CDP to advise Cleeve Hill Golf Club

Clayton, DeVries & Pont (“CDP”) is delighted to announce that it has been retained as consulting course architect to Cleeve Hill Golf Club, Gloucestershire, England.

Located on common land cleared of its trees 6,000 years ago, Cleeve Hill is the highest point in the Cotswolds, providing stunning views of Wales to the west, Cheltenham to the south, and Winchcombe to the north. The Cheltenham Gold Cup was first run on Cleeve Hill between 1815 and 1855 before moving to its current location at Prestbury Park.

Originally designed in 1891 by Old Tom Morris, the course was subsequently revised by Dr Alister MacKenzie. In 2021, the club was rescued from the threat of closure by Cotswold Hub Co, an entity owned by Gloucestershire-raised Nick Hovey and Sam Foyle, who acquired a 125 year lease on the course

In the first instance, CDP will create concept designs for the course’s long-term improvement. The project will be overseen by Sam Cooper, who will be assisted by Frank Pont and Joe McDonnell.

Simon Pope, General Manager at Cleeve Hill Golf Club, says:

“Since taking on the responsibility for ‘the hill’ we have focused on improving the course and providing an open and inclusive atmosphere at the Club that appeals to golfers and other visitors alike. The support we have received from the Cleeve Common Trust who oversee the management and conservation of the land the course sits on has been invaluable and we have been delighted with the response from golfers from all over the world.

We are now excited to move onto the next phase and with plans for a new clubhouse and facilities well under way we are now turning our attention to explore possibilities out on the course. To help us achieve this we are delighted to be working with CDP, a firm whose values and beliefs are ones we share. The passion and vision that Sam and the rest of the team have shown for our course is something we are very keen to harness.”

Sam Cooper of CDP says:

“We spend more time than most reflecting over what makes great golf. Cleeve Hill isn’t a golfing resort with manicured fairways and championship design. It’s a golfing playground. One of the few places where golfers share their round with sheep – grazing over this expansive, rugged and breath-takingly beautiful site.

In typical Cleeve Hill fashion, the holes are also unique. Playing over old quarries of Cotswold Stone or into greens set in Iron Age forts. This isn’t an exercise in making Cleeve ‘conventional’ or in changing its character, but in helping a singular course become even more so.