In 1902 landowner and member, Stafford Vere Hotchkin, offered an expanse of land off Horncastle Road for the building of an 18-hole golf course.

The official opening took place on 30 June 1905 and included an exhibition match between Harry Vardon, James Braid and J.H.

In 1919, following a distinguished military career during the First World War, Colonel Stafford Vere Hotchkin MC returned and took over the running of the club.

Following his death in 1953 his son Neil Hotchkin continued to run the course as a close-knit private members club where professionals had to be invited to play.

Neil Hotchkin wished to protect and secure the future of the club as a home for amateur golf.

The course is set in heathland with sandy subsoil, extensive swathes of heather and mixed foliage including birch and pine.

[5] Tony Jacklin's formative years were spent in Lincolnshire and although he often played the Hotchkin course, both as an amateur and professional golfer, he never managed to score better than 70.

Now when I'm designing a course I try to remember something subtle from Woodhall, the fold of the land, the bunkering – even the fact that you can always see the top of the flagstick.

[8] It is a favourite course of Mark James, who won the English Amateur Championship when it was held at the club in 1974.