Review: Coventry Golf Club

Coventry Golf Club was first formed back in 1887 and moved to its current site in 1911. Designed by Tom Vardon with a little help from his famous brother Harry it soon matured and has remained one of the finest parkland examinations in the region. The club has hosted numerous Professional and Elite Amateur Tournaments. In 1974, a young Severiano Ballesteros Sota, aged 17 played his very first UK professional competition at Coventry. Even now Coventry Golf Club has been chosen as an Open Championship Regional Qualifying venue from 2008 to 2012.

Coventry is beautifully conditioned, aesthetically very pleasing to the eye and keeps your attention on a high level with 18 holes that rarely appear similar to each other.

Take it lightly at your peril though; it’s an inviting golf course from the tee boxes with pretty generous fairways and a discernible lack of heavy rough in sight. However if the impressively variable collection of trees and the winding River Sowe fail to hamper your progress Coventry has plenty of more subtle hazards in store for the unwary golfer.  

The putting surfaces are receptive enough but demand good club selection and a precise touch to find them, well protected as they are with banking and the odd penal trap lying in wait. It could be a solid short game that holds the key to success here, despite the fact the course is a fairly lengthy one and boasts five par 5’s from the white tees.

Notable holes include the picture book seventh; the shortest test with club selection at a premium to find its well guarded putting surface perched on high.  The tempting ninth, a large variety of trees guarantee a spectacular sight especially in full summer bloom from this tee, a birdie chance too for the accurate hitter. If the ninth is beauty, the 17^th hole, the highlight of a very tough finishing stretch could be the beast. A long par three that plays deceptively longer to a steep two tiered green with trouble spots all around, even the Open Qualifiers relish walking away with a par from here. It all concludes with a typically attractive looking 18^th, uphill to a raised green in front of the club house.

Even if the scorecard at the close has taken a bit of a hit and you can’t quite understand just how those shots managed to fritter themselves away, it’s just the Coventry way, delightfully deceptive with no hint of resentment from any first time golfer who succumbs to its nuances.

Coventry Classic

12^th 354 yards Par 4   A beautifully designed twisting short par four. From the tee take great care as the out of bounds on the left forces you to the opposite side where the land slants gently towards the fairway traps. A probable wedge is all you need for the approach which needs accuracy to also avoid the attractive water feature complete with cascading falls to the right of the putting surface.

19^th hole

The facilities at the club are suitable to cater for all parties big and small. The clubhouse is well furnished with a comfortable lounge on the upper floor offering panoramic views of the course. A fully licensed bar is also provided and the club also boasts a sun terrace with outdoor seating, tables and parasols to enjoy a meal or cool drink in the afternoon and evening sun.

Awards

Only last year the club became the first in England to be awarded the English Golf Environment Award, the EGE Award is presented in recognition of clubs that have put into place environmental issues such as preserving natural habitat, bird and wild life conservation and tree planting schedules etc. Coventry is also a GolfMark accredited venue.

Review by Phil Nicholas from Midlands Golfer. 

Midlands Golfer is a bi-monthly publication and delivered free to all clubs, ranges and golfing retailers across the region. Very much written and produced with the average player and society golfer in mind with news,reviews and features from both our editorial team and golfing contributors from all over The Midlands.