Does your course have a weird claim to fame?

Here at National Club Golfer we’re fortunate enough to play some really great courses all over the country, and when we do, members often tell us about the quirky little details that make their clubs special.

Sometimes the stories are fantastic – perhaps a Ryder Cup was held here, or Bernhard Langer once climbed a tree to play a shot – but often they’re something a little more obscure.

In our latest feature we take a look at some of the obscure, odd and outlandish claims to fame from Britain’s great golf courses.

Don’t forget, if you’re course has a claim to fame, get in touch and let us know.

So, without further ado, here’s our first installment:

Cold Ashby is located next to the largest field in Europe

‘It’s massive, you could put a town on it’ Cold Ashby is a tiny little village in Northamptonshire, with only 250 residents. But the village over-compensates for it’s diminutive size with a rather unusual claim of grandeur, like a middle-aged man in an obscenely-large car.






You know who you are


While it’s tough to verify, it’s certainly the case that the field next to Cold Ashby is huge. I mean, look at it…






And the claim to fame is one verified by head professional Greg Croxton, who said: “It’s massive, you could fit a town on it. Whether it’s still the biggest, I’m not sure, but it certainly was for a long time. We’re proud of our field.”


At 250 acres in size, there’s an acre for every resident in the tiny Northamptonshire village of Cold Ashby.



It’s double the size of the Vatican City in Rome.






Or 44 ploughed Pope portraits.

Or putting it another way, if your average golfer drinks 160 pints of beer every year, the field would grow enough barley to satisfy 31,250 golfers annually.



And as if that wasn’t enough, Cold Ashby has another claim to fame. The village is the highest in Northamptonshire, and the third tee is the highest point in the village. As a result, the third tee is the highest landmass, heading eastwards, until you reach Russia.






From Cold Ashby, to Cold As Hell

It was in Cold Ashby that the first trig pillar, familiar to anyone who has climbed to the top of a hill and caught their breath by leaning on the triangular post at the top, was installed.


We want to hear about your club’s unusual claims to fame. Get in touch by emailing here