Basingstoke Golf Club

Basingstoke GC is a par 70 members parkland style club in Kempshott Park, Basingstoke, Hampshire.

The course is 6,307/6,076 yards respectively off the white/yellow tees. The ladies red tees are a par 72 of 5,513 yards! The SSSs are 70/69/72 respectively! I played off the yellow tees! We had a 2 tee start, my round started from the 11th.

There are 4 par 3s, 12 par 4s, and 2 par 5s!

The course is moderately undulating. Many holes involve negotiating doglegs of various severity. Only the bigger hitters could attempt to take these on but trouble awaits the wayward tee shots! The landing areas on the par 4 & par 5s were more generous than appeards from the tees!

The 4 par 3s were a challenge, one long and 3 of moderate length; greens were well guarded by bunkers and club selection difficult as the front aprons were soft and landing short was of no benefit! Unfortunately my performance on the par 3s was woeful, 3 double bogeys and a bogey! My ball striking for 3 of them wasn't very good and I underclubbed on the 4th.

The greens were generally large, firm, undulating, pacy and tricky! My gross score was +6 over handicap. +4 of those extra shots was due to 4 triple putts! A lost ball triple bogey on the index 1 hole, and a combined +7 score on the par 3s, account for the unexpected additional shots!

The winning score on the day was 38pts; reflecting the difficulty of the course. Many senior opens have winning scores in the low 40s! I had 3 blobs, and 13 holes scoring 2 or 3 points. A very good score was getable with a bit more focus!

The club was founded in 1907. The current course location was designed and built by James Braid in 1928. It was officially opened in a match involving James Braid, Harry Vardon and Miss Helen Gourlay! (The club appear to have agreed to sell the course to a developer for housing and have also 'agreed' to buy the nearby Dummer GC as their new home. TBC)

Visitor green fees are £40 or £60 day ticket. A discount is available to holders of the Hampshire, IoW and Channel Islands County Card. Not a very customer friendly application of the EGU County Card scheme!

I played the course by entering their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition. The competition entry fee was £37, included coffee/bacon roll, 18 holes, a 2 course meal and prizes!A great vfm way to play the course! This is a very popular competition with 66 visiting competitors!

The hospitality provided by the club officials, proshop staff and members was excellent. The post match food was also of high quality!

This was a very enjoyable golfing challenge. It is playable by golfers of all standards!

The announcement by the club captain at the post competition prize giving confirming that the club was in the process of relocating was just public confirmation of what was already gossip! It may be that next years competition will be staged elsewhere! That being the case if you haven't played Basingstoke as it currently is but fancy doing so do it asap!

The course was in fantastic condition and i was pleased with my 34 point off 12. Its a private club, but if you get the chance to go there you will enjoy it and you'll also be glad to know not too many hazzards