Both were great but would love to play them dry, it rained pretty much at least half the time both days.  Conditions were still good at both courses, reasonably firm.

Fowler did really good routings there, I liked Beau Desert's "slicer's dream" routing where none of the out of bounds was on the right side, the 12 perimeter holes were all clock wise around the property!  The Delamere routing was the opposite for the front nine and the same for the back.  BD has an out and back routing, DF two loops of nine.

There may not be a prettier site in golf than that from the clubhouse at Delamere, with #10 tee, #18 green, #9 green and #1 tee all lined up left to right in front of you with the forest in the center.

I would say the consensus of our group was that Beau Desert is a superior golf course because it has much more contoured and interesting greens.  Is there a record of the greens being reworked at Delamere Forest?  Certainly those greens are much flatter and less interesting in general, although some like #16 have good slopes.  Typically there the slopes were regular planes rather than multiplane contours such as those at Beau Desert.

Delamere Forest with Beau Desert's greens would be quite an outstanding golf course instead of a very good one, while Beau Desert is certainly of the highest heathland/parkland level.  It is a shame about all the trees at Beau Desert, as some of the driving lines are pinched.  Otherwise, nothing could be improved.

Having said that, the clubhouse at Delamere Forest is much more attractive and traditional, but the new dormy house at Beau Desert is a great feature.  The rate of 75 pounds a night to include B&B and a round of golf is hard to beat.

The hospitality at both courses was very nice and much appreciated.

Thanks for your recommendation of the two courses, Mark, they were an excellent complement to the links courses at Hoylake and Wallasey.  

Mark,
Delamere's greens must have been flattened - or Fowler was under strict orders to design them that way. The sizes of the greens (except for the enormous 18th at Beau Desert, it must be over 10000 sq ft and apparently it was even larger at one time)are about the same but the difference in internal contours is extreme.

The ambiance and views at Delamere were superb. I can't think of a more attractive setting in golf than the clubhouse facing the four holes running towards and away from it. But some of the holes, mostly because of the flattish putting surfaces, were just good, not great. There was nothing as exciting as the 5th or 14th at Beau Desert.

From the club's website, a view of the 9th and the clubhouse.

At Delamere, there's a ridge running from left to right in your view from the clubhouse out to the course.

On the far side of the ridge is a valley, followed by a broader, higher ridge.

As you look from left to right on the first ridge, you see 10 tee, 9 green, 18 green, 1 tee.

Fowler in his routing made great use of the ridge; the collection of activity along this ridge reminds me a bit of the hill at St. George's Hill.

I really liked the holes around the perimeter; a lot of variety there.

As to Beau Desert, are these the largest greens in inland England?  Additionally, they are full of contour, with ridges, swales, and bowls -- sometimes all in the same green!

I like this approach to defending par.

The course reminded me of Yale:
1. Large, highly contoured greens, with "angular" drop offs
2. Hilly terrain, with many greens sited either up or down hills
3. Impossible to find without MoD / DoD quality GPS

Mark

I enjoyed both when I was there last spring.  I like the green sites and the terrain better at Beau Desert but Delamere Forest has more choices off the tee and is set up to play the ground game better.  I would love to play it when it is fast and running.  I want Delamere Forest again-I played it like a dog.

Subsidence is a problem there but I don't think that is the reason for the green contours, rather the subsidence has eroded greensites and in some cases increased the amount of tilt.

Interestingly, the club is considering purchasing an adjacent piece of property on which they have an option.  It used to be a landfill and could contain 4 or 5 regular-sized holes or a 9-hole executive course.

The members I spoke with had two ideas for the former landfill property, which I offer without comment:
1. Build a "ladies course"
2. Build a Tesco to get the ladies off the course

The purchase price on the property is one pound sterling.

Mark