The changeable weather from day to day at Gowrie Farm is part of the attraction and charm of playing this unusual course, which you would never assume is a 21st century creation with its curious collection of 18 interesting holes using just 12 greens (plans are afoot to convert it into a proper 18-holer using additional land). The day I arrived at Nottingham Road it was sunny and warm, the following day chilly and overcast. A mist rolled over the rural Midlands landscape, reducing visibility. Course designer Guy Smith, who joined me for 18, is a man enthused by golf’s ancient traditions, and the club had hosted a midweek social foursomes event consisting of 18 in the morning, a long jacket-and-tie 3-course lunch, and 18 in the afternoon. Gowrie has one such event in the spring, another in autumn.