Cowdray Golf Club Review

If jaw-dropping scenery, excellent accommodation, wonderful locally-sourced food and superb golf facilities are your thing (and if not, why not?) you should be checking out Cowdray Golf Club.

This is not your typical resort golf club. For starters, there are not dozens of rooms. On the contrary, Cowdray GC is an intimate venue offering a Bothy that sleeps two, plus The Lodge, which was created from the old 18th century clubhouse that now sleeps a total of 16 people. We recently stayed at The Bothy, a delightful place that features a huge double bed, TV, roll-top bath and bathroom and underfloor heating.

The Lodge and The Bothy come with a bed and breakfast option. More of the breakfast later.

Cowdray Golf Club, which was redesigned between August 2023 and April 2024, is located in the South Downs, close to the village of Midhurst and not far from Chichester.

You will know that Golfshake’s raison d’être is to provide you with reviews of the best golf courses and stay-and-play venues, around the UK and further afield. And Cowdray certainly boasts a wonderful golf facility, but before we get to that I want to tell you a little bit about where it is located and things to do in the area.

The Local Area

My wife and I are history buffs and are members of the National Trust. Just five miles from Cowdray is Petworth House and Park. This is no ordinary National Trust property - originally built in the 17th century, it boasts the largest art collection of any NT property in England as well as a 700-acre deer park.

We marvelled at paintings by Titian, Turner, Constable, Van Dyck and just about any other artist you have ever heard of. There are sculptures that will take your breath away. We spent three hours here and could easily have been there longer. And that is before you take a step back in time by entering the servants’ quarters.

If you are visiting this part of the country, Petworth House is an absolute must.

And if you are into antiques, the streets of Petworth are lined with shops that will keep you fascinated for hours.

From there we travelled to the Weald and Downland Living Museum, a collection of medieval buildings brought to the area from various parts of the country and then lovingly reconstructed. It features a mind-boggling collection that includes a blacksmith, a working watermill and bakery that produces bread and biscuits on a daily basis, a dairy, vehicle and implements gallery, assorted cottages and houses, and the Downland Gridshell Building that is the most incredible feat of engineering. We spent another three hours here.

It is also home to The Repair Shop, as featured in the BBC TV show of the same name.

It is worth mentioning that the thing that makes both of these venues so special is the incredible army of volunteers who man them. Their enthusiasm and knowledge for what they do knows no bounds.

The nearby village of Midhurst is also worth a visit. Apart from a huge selection of shops, there are many pubs, cafes and restaurants. On our way back from the living museum we stumbled across a delightful community owned pub called The Blue Bell at Cocking Village where a group of walkers who had been enjoying the delights of the South Downs had lined up their boots by the front door.

Meanwhile back at Cowdray… the golf club overlooks Cowdray Ruins which is known to have been visited by both King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. In September 1793, while undergoing repairs and refurbishments for the impending marriage of the 8th Viscount Montague, a devastating fire took hold and most of the property was destroyed. The Kitchen Tower is the only part of the mansion to remain intact today but it remains a spectacular sight.

The Food

The clubhouse at Cowdray GC serves breakfast and also has a full menu that is served until 5pm.

The full English was utterly magnificent, featuring Cowdray sausage, smoked bacon, free range eggs, grilled plum tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, black pudding and toast. Food of the gods! 

Other breakfast options include a vegetarian full English, smoked salmon and scrambled egg, avocado on toast, eggs on toast, mushrooms on toast, bacon sandwich, sausage sandwich and granola, berries and Greek yoghurt. 

The lunch menu is no less impressive. Options include sandwiches, fish and chips, scampi and chips, steak and burger. It is all locally-sourced produce and is absolutely scrumptious. There is also a Sunday carvery serving mouthwatering roasts.

You can also eat at the nearby Cowdray farm shop and cafe, a thriving business that once again focuses on serving locally-sourced produce. It showcases a range of estate-reared lamb, beef and venison, together with baked foods, English wines and local fruit and vegetables.

Golf

Cowdray has an 18-hole parkland course. It measures 6,325 yards from the white tees and 6,000 yards from the yellow tees and is a par 70. The soil is sandy which means there is excellent drainage.

The redesign is flawless, with all bunkers redesigned and all paths rebuilt.

The first hole is a 375-yard par four that look innocuous enough but the tree-lined fairway is pretty tight and there is a bunker to the right that has to be avoided. The approach is to a small-ish green guarded by two further bunkers. The second is another testing par four of 418 yards and again, there are trees to be avoided. The fairway slopes from right to left. My favourite hole was the 173-yard third. Why? I missed out on a hole-in-one by two inches. The fifth is a great par five. It measures 501 yards and has a rather more generous fairway but you need pinpoint accuracy with your approach to a putting surface protected by two large sand traps. The seventh runs to 359 yards and favours a tee shot hit to the right side of a fairway that slopes gently from right to left before an approach to a shallow green. The eighth is another par five, 521 yards this time. Avoid the bunker on the left, two further traps located around 115 yards from the green and you are faced with an approach to a narrow, undulating green - this time the sand is on the right.

You can open up your shoulders on the 429-yard 10th, with no bunkers until you approach the green. The 11th is a delightful little par three of 109 yards that looked innocuous enough but requires pinpoint accuracy to avoid the three bunkers. The 332-yard 12th is a definite birdie opportunity - aim down the right and you will be left with a short approach to a green with not a single bunker to be seen! The big trouble on the 358-yard 14th is all on the right, with plenty of trees to be avoided. But there are bunkers on the left edge before an approach to a long green protected by yet more traps. The 16th is 324 yards from an elevated tee and, once more, the major tree trouble is on the right, with the fairway sloping that way. So you want a draw before a short iron to another undulating green. The 18th is a wonderful finishing hole. It measures 367 yards and plays uphill from right to left. The key with the approach is to make sure you take enough club because the bunker short left is NOT where you want to be.

Golf has been played here for more than 100 years and the course overlooks the ruins of the old Cowdray House as well as views of the South Downs and the Cowdray Estate’s woodlands.

There is also a driving range with covered bays and full custom-fitting facilities.

There is a five-hole par-three course that is perfect for honing your short game - it is worth mentioning that the condition of this facility is absolutely perfect, boasting unmarked tees and terrific undulating putting surfaces.

Alternative Accommodation

Cowdray House is a former hunting lodge that is perfect if you are looking for a touch of luxury. And the ideal wedding venue. 

Ambersham House is a picturesque Grade II newly renovated country house which overlooks Cowdray’s world renowned polo fields and sleeps six people. Challens Yarde is a beautifully appointed grade II listed luxury cottage newly available for holiday rental. Formerly a wheelwright’s shop and three cottages, Challens is a large double fronted cottage, providing spacious, bright, and airy accommodation for up to eight people, with its own private garden and off-street parking.

Costers Lodge, which sleeps six, is a stone’s throw away from Cowdray House, making it an ideal location for a secluded countryside break close to local amenities, countryside walks and fantastic pubs. Aspley Cottage, which sleeps four people, is a short drive from Midhurst town, tucked away in a stunning rural location. There are also four luxury treehouses that can each accommodate two people, as well as four holiday cottages.

Verdict

Cowdray GC is a wonderful layout. The fairways and tees are superb, the bunkers are well designed and filled with proper sand and the greens are flawless. The clubhouse is warm and inviting, the food is of the highest standard and the staff are friendly. There is no shortage of things to do on site - and there is plenty to do within striking distance. 

For further information, please visit https://www.cowdray.co.uk/.