Following last months borderline crossing to play the fabulous Morley Hayes Golf Club in Derbyshire (which you can read all about here), we are back in blighty for this month’s review as I fine tune one of Nottinghamshire’s most popular venues and one I myself have not been to for quite a few years.

I used to be a regular at Ramsdale Park Golf Centre pushing ten or fifteen years ago and more, an often busy venue off the A614 north of Arnold and bordering the ex-coal mining village of Calverton, a superb but challenging full course which I’ll go on to, it has a driving range, recently upgraded and in fine and colourful condition, a par three eighteen hole course that is one of the best in the country, not just the county, and now it even has Pirate Golf for the kiddies. Something for everyone, you can see why the place is so popular with its friendly ‘appeal’ to all.

We booked in for a peak-time Friday afternoon slot and I feared the worst, having played the often-packed par three on several occasions’ years gone by, I presumed we would be in for an equally busy main course with the weather being bright, and pulling up in the car park, struggling to find a spot.

Car finally sited, clubs out the boot and some time to kill, I went for a spot of putting practice outside the fabulous looking clubhouse, a squidgy well-cut surface that only needed a tap on the ball, if the greens are like this, we’re in for a real treat.

A three ball with work colleagues was the day’s agenda, I met two lads who had just been smashing themselves freely on the driving range. I’ve heard good things about it since it’s been done up. “ball tracking” and “painted targets” apparently “they even bring you beer”…

Elbows knocked, fist pumps given, then our short walk from the putting green to the first tee ensured our 2:15pm tee time would be without delay.

There’s already a queue, people on after us are waiting by the side, watching, don’t fluff your lines, just hit it down the middle, the first hole is a short par 4, slightly elevated tee, dog leg to the left, big hitters can cheat and go for it, I’m not that warm, I’m not embarrassing myself, just get it past the dirt track and on to the fairway, 200 yards, there’s now a shot at the green.

The first three holes, all par four are nothing much in distance, all well under 400 yards, if you can navigate the right to left (avoiding trees and bunkers) on the first you should be off to a good start, the second is short and straight, the third repeat, back on yourself, and the fourth, 100 yards or so longer than the first three, will see you nicely through the opening part of the course, which is relatively bland and straight forward, before being directed through a gate and cross a single track lane to another field completely, and hole number five.

In this time, although busy as thought, I’ve been relatively pleased with the wide fairways, the rough has not been hazardous, course in good condition, the greens are however, immaculate. Best I’ve played at any course this year, greener than your usual green, wet on the foot with a slight squidging noise as you walk, give it a tap and the ball will run, some undulation which isn’t always noticeable to the eye, challenging, but rewarding for good straight putting.

This next section of the course feels different to the flat first few just played, it feels like four holes in the farmers field next door, which it is, more hilly, I can’t see the green from the fifth and although I played it many years ago, don’t remember it at all. It’s doglegged to the right, but I find this out after its too late. I’m in the trees having fluffed my drive and hit my next shot straight.

Surrounded by bunkers and with a shorter, less forgiving approach, it’s nothing like the first four holes, a tougher one to master, perhaps the start of things to come?

I do remember hole number six, from my younger days in playing here, I was always happy to see a short par three, not so much these days, my par on every hole is usually five no matter if the pin is 100 yards or 500 yards away.

132 yards with a small pond beneath, you really shouldn’t be having any water trouble but it’s aesthetically the best of the course so far, I’m just happy to make the green, knocking it a good 30ft past the flag, before nailing my shot of the day straight in for a birdy, saviour following the previous holes disaster. A timely tap on these wonderful greens that the great Seve Ballesteros would be proud of. And the birdy dance to match, of course.

The seventh is around 500 yards of par five and is a nice hole to have a real good smash at your clubs. Driver, 5 iron, wedge for me, as standard for a hole of this length, no way on earth am I getting here in two, but a relatively short approach gives me a birdy chance, just don’t fluff your lines by hitting either of the greenside bunkers on the left or right.

The final hole in this farmers field is a fairly basic looking par three with a big bunker in front of an elevated green. Get through that and it’s back across the road and through the gate to the ninth, to complete the front nine with a dog leg way left.

Aim straight and lay up as I doubt even the best of ‘hookers’ won’t be able to cheat this one, a firm mid-iron up the hill will see you in and around the green with a relatively low score a realistic possibility on the outward 35.

Now it’s at this stage, where I usually shake hands and say ‘that’s it’ for Ramsdale… I can’t actually ever remember playing the back nine before, but I remember the walk up from the ninth to the tenth, and to put it bluntly, it is not the most enjoyable.

The club house sits above the ninth flag, with a sign stating “Half Way House”… If ever it’s needed, it’s here at Ramsdale.

