Whilst this topic has always historically been a subjective matter, since the World Handicap System was rolled out globally in 2020, with the previously introduced Slope Rating (‘SR’) a more fundamental aspect, it’s now feasible to compare courses on a more scientific basis.
However, whilst each individual courses’ SR can be found (R&A database source here), no end of Googling can locate a pre-existing collated list and ranking. Perhaps that’s because of the lack of uniformity in tee colours and convention, with many clubs having their own systems, making it challenging to make comparisons.
Nevertheless, we’ve grasped the nettle and used common sense in trying to align almost 100 clubs in a logical and fair fashion.
The next challenge, is defining the master list of courses. We plumped for Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs list, which seemed suitably official. We also subscribe to their pre-1974 view of the Cheshire boundaries, which includes the Wirral to the West, and towns like Stockport and Stalybridge to the North and East… rather than the Johnny-come-lately (a mere 50 years) administrative boundaries that dictates who collects your bins!
We’ve sorted the list on the SR for the back tees (white unless noted otherwise).
So here’s the list in full including links to club websites and course reviews where completed… scroll to the bottom for our conclusion.
| Rank | Course | White | Yellow (Men) | Red (Women) | Review / Notes |
| 1 | Royal Liverpool | 152 (Championship) / 146 (black) | 154 (open route) / 139 | 146 (black) | |
| 2 | Wychwood Park | 151 (‘The 151’) | 148 (‘The 148’) | 147 (‘The 147’) | Course Review |
| 3 | Houldsworth | 149 (women) / 134 (men) | 129 | 134 | |
| 4 | Mellor | 146 (women) / 127 (men) | 124 | 131 | Course Review |
| 5 | Prestbury | 146 | 141 | 130 | |
| 6 | Hazel Grove | 143 (women) / 127 (men) | 126 | 125 | |
| 7 | Bromborough | 142 | 137 | 134 | |
| 8 | The Tytherington Club | 142 (blue) | 134 | 142 | Course Review |
| 9 | Altrincham | 141 | 137 | 136 | Course Review |
| 10 | Chester | 141 | 139 | 134 | |
| 11 | Dunham Forest | 141 | 143 | 139 | |
| 12 | Eaton | 141 (black) | 139 | 130 | |
| 13 | Heswall | 141 (blue) | 135 | 135 | |
| 14 | The Mere | 141 (black) | 135 | 139 (green) | Course Review |
| 15 | Ashton on Mersey | 139 (women) / 134 (men) | 129 | 131 | Course Review |
| 16 | Vale Royal Abbey | 139 | 135 | 134 | |
| 17 | Wirral | 139 (women) / 124 (men) | 118 (men) / 134 (women) | ||
| 18 | Bramall Park | 138 | 131 | 131 | Course Review |
| 19 | Hale | 138 (women) / 131 (blue / men) | 130 | 133 | Course Review |
| 20 | Sandiway | 138 | 132 | 139 | |
| 21 | Chorlton-Cum-Hardy | 137 | 134 | 136 | |
| 22 | Macclesfield | 137 | 133 | 134 | Course Review |
| 23 | Portal – Championship | 137 | 133 | 135 | Course Review |
| 24 | Warrington | 137 (black) / 136 (white) | 129 (green) | 141 | Course Review |
| 25 | Ellesmere Port | 136 | 130 | 131 | |
| 26 | Malkins Bank | 136 | 129 | 131 | Course Review |
| 27 | Mottram Hall | 136 | 131 | 139 | Course Review |
| 28 | Northenden | 136 | 135 | 131 | |
| 29 | Sandiway Alternative | 136 | 131 | 138 | |
| 30 | Vicars Cross | 136 | 135 | 138 | |
| 31 | Walton Hall | 136 | 133 | 135 | Course Review |
| 32 | Carden Park Cheshire Course | 135 | 133 | 132 | |
| 33 | Carden Park The Nicklaus Course | 135 (black) | 121 | 121 | |
| 34 | Heaton Moor | 135 | 131 | 135 | |
| 35 | Romiley | 135 | 128 | 129 | |
| 36 | Shrigley Hall | 135 | 130 | 130 | Course Review |
| 37 | Delamere Forest | 134 (green) | 131 | 137 | |
