THE four-star Telford Hotel and Golf Resort is a scenic retreat positioned above the idyllic Ironbridge gorge.

Sport and relaxation come together at this 114-bed resort, which overlooks the nearby power stations and rolling countryside.

The mix reflects Ironbridge’s historic place in the Industrial Revolution and, if you fancy it, the village has a number of museums you can visit.

The 170-acre resort includes a sprawling 18-hole golf course, seven treatment rooms, a sauna and an indoor swimming pool.

Despite a 10-year hiatus from golf I decided to give the hotel a try with the view that the trip would be a learning experience if nothing else.

My friend and I had our first drink in the hotel courtyard shortly after arriving on a sunny Friday afternoon.

One of the resort coaches then invited us over to the driving range where we repeatedly failed to even hit the golf balls in front of us.

Despite our coach’s initial dismay he persisted and by the end of the session we were consistently hitting balls out to a reasonable distance.

With new-found confidence in our abilities we jumped in a buggy with a few boxes of balls and took on our first round of 18 holes.

It should be said that my friend had never played before.

Our performance was abysmal and we took a few wrong turns, ending up finishing after about 12 holes.

But nonetheless it was good fun and for complete novices we did alright.

We enjoyed a luxurious dinner and an equally enjoyable breakfast in the morning, before reluctantly heading home.