No wonder Sir Henry Cotton chose to become club professional here at Ashridge golf course. This is a quintessentially English course, which occupies a large and quiet tract of woodland on the edge of the Chiltern Hills - some of the gently curving dog-leg holes are beauty and elegance in golfing guise. The Ashridge layout comprises three-loops which all start and finish in view of the relatively new and chalet-like clubhouse. Most holes are tree-lined, gently undulating and stunningly natural. Good bunkering defends the greens, which often slope much more than you think - take your time and interrogate your putting lines carefully. Perhaps a touch of Wentworth about this course, without so much of the expensive real estate, but with a small herd of deer that seem unphased by the golf, until you get too close that is. A true English aristocrat among parkland golf courses.