My dad, who’s not a fan of hills on golf courses (as told in my review of Mapperley), says it’s ‘ridiculous’ and once said to me me ‘if you ever dare do it, take a buggy’.

We didn’t have the buggy this time, maybe we should of hired one, instead, a quick pit stop and up the hill through the woods, up the hill some more, the calves start to burn, the hill continues, the breathing gets heavier, altitude kicks in, suddenly you’re top of a mountain with a view over the whole of East Nottinghamshire.

My History teacher once told me, the highest point of Mapperley top and surrounding areas, which you could argue this part of the golf course was midst, is also the highest point from ‘here’ to the Ukraine as you look East. I don’t doubt that, crossing Lincolnshire, Norfolk, over the North sea to the Netherlands, Germany and Poland. I feel like I’ve walked to Kiev in just getting up that hill.

But when you do get there, and the weather changes from the calm serenity of ground zero to blowing gales off the top of a cliff, the views are stunning, you feel you are in a different place entirely, if the first nine were flat, relatively short, all very simplistic in design, this place confuses you to believe you’re now playing links golf in Scotland or Ireland, uneven fairways, tough terrain, conditions completely different with wind howling through the air, but that’s not to say it’s not 100% more enjoyable than the first part of the course, because this is suddenly a golf course for serious players.

The tenth is one of those lovely holes where no matter how long and hard you hit it, you can see the ball all the way and it allows you to have a real good smash. Be bold, aim right… Before noticing your shot slide down the huge slope to the left leaving you an uphill shot to the elevated green.

Like no10, eleven is also elevated but thankfully, a short par three which allows you respite, before another one of those holes where you can blast away as hard as you can without losing sight, hole number twelve is mostly downhill but flat and wide which is a nice pleasantry between a couple much more challenging, thirteen is uphill, par five, has a sloped and curved fairway, blind driving into the wilderness, everything about it suggests you will lose balls… No water in play but go right, you’re out of bounds, go left, you’ll probably be ok on the top bank, but you’ll do well to get a good lie no matter how well you hit it, because it’s that sort of hole.

Once you’re through to fourteen it’s yet another daunting walk up hill to the tee and yet another dog leg that this time breaks left to right and downhill, leaving faders like me playing trick shots like Paul Daniels as your ball runs down the slope towards the green.

You don’t know where you’ve hit it, it’s pure second guess to where your ball is going blind around the trees, just get round the corner and hope for the best. A nice lie and it’s a short down hill clip, a bad lie would be in some nasty rough either side of the fairway. If you draw the ball naturally, this hole probably won’t suit your swing, leaving you something fairly longer on shot no2.

Once conquered it’s onto fifteen and my favourite of the lot. You walk around the corner and notice a tee, hillside edge, pointing to nowhere. Below, deep down below it is water, woods, rough, in the distance, the far far distance, a bit of grass we can only just see. “We have to hit that” I question to my playing partners? “This is man’s golf” I swear it’s impossible to hit the fairway in one?

The par 5 is over 500 yards but hugely elevated, the idea to hit across the water and woodlands to get to the fairway sounds easier than it looks. Player one steps up, smashes it perfect, player two steps up, does the same, then it’s me… Nervous I say, “there has to be one that fluffs it into the water”… I aim left, pretty much straight for the water and hell for leather smash it as far as I can… My natural fade takes it safe, straight onto the middle of the fairway. All three balls within touching distance, but we’ve all, only just, made the fairway deep down into the valley below.

From there the hole is much more straight forward, up the hill a wide fairway that allows you to go as big as you can, it took me three shots in total to hit the first of two bunkers just short of the green, my next was into the next bunker, the fifth shot much better, managing to scramble a bogey with much relief. I’ll take that every time on here.

On 16 you are back to the same wide fairways of the opening few holes again, forgiving should your downhill drive not be on point, but 400 yards in distance is no easy par four, the 17^th is a par three elevated on a hill, no bunkers just straight shooting over the dip and on to the dancefloor, if you over hit the trees on the bank should stop you in your tracks.

Finally, you hit eighteen, it’s been pleasurable, a cracking back nine and is a joy to get here, ready for a drink, after navigating through the tough 10 to 15 in particular, with a nice downhill drive towards target. Like 15, all our tee shots were on point, triangular within 10 yards of another, a chip shot home over a bunker which for some reason stood sandless and arguably the best clubhouse patio in the county awaits you, beers for all as you watch those behind you hit home, you’ve deserved it, a tough track to conquer, but one with some challenging and attractive holes that you’ll certainly enjoy.

• Course Looks: 8 out of 10
• Course Quality: 8 out of 10
• Course Difficulty: 8 out of 10

*Article provided by Daniel Peacock (Editor).

*Main image @RamsdaleParkGC a stunning but tough course to master with an enduring back nine.