Woodhall Spa Golf Club Hotchkin Course Key Information
Tom Doak’s highly acclaimed renovation has elevated the course’s status yet further. Doak was guided by a vision to restore more of the Hotchkin’s original heathland character. Many holes now play over relatively open heathland once more, while others, especially on the back nine, venture in among the trees a little more – and plenty of trees remain!
The Hotchkin is famed for its bunkering, which integrates beautifully with both fairways and heather. Bunkers are well placed throughout and a great deal of thought is required off the tee. This is not a course where you can smash driver on every hole!
REASONS TO PLAY WOODHALL SPA (HOTCHKIN)
- One of the most sympathetic renovations of a great heathland course in the UK
- A chance to find out how good your bunkers skills are from some of the UK's most demanding traps
- A fine example of how to create interest and variety throughout on relatively flat terrain
RANKINGS
UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2025/26 - 12
Among the inland courses in our Top 100 Golf Courses UK & Ireland rankings, only Sunningdale Old and New eclipse this respected heathland layout in the Lincolnshire spa town, where the well-received Tom Doak renovation project came to an end in 2019.
As with many heathland courses, the vision has been to restore much of the original heathland character, with trees, shrubs and gorse removed where appropriate, bunkers returned to their original, more natural style and other long-lost ones re-introduced.
Few UK&I heathland courses have been transformed to this degree this century, and I was amazed by how different it looked and felt when I finally got to see the fruits of all this extensive labour and imagination.
It is much less claustrophobic, and all the better for it visually, let alone what all the clearing must mean for turf conditioning in places where there was previously insufficient light and air.
The bunkers are, of course, what this fine course is most famed for, and while conventional thinking is that they are as testing as on any inland course within these shores, I'm not quite so sure that Ganton's don't just pip it having played both revamped courses reasonably close together.
Suffice to say, you really want to avoid them if at all possible on both, although I was delighted to successfully get it up and down from one of the greenside traps on the 5th on my last visit. But the course is about so much more than just its bunkers, hence its lofty status in our rankings.
The club dates back to 1891, with Messrs Vardon, Taylor, Colt and Hotchkin involved in its evolution over the early part of the 20th century. Many holes play over relatively open heathland, while others, especially on the back nine, venture in among the trees a little more.
There are doglegs, heather and pines at nearly every turn, but, as already alluded to, the real key to scoring is still perhaps to steer well clear of the deepest bunkers, nowhere more so than on that modest par-3 5th, where first-time visitors have the slight mental advantage of not knowing just how crucial it is to hit the target.
There are many, many good holes, but the long par-3 8th to an elevated green sets up particularly magnificently from the tee. There’s a great selection of holes to negotiate around and just after the turn including a very strong run between the 9th and 14th, with the 11th one of the finest and most attractive heathland holes anywhere.
The Hotchkin is a classic, heathland layout where the premium really is on accuracy. Yes, it may be a little off the beaten track some way east of the A1, but those who make the effort will not be disappointed, even more so since Doak’s excellent renovation work was completed.
What's new for 2025/26? What our panellists said…
A 7,000-yard sand-based, heathland course of longstanding layout but recently enhanced through extensive scrub and tree removal and rebunkering. Bunkers are plentiful and penal, with often huge catchment areas, but manicured fairways are relatively generous in size. However, beware as the thick heathery rough quickly awaits if the fairways are missed by only a few feet. A course and practice facilities of the very highest order and, unusually for one in the Top 20, exceptional value for money with a county card.
The Hotchkin at Woodhall Spa is an exceptional golf course design. Carved into the beautiful heathland and woodland terrain, it utilises the natural landscape to create memorable holes with a variety of lies and shot options. The course's undulating terrain, adorned with heather, gorse, and pine trees, not only enhances its aesthetic charm but also presents strategic challenges to golfers. The course's bunkers are its calling card - both visually striking and strategically significant. Deep and thoughtfully placed, they demand precision and careful shot planning, adding a layer of complexity to the game.
Woodhall Spa Golf Club location
Contact Woodhall Spa to enquire about tee-times
Woodhall Spa Golf Club Hotchkin Course Scorecard
Best Courses Near Woodhall Spa Golf Club
Best Places To Stay Near Woodhall Spa
Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa - Book now at Booking.com
The Petwood Hotel, just a few minutes from Woodhall Spa Golf Club, has a wonderful old-school feel. It’s packed with history too, not least from its World War II role as the officers’ mess for the 617 ‘Dambusters’ squadron. An evening stroll through the beautiful grounds with a drink in hand is the perfect way to end the day after dinner.
The Golf Hotel Woodhall Spa - Book now at Booking.com
Built in 1880, The Golf Hotel Woodhall Spa next to the golf club is set amid seven acres of well-kept gardens, lawns and woodlands. With dark wood furnishings, rooms at The Golf Hotel each have a satellite TV, trouser press and free tea and coffee. Each private bathroom includes a hair dryer.
Woodhall Spa Golf Club Hotchkin Course Gallery
WOODHALL SPA HOTCHKIN COURSE HISTORICAL TOP 100 RANKING UK&I
- 2025/26 - 12
- 2023/24 - 13
- 2021/22 - 18
- 2019/20 - 20
- 2017/18 - 22
- 2015/16 - 18
- 2013/14 - 18
- 2011/12 - 19
- 2009/10 - 18
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Woodhall Spa's Hotchkin golf course the best in Lincolnshire?
Yes, according to the Golf Monthly UK&I Top 100 rankings and most other observers. Indeed, it is the only Lincolnshire course in our Top 100, with Seacroft, on the coast near Skegness, making our Next 100 list. Not only is it the best course in Lincolnshire but also the third highest-ranked inland course in our UK&I Top 100 behind only Sunningdale New (9th) and Sunningdale Old (10th).
Is there a second golf course at Woodhall Spa?
Yes, the newer Bracken course, a Donald Steel creation, opened in 1998. It has a different feel to the Hotchkin course, starting off Woburn-style on the opener before merging parkland with occasional heathland moments over a series of holes that demand clear strategic thinking off the tee. Water makes its presence felt too on a number of the early holes in particular.
