Charnock Richard

Lancashire's flat, agricultural plain has a way of surprising golfers — the land looks unremarkable from the road, but ground-level interest and prevailing westerly winds can make an open parkland layout far more demanding than it first appears. Charnock Richard sits in this stretch of the county, positioned close to the M6 corridor between Preston and Wigan, a part of Lancashire that is less celebrated for golf than the coastal links belt to the west but has its own quiet, working tradition of the game.

Without specific records on its founding architect or any notable redesigns, the honest picture here is of a club that serves its local community — the kind of 18-hole members' course where regular competitors know every bounce and local knowledge is a genuine stroke-saver. That familiarity between golfer and ground is part of what these clubs do well.

For visitors, the draw is a full-length round in a genuine Lancashire setting, within easy reach of the motorway network but feeling a world removed from it once you're out on the course.