkers and framed by trees in a setting that feels far older than the course's age. The dogleg 11th has been compared to Augusta's famously demanding corners, rewarding aggression off the tee but punishing anything that drifts right toward Alders Brook. The 13th, a par 5 of 627 yards, confronts players with a blind uphill drive and a near-90-degree dogleg, with a pond flanking the entire right side of the fairway on the second shot - a genuine match-play hole that demands a clear-headed risk-reward calculation.
The signature hole is the par-3 17th. At 255 yards from the back tees, it demands flawless execution to reach a putting surface set on a converted island in one of the JCB lakes, with a 30-metre drop meaning the hole plays considerably shorter than the card suggests. Beach-like bunkers flow directly into the water at the front and rear of the green, and an elevated tee looks down on a two-tiered putting surface. Reviews have divided on whether the drama justifies its billing - some feel it sits slightly apart in character from the rest of the course - but there is little question it leaves a lasting impression.
Access to the course is tightly controlled. Membership is entirely corporate, with companies purchasing annual allocations of rounds for executives and clients; standard green-fee play is not available, and JCB employees can access the course on Sunday afternoons for a reduced fee.
It has hosted events on the Legends Tour and the Rose Ladies Series, before stepping up considerably when LIV Golf UK was staged here in July 2024, drawing over 37,000 spectators across three days - the most successful LIV event ever held on British soil. Jon Rahm claimed his first individual LIV title at the event, with Legion XIII also taking the team honours.
