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Hole 1

Hole Name

From The Tee This testing opening hole has out of bounds to the left for the length of the hole.

From The Fairway The fairway mound on the right at 230 yards encourages an accurate drive left of centre of the fairway

On The Green The Railway parallel to this hole was the last leg of London - Holyhead carriage of post to Ireland. Many a stray ball may have arrived in Dublin by train.

Hole 2

Hole Name

From The Tee This hole, with its offset green, has remained virtually unchanged since the original

From The Fairway 9 holes were constructed in 1913. The drive is from an elevated tee and the hole doglegs to the left. Bunkers down the right are within range making for thoughtful club selection.

On The Green The raised green with Mackenzie contours invites a high pitch and is protected by the course boundary at the rear and bunkers on the right.

Hole 3

Hole Name

From The Tee A Short relatively easy "Par" if the drive carries straight to the good size green.

From The Fairway Bunkers are in front and to the right of the green and a hook generally means a lost ball as the shot runs into the pond on the left.

On The Green The pond to the left of the green was previously a natural watering hole for the cattle which grazed the land.

Hole 4

Hole Name

From The Tee The longest hole of the course requires a careful drive with out of bounds on

From The Fairway the left encouraging play to the right, protected by a bunker and trees. The 2nd shot must be accurate to the centre of the fairway between the 2nd set of bunkers at 425 yards to

On The Green ensure a good third shot to the green which is bunkered right and left and slopes to a shallow dip. When the course was designed, Saltney was a thriving business area with boat-building and river-rail links for freight. At the time the Dee was navigable as far as the Saltney Quayside.

Hole 5

Hole Name

From The Tee Another good driving hole with heavy rough to the left of

From The Fairway the fairway adjacent to the natural course boundary and with small copses of trees on either side. These trees may block the second shot to the undulating green which is protected by bunkers and

On The Green where pin placement is often set to favour the brave. Before the Rail system was nationalised, the Great Western Railway Co. was one of the four principal rail companies. The fifth fairway was the boundary of land owned by G.W.R. which operated goods sidings to service Saltney Quays.

Hole 6

Hole Name

From The Tee The Fairway doglegs to the right and a good drive, that avoids the out of bounds on the left and

From The Fairway the grove of trees to the right and to the front, will allow the elevated green to be seen. A bold second shot is then required to negotiate the narrow entrance to an undulating green.

On The Green Overclub and the ball will end up in the banked rough at the back of the green or in the hedge that marks the course boundary. During World War II land was conscripted to provide basic foods; All the northern section of the golf course was ploughed to produce vegetables, and returned to the Golf Club in the early 1950's.

Hole 7

Hole Name

From The Tee Dogleg left from a very elevated tee and frequently played into a breeze.

From The Fairway Cut too much off the drive at your peril from the jungle on the left. A safe drive should leave a medium to short iron to a generous firm and undulating

On The Green green guarded by bunkers on two sides and with a ditch at the back should you over pitch. The tee marks the site of a gun emplacement which bombarded Chester when the city was beseiged in 1645-6 by Parliamentary Troops during the Civil War.

Hole 8

Hole Name

From The Tee Most players are well advised to just 'carry' the bunker that is some 15 yards short of

From The Fairway the green and 'run up'. With bunkers right and left, out of bounds close to the right side and little chance of survival to the left, a straight shot to

On The Green the green is a must. In the middle ages, the land which is now Chester C.C, was known as Brewers Hall from Bruery meaning Rough Pasture.

Hole 9

Hole Name

From The Tee The pond only 20 yards in front of the medal tee ensures that the golfer keeps their head down on the drive,

From The Fairway which ideally should be left of centre to avoid the small copse of trees on the right. Too long a straight drive can mean a difficult second shot to the green from behind the trees lining the left of the fairway.

On The Green The hole doglegs right with a ditch behind the hedge running all the way down to the green. The green is a small, Mackenzie type, open at the front, but with bunkers left and right. Should you miss the green, five or more is the likely result. The Field, of which the traditional hedge and ditch boundary is still preserved and where the 9th hole is now played was called "Long Croft" in the 1842 map

Hole 10

Hole Name

From The Tee A demanding hole with a pond to the left of the tee and mature conifers ahead and to the left.

