Reviewed: Stoke Park

As soon as you drive through the gates, you know you?re in for something special. Take in the views of the course as you drive towards the imposing 18th-century clubhouse complete with dome and steps to an entrance guarded by stone lions. This was the backdrop to the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger and overlooks three loops of nine holes (Colt, Alison & Jackson), all of which are immaculately kept.

When Harry Shapland Colt designed what was then Stoke Poges Club (which opened in 1908), a certain Alistair MacKensie was his assistant. A quarter of a century later MacKenzie used the design of the Stoke Park hole 7 for hole 12 at Augusta.

In fact Stoke Park has its own run of holes to match ?Amen Corner?, first of the four is the