Created by Dr. Alister MacKenzie and opened in 1925, Cavendish Golf course is one of over 100 golf courses around the world that he helped to design. Particularly notable among these are The Augusta National and Cypress Point in USA, Royal Melbourne in Australia and of course, Cavendish, here in Buxton.
Dr Alister MacKenzie, the celebrated course designer, was commissioned by the Duke of Devonshire in 1923 to lay out a new 18-hole course, replacing a 9-hole course in nearby Buxton. The course at Cavendish Golf Club was ready for play two years later and it has remained virtually unchanged in character for more than three quarters of a century.
With an overall length a modest 5,721 yards and a par of 68, Cavendish holds true to a couple of MacKenzie’s design principles – that the golf course should look as natural as possible (with artificial features blending in seamlessly with the landscape) and, above all, be interesting to players of all abilities. Although considered short by modern standards, the course features some dramatically contoured greens and well-placed strategic bunkering. Many natural features have been brought into play in the clever design, including deep ravines and valleys, fast flowing streams and wide, undulating fairway landing areas.
Cavendish has plenty to arouse the golfer – whether it be it the elevated tee position of the short par three 4th hole, the blind drive at the 8th hole, the two-tiered green on the 9th or the crescent shaped putting surface on the 13th – there’s many stimulating design features to enjoy during the round where accurate approach play is essential in making a reasonable score around here.