Whilst the length of Mersey Valley encourages you to pluck the big dog out of the bag more often than not, should you not be on song with it, the course can be quite forgiving allowing relatively easy recovery on most holes. The thousands of newly planted trees give those who prefer to use the rules to their own advantage the chance to leave the stake out of the bag and use the newly planted tree clause.

The bunkers around the course are well placed too - ready to catch those who don’t fly the ball all the way to the flag. Even in the depths of winter, the greens remain in excellent condition and the extensive drainage work ensures this low-lying golf course absorbs anything Mother Nature can throw at it.

A bit like Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, where the course might lack natural beauty in places, it makes up for it by being a bit of an animal in others. The stroke index 1 432yard 8th hole, for example, might not instantly remind you of Amen Corner, but with a narrow fairway and even narrower green, this hole might have bigger teeth than expected.

Another monster hole awaits in the form of the 445yard par 4 11th. Once again it’s dead straight but with a stream running across the fairway and a large bunker taking care of the front right approach to the green, this peach of a hole will test even the Professionals.

Mersey Valley has filled up every nook and cranny of its site and squeezed in some long holes. All of the par fives are over 500yards and with only one par 4 under 300, your long iron play will be tested again and again. The 13th for example takes you out to the perimeters of the course with a nice long 539yard par 5 and you’re brought back to the centre of the park with another long par 4. In contrast to the front nine the second half of the course predominantly consists of straight holes apart from the 16th, which is a nice little par 4 of 361yards that will tempt you to try and cut the corner, but a well placed bunker will catch you out if you hit it thin.

As if the 8th and 11th weren’t enough to deal with, the killer blow comes at the final hurdle; a massive 449yard par four will settle any close matches and brings you nicely back to the comforts of the 19th hole.



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