Some of our less well-known courses are blessed with the most wonderful settings, and the downland/parkland hybrid at North Wilts Golf Club is a perfect example…
North Wilts Course Review
There are many elements that golfers look for in a course, and for me, scenery and variety are extremely high on the list. Both are on offer in abundance at North Wilts Golf Club whose lovely course offers a hugely enjoyable game of two halves.
Holes one to ten are across the road from the clubhouse, and these run gently up and down the slopes offering terrific views of the rolling hills all around. There are plenty of highlights starting with the green site at the short par-4 2nd.
The tricky two-tier green at the second hole
As you rise up to the top, the vistas get ever better and the elevation changes make club selection tricky.
Lovely views of the Wiltshire countryside from the par-4 fifth
The par-3 6th is no distance but will punish anything short or left. I was very pleased with my regulation par here as there is a two-tier green that makes the pace of the putt critical.
The sixth is a lovely short hole at the top of the course
The 7th takes you gently back down the hill via a right-to-left dogleg where it is important not to do as I did and head for the green you see from the tee. That one is the 4th !
More rolling scenery from the seventh tee
Eight and nine go back up and down the hill again, before the 10th leads you back to the clubhouse. There is more of a parkland feel on the back eight which begins with two of the longer par 4s. At the furthest point, the attractive par-3 13th is played from on high down to a receptive green the other side of a ditch.
The short thirteenth is played from an elevated tee
The fourteenth is played up through a lush, narrow valley to a plateau green. Unusually for a short par 4 with no bunkers, it is stoke index 3.
No need for bunkers at the tricky fourteenth
Fifteen continues up the same valley and is a testing short hole, and the last three offer a suitably tough challenge at the end of the round.
The uphill par-3 fifteenth plays a little longer than it looks
It was clear from talking to members in the characterful clubhouse that this is a friendly club, and I look forward to returning. As I hurtle into my golfing dotage, my head is increasingly turned by the setting and views on offer at our inexhaustible array of delightful golf courses. If you feel at all the same, then I have no hesitation in recommending a game at North Wilts.
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