| 38 | Alder Root | 134 | 129 | 126 | |
| 39 | Arrowe Park | 134 | 124 | 132 | |
| 40 | Bramhall | 134 (Championship women) / 128 men | 127 | 133 | Course Review |
| 41 | Caldy | 134 | 131 | 131 | |
| 42 | Lymm | 134 | 131 | 135 | |
| 43 | Prenton | 134 | 136 | 128 | |
| 44 | Sale | 134 | 129 | 137 | Course Review |
| 45 | Wallasey | 133 | 132 | 140 | |
| 46 | Bidston | 132 | 127 | 127 | |
| 47 | High Legh | 132 | 121 | 130 | Course(s) Review |
| 48 | Werneth Low | 132 | 130 | 126 | Course Review |
| 49 | Astbury | 131 | 130 | 127 | |
| 50 | Birchwood | 131 (black) | 124 | 128 | |
| 51 | Crewe | 131 | 130 | 133 | Course Review |
| 52 | Knutsford | 131 | 124 | 128 | Course Review |
| 53 | Portal – Premier | 131 | 127 | 134 | Course Review |
| 54 | Ringway | 131 | 132 | 140 | Course Review |
| 55 | Stockport | 131 | 128 | 132 | |
| 56 | Withington | 131 | 128 | 135 | |
| 57 | Brackenwood | 130 | 126 | Currently Closed | |
| 58 | Cheadle | 130 | 119 | 122 | |
| 59 | Dukinfield | 130 | 125 | 127 | |
| 60 | Poulton Park | 130 | 127 | 128 | Course Review |
| 61 | Reddish Vale | 130 | 127 | 128 | |
| 62 | Styal | 130 | 125 | 132 | Course Review |
| 63 | Warren | 130 | 127 | 135 | Course Review |
| 64 | Wilmslow | 130 | 128 | 139 | |
| 65 | Leasowe | 129 | 131 | 129 | Course Review |
| 66 | Pryors Hayes | 129 | 121 | 123 | Course Review |
| 67 | Alsager | 128 | 122 | 121 | |
| 68 | Didsbury | 128 | 127 | 133 | |
| 69 | Antrobus | 128 | 123 | 134 | |
| 70 | Heyrose | 128 | 125 | 127 | Course Review |
| 71 | Mersey Valley | 128 | 123 | 129 | |
| 72 | Stamford | 128 | 128 | 124 | |
| 73 | Aldersey Green | 126 | 125 | 127 | |
| 74 | Alderley Edge | 126 | 123 | 127 | Course Review |
| 75 | Gatley | 126 | 120 | 136 | Course Review |
| 76 | Hartford | 126 | 124 (green) | 112 (‘orange’) | Course Review |
| 77 | Upton by Chester | 126 | 121 | 126 | |
| 78 | Helsby | 125 | 124 | 130 | |
| 79 | Woodside | 125 | 126 | 127 | |
| 80 | Disley | 124 | 122 | 120 | Course Review |
| 81 | Avro | 123 | 122 | 126 | Course Review |
| 82 | Congleton | 123 | 119 | 121 | Course Review |
| 83 | Eastham Lodge | 123 | 122 | 123 | |
| 84 | Hoylake Municipal | 122 | 122 | 124 | |
| 85 | Runcorn | 122 | 122 | 128 | |
| 86 | Marple | 121 | 119 | 130 | Course Review |
| 87 | Sandbach | 118 | 116 | 133 | Course Review |
| 88 | Davenport | 117 | 120 | 117 | |
| 89 | Queens Park | 114 | 113 (white / blue) | 126 | Course Review |
| 90 | Portal – Arderne | 110 | N/A | 110 | |
| Irby | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Play Arrowe Park (above) | |
| Sutton Hall | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Now Closed | |
| Wellington | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Part of Irby (above) | |
| West Hoyle | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Play at Arrowe Park |
Conclusion
The prize for toughest course in Cheshire goes to The Open 2023 hosts Royal Liverpool (pictured above), with 152 from it’s Championship tees, and an incredible 154 when playing The Open route via the yellows (1 less than the maximum). Special mention goes to Wychwood Park, who miss out on the top spot in the quest to impart misery by just one place, and who’ve embraced the SRs so fully, they’ve named the respective tees after theirs, and have moved away altogether from being gender-defined (see also: Hartford).
The (mean) average SR across all the courses is 132.6, and the most common SRs are 130, 131 and 134; each the rating for the longest tees at 8 clubs.
What are your thoughts on these findings? Let us know here.
