Muswell Hill

Few London golf clubs carry quite as much history as Muswell Hill, which traces its origins to the late Victorian era and has been part of the North London golfing landscape for well over a century. The club sits in one of the capital's more elevated districts — Muswell Hill itself occupies a ridge with views across the city — and the course makes genuine use of that topography, with the undulating terrain giving the layout a character you don't always expect to find this close to Zone 3. It's a members' club with the feel of something that has grown organically with its surroundings rather than been engineered from scratch.

North London's parkland golf tends to reward the thinking player more than the power hitter, and Muswell Hill fits that tradition well. Tree-lined fairways, ground that moves beneath your feet, and the need to shape shots and manage angles give the round substance.

For visitors, the draw is partly the course itself and partly the pleasure of playing golf inside Greater London — urban in postcode, genuinely countrylike in atmosphere.