Home of the English Golf Union, Woodhall Spa Golf Club offers two superb inland golf courses - the Bracken Course and the Hotchkin Course, the latter being recognised as the championship layout at Woodhall Spa. Stafford Hotchkin redesigned the original course in the 1920's and since then, the Hotchkin Course has hosted most of the top national and international amateur events. As regards quality, Woodhall Spa vies with Ganton for the position of best inland course in Britain, while Golf Magazine recently ranked it among the world's 30 best golf courses.

The English Golf Union acquired Woodhall Spa in 1995 and they engaged Donald Steele to construct the imaginative Bracken Course. Today, the venue is recognised as the centre of the amateur game in England and it boasts a comprehensive training academy, suitable for players of all standards. It's still the Hotchkin Course however; that's proves the main attraction to the golfing enthusiast at Woodhall Spa. Built on sandy soil, the Hotchkin Course is set amongst banks of gorse and glorious heather and its fairways are generally lined with mature canopies of oak, fir and towering silver birch. The course is also renowned for its formidable bunkers, many of which are so formidable that grown men can disappear from view when attempting escape.

Promotional literature often incorrectly states that there are no weak holes on a certain course but in the case of Woodhall Spa, nothing could be truer. Even in the face of narrow fairways, the Hotchkin Course is a fair test and one, which appeals to all standards of golfer. Good shots are rewarded, moderate shots are tolerated and bad shots are punished but then that is what golf is all about. Most memorable holes on the front-nine include the tough 3rd, with the ruined red tower overlooking the green; the short 5th, with its long, narrow well-bunkered green; and the par five, 6th, rated as the most difficult hole on the course.

The narrowing effect of mature trees on the fairways becomes more pronounced on the homeward journey, which starts with a drive from the 10th tee, which does well to avoid a particularly enormous bunker. The 11th and 12th holes are among the most picturesque on the course, the latter a 172-yard par three, which is played to a narrow green guarded by the customary array of bunkers. The long doglegging par four 13th is a superb hole, while the round ends on a fitting note, with the closing par five measuring some 540 yards. Avoid finishing behind the large oak tree at all costs.