When you tee off at Lilley Brook you are immediately impressed with the breathtaking surroundings. This Cheltenham parkland course is set amongst a large variety of beautiful trees, which are home to all kinds of wandering wildlife.

The views stretch to the Cotswold escarpment and the Black Mountains of Wales.

Course professional Karl Hayler thinks it's like playing 18 holes in an arboretum.

"Our first eleven holes are traditional parkland and aren't too demanding to get round," says Karl. "Then you get to the last seven and you're walking on the lower slopes of Leckhampton Hill, where you get the best views."

Lilley Brook is not only a beautiful course it's also a very important one for serious golfers. It attracts visitors from all over the world due to its link with Dr Alister MacKenzie who designed the course in 1921, some ten years before co-creating the Augusta National in the USA, home of the US Masters.

His courses always had an emphasis on natural beauty rather than man-made hazards, holes that vary in length requiring a variety of different shots, rolling fairways and tricky greens.

"This is the only MacKenzie course in Gloucestershire and Cheltenham should be very proud to have it," says Karl.

The club holds an annual Pro-Am competition each June where PGA tour professionals such as Gordon Brand Jnr and Roger Chapman have taken part in recent years. Tony Jacklin played and practised at Lilley Brook shortly before winning the US Open in 1970. He told the club's last professional Forbes Hadden that it had the best greens he had played on outside of the USA. He later donated a putter to the club, which is used as a competition prize by the Golf Mark awarded junior section.

Lilley Brook isn't a stuffy, exclusive place as they are committed to welcoming new members, corporate and society golfers to the club.

This year they are hoping to continue the tradition of competitive men's, women's, seniors and junior competitions while increasing the variety and number of activities for the more casual player. New members and families are also actively encouraged. The club is also launching new open competitions this year.

Flexible membership payment options are also being created and local golfer, Roger Bell from Charlton Kings is one person making use of them. He recently joined as a member and also paid for lessons for his sons Chris who is ten and Matthew, eight. He has just purchased a set of golf clubs for his wife, Marie, so it will not be long before the whole family is playing together. He said: "Despite their ages, I made the boys full members of the club so it means they can go out on their fairways and compete play a game with me. They hit the ball right down the fairway on the 18th and they love it. It's a great feeling and occasionally the beat me on the odd hole. The boys love being outside and playing golf around Lilley Brook is like a good walk in the countryside."

"It's not a bad place to call your office," says Karl Hayler as he surveys the undulating course. "It is a pleasure to come into work in the mornings."

When Dr Alister MacKenzie designed Lilley Brook in 1921 he stipulated that the emphasis should be on natural features and not man-made hazards. Open Champion Arthur Havers officially opened the course in 1922. In 1973 the then course professional improved MacKenzie's layout when he supervised the purchase and positioning of hundreds of new trees.

"I have the greatest respect for my predecessor, who is now retired but is a life member of the club," says Karl. "He was head greenkeeper as well as the pro and he would water the course by hand and cut the grass around the edges of the bunkers and holes himself with a pair of scissors."

At Augusta National, in Georgia, the holes created by MacKenzie in 1931 are named after the distinctive flora around them. In homage to the great golf architect, Lilley Brook's holes have recently been named after the trees planted around the course.

Walnut, horse chestnut and Austrian pine are the first three.

The course itself becomes undulating when you reach the Italian cypress, sycamore and red oak holes. Poplar, Japanese maple and silver birch also feature on the back nine.

Lilley Brook is a spectacular place to play golf with views of the Black Mountains of Wales and the Malvern Hills, which can be appreciated when you reach the higher holes. And it is not just the views from the course. Here you are likely to see wild deer on the fairways some mornings, as well as all the usual wildlife you can find on golf courses. With each season the colours and light change, it's just a wonderful place to play golf.

8:56am Tuesday 1st April 2008

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