Driving through the Golden Gates of Bowood's grand entrance, you enter a golfing haven. Set within ‘Capability' Brown's 2000-acre Great Park and the estate of Bowood House and Gardens, lies the championship golf course carefully designed by Dave Thomas, architect of the Belfry.

Working with the natural beauty of majestic rolling parkland, with a wealth of mature trees and lakes, Thomas' brief was to create a course to be enjoyed by all who wished to play. With a range of tees on every hole, the higher handicapped golfer is not overwhelmed by too difficult a course, yet from the back tees in events which include the European Challenge Tour Championships, even the greatest from the professional ranks find this stunning course a challenging test of their skills.

Voted among the top ten new courses in Britain and top fifty golf destinations in Europe by Golf World Magazine, Bowood boasts one of the finest 18 hole courses in the South of England.

The course gives a genuine feeling of getting away from the stresses and strains of modern life. Indeed, only three buildings can be seen from the course - the Clubhouse, Queenwood Golf Lodge and Derry Hill Church spire. Bowood competes for length as well as difficulty with the toughest championship courses. Numerous tree and water barriers, together with cunningly placed bunkers, ensure that you have more to think about than just cutting the corners on the doglegs.

For those who are not feeling so brave, Thomas has been kind enough to provide forward tees, generous fairways and the opportunity to 'play safe'.