Ross on Wye GC is a members club located in Ross on Wye, Somerset!
The club was founded in 1908! It relocated in 1925 following a design by JH Taylor, but a further move to the present site occurred in 1964! The new (current) course was designed by CK Cotton! The construction was undertaken by direct labour to save on costs!
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The course is a par 72 (par 73 ladies) woodland style!
Yardages are 6,411 and 6,033 from the white and yellow tees respectively! I played off the yellow tees!
The 1st and 10th tees and 9th and 18th greens surround the modern clubhouse!
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There are 3 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 3 par 5s! The course layout is somewhat imbalanced with 8 par 4s and 1 par 3 on the back 9! All of the par 5s are on the front 9 and the round opens with 4 consecutive par 4s!
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The Round opens with a challenging short par 4 through a tree lined vista down to a severely sloping left to right fairway! Anything right can result in a blocked 2nd shot! The approach even from the fairway is to a severely sloping front to back multi tiered green! My approach shot ran back off the green!
The Round finishes with a short left to right dogleg down from a high level tee to a left sloping fairway! My attempt to carry the mound down the right hand side was held up in the rough! A flier went through the back of the green! A bogey finish was a good score!
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Greens are firm, very undulating and most were guarded by between 1 and 3 bunkers! Only the 7th and the 11th greens have no bunkers!
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The Par 3s are a mix of very short, moderate and long holes!
#7: 143 yards, index 18! A moderately long tee shot to a raised multi-tiered green, with slopes running off the green all around! My tee shot ran away off to the back right! A 2 putt bogey was OK after failing to hold the green!
#9: 212 yards, index 12! A long tee shot to a raised green with a front left bunker! Using my driver, I drove a little long through the back of the green but chipped down for a tap in par! A bonus outcome!
#12: 128 yards, index 17! A very short tee shot over a lake to a good sized green guarded by bunkers front right and left! I found the right hand bunker and bogeyed the hole!
My outturn scores for the 3 par 3s was +2, ie a par and 2 bogeys!
They were all used as nearest the pin prize holes! Interestingly, the club use extra tall pins to assist with np measurement, having metric and imperial scales on each side of the poles! The poles can be used end on end to mark long distances but most winners will measure within the length of the poles! A great idea!
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The Par 4s
My outturn scores for the 12 par 4s was +10, ie 3 pars, 8 bogeys and 1 double bogey! As 10 of these are shot holes then +10 is nett par golf! Excellent!
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The Par 5s! All of the par 5s are on the front 9!
#5: 474 yards, index 14!
#6: 532 yards, index 2!
#8: 490 yards, index 8!
My outturn scores for the 3 par 5s was +2, ie one par and 2 bogeys! As two are shot holes this is nett par! Excellent!
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Weekday visitors green fees are £50 (April to October), £20 as a members guest or £33 with a County Card!
I entered into their annual Seniors Open Stableford competition! The £**. ** entry fee included coffee and a two course post match meal!
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Hospitality
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Assessment
A really good woodland golf course! I shall seriously consider entering next year's competition again but will probably seek to include it in a package of 2 or 3 courses to stay and play in the area, minimising