Ian Pemble rounds off this year's golf column with a visit to Worlebury Golf Club high above Weston-super-Mare

This may be a small course, but the story behind it is packed with interest, and it was well told by my host, this year's captain, Steve Rowlands, as we set off across the hills north-east of Weston-super-Mare.

"This has always been a working man's club," said Steve. "There was a local businessman, who owned a quarry nearby, called Henry Butt and he decided to take up golf. But the club at Weston decided he was an artisan and not a gentleman, and refused him. So he bought a couple of fields and, using his quarry machinery, built his own course.

"The original nine holes were designed by the great Harry Vardon, and his brother Alfred was the first club pro and caddie master when it opened 100 years ago in 1908."

The snooty-boots at Weston must have been a bit miffed at this coup, but it serves them right. A man with a name like Butt will have learned early on how to cope with ridicule and rejection (and I doubt he ever contemplated a visit to the US).

The par-70 course is in gently rolling parkland and measures 5,685 yards off the yellows (5,843, whites) and is a par-73 at 5,490 yards for the ladies. The walls and hedges of the original fields are still much in evidence and although the compact design means there are a couple of par-4s that even I can get close to off the tee (I got a four on the 259-yard, 13th), there are plenty of bunkers, as well as punishing out-of-bounds to avoid.

There are also subtler defences. As Steve pointed out, their greenkeeper, Jaime Acton, leaves cunning sweeps and swathes of second-cut near the greens so anything off line will have to be flown all the way – no chance of an easy bump-and-run.

At the eastern end of the course, beyond the eighth green and beside the sixth tee, stands the white tower that is the emblem of the course. It looks like a cross between a castle and a lighthouse but was, in fact, a windmill.

"Back in the Sixties there was an opportunity for the club to buy it and use it as a new clubhouse," said Steve. "But as I said, this is a working man's club and the original clubhouse (where the car park is now) was by the bus stop – and a lot of members used to come by bus. What was the point of having to walk an extra mile to get to a new clubhouse? So they turned it down. We might think it's a shame now, but the decision made perfect sense at the time."

I really liked the course – tight but tricky, not too daunting for beginners and difficult enough to ensure the big hitters maintain their concentration.

Holes that stand out in the memory are the difficult first, a par-4, 445 yellow yards over a blind summit and down to a green that sticks out from the side of the hill on the right. There are also tall, ball-eating firs down the left – the 18th is played back the other way through an avenue of them. The 511-yard, par-5 ninth has the prettiest green, set in a dingly dell surrounded by trees, and the 16th is probably the toughest hole. It's 184 yards (par-3) to a green that is decidedly unreceptive. Steve's "perfect" shot ran off the back and the same fate awaits to left and right.

But, and I've saved the best till last, Worlebury offers the best views of any course I've visited. At 400ft above sea level it can't compete, in altitude at least, with the 1,000ft likes of The Mendip or Painswick, but there are stunning landscapes all around you. To the east are the Mendips with Crooks Peak on the skyline, then there are the Severn crossings beyond Clevedon, Sand Bay to the north, the entire sweep of the Welsh coast across the water and further views down the estuary towards the west.

"On New Year's Eve we sit in the clubhouse with the curtains drawn back and watch the firework celebrations over Cardiff," said Steve. "And it doesn't cost us a penny."

This is a friendly club at the centre of the community on Milton Hill. Steve told me residents sometimes use the new clubhouse (it opened in 2004) free of charge for meetings, and there are many non-playing social members who just like the atmosphere. There's also a strong sense of tradition and loyalty in the pro's shop – Gary Marks has been the pro for 21 years – and still commutes from Saltford. (Yes, the other side of Bristol.)

Green fees are £30 a round on weekdays and £40 at weekends and bank holidays. The club owns its own course, has almost 550 members and full memberships are £625 (seven days, not five) with no joining fee at the moment.

"But we do have a special deal on right now," said Steve. "Last year we offered a winter membership for £200.

"This didn't include playing in competitions, but it did offer full use of the course and clubhouse at any time. We had 60 people sign up and of these 52 have since become full-time members.

"This year we are running the same deal again for a flat fee of £235."

Address: Worlebury Golf Club, Monks Hill, Worlebury, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset BS22 9SX.

Telephone: 01934 625789 (secretary); 01934 626454 (club); 01934 623932 (pro).

Website: worleburygc.co.uk

Email: info@worleburygc.co.uk

Getting there: From the M5, Junction 21, take the A370 west towards Weston, but immediately fork left on to the B3130 (Bristol Road). After three roundabouts in quick succession it becomes New Bristol Road and a straight stretch leads to a four-road junction. The B3130 bears left (to become Locking Road), you want to bear right (virtually straight across) on to Milton Road. Take the fourth right up Baytree Hill which then becomes Milton Hill. The clubhouse is at the top on the right.