From The Fairway Bunkers on line from the tee at 220 yards and opposite emphasise the need for a good drive. The large and generally receptive green awaits a high flying ball and is well protected by three bunkers.

On The Green Club legend records an occasion when James Bamford (Professional - 1906 - 36) played his approach to this green and the ball struck and killed two Wagtails: He then holed his putt for a Birdie. Bamford's pupils included Czar Nicholas II of Russia.

Hole 11

Hole Name

From The Tee The tee is adjacent to an intimidating slope full of mature trees and shrubs and which runs the length of the hole.

From The Fairway The pond, 40 yards short of the green and well left of the fairway, will always collect any wayward shots.

On The Green The green is bunkered front left and right. During and after World War II, Golf balls were scarce. The wooded bluff separating the two levels of the course became the hiding place of local "Entrepreneurs" who would quickly capture stray balls and subsequently offer them for sale to Golfers at "A Tanner a Ball".

Hole 12

Hole Name

From The Tee Another hole dominated by the bank on the right full of mature trees and bushes.

From The Fairway The teeing area enhances the dogleg to the right, with the left hand side of the fairway protected by trees and with the solitary fairway bunker positioned to catch out the big hitters.

On The Green The well contoured green, which is protected by bunkers left and right, is banked to provide some protection from the ditch 10 yards to the rear. This hole, constructed in 1919 as part of the extension of the first 9 hole course, was so christened in the early 1920's.

Hole 13

Hole Name

From The Tee

From The Fairway A long par 4 which can play easier provided the ball finds the narrow fairway.

On The Green Trees to the right and left do not favour a slice or a hook and it is bunkered at 245 yards on the fairway. The second shot may be frequently under clubbed and if so, the greenside bunkers await. The green slopes up considerably to the rear. Before the River Dee was artifically straightened between Saltney and The Roodee, its meandering route and periodic high tides created a flood plain either si

Hole 14

Hole Name

From The Tee A well designed hole requiring controlled shots to make par or better.

From The Fairway Fairway bunkers are very evident at 229 yards on the left and 413 yards on the right and three more guard the 35 yard deep

On The Green green that is banked at the rear. The hole, previously the 5th was originally traversed by a ditch, part of the earlier field drainage system.

Hole 15

Hole Name

From The Tee The shortest of the par 4's, but played to a most attractive green, delightfully set into

From The Fairway the bank below the path to the 18th tee. The green falls gently from the bank to a narrow entrance, is elevated and with one bunker front right and another back left.

On The Green An unwary approach shot can also catch the ditch to the right of the green. A.F.G. Jiggins (Captain 1963) joined Fred Hantree's Golf Course design partnership in 1968. Among several changes he introduced the new 15th hole to a green recovered from scrubland beyond the ditch, replaced a much shorter hole whose green is now concealed beneath the trees to the left of the fairway, donated by "Jigg".

Hole 16

Hole Name

From The Tee Another dogleg with a drive through a narrow gap and with mature trees right and left along

From The Fairway with fairway bunkers handily placed. The perfect drive should draw round the dogleg in the fairway leaving a short iron or pitch to the undulating raised

On The Green green surrounded by bunkers and where pin placement can be particularly testing. In the early 1700s, the River Navigation Authority installed Windmill pumps to assist drainage of the marsh land which now comprises of the lower half of the course.

Hole 17

Hole Name

From The Tee Whether driving from the lower tee or the elevated tee, this hole has ruined many a card.

From The Fairway Dense undergrowth beckons along the length of the hole on the left from which, even if the ball is found, par will rarely be retrieved. Trees to the right, a lateral ditch running almost full length, a bunker to the right and a green that slopes heavily from back to front makes this a challenging hole.

On The Green This hole replaced the previous "Up and Over" hole played from the lower level up and over the bluff to a green behind the 11th green. Many potentially good scores have been ruined by its combination of ditch, trees and the bluff.

Hole 18

Hole Name

From The Tee The fairway is tree lined and the drive must be accurate as there are bunkers at

From The Fairway 210 yards on the right and 225 yards on the left. A long drive leaves a short iron into a reasonably

On The Green flat green guarded by bunkers on the right and left. The first Club House on the site was the "Golf Pavilion", a mainly wooden structure, relocated from the club's earlier home at the Bache: it remained until 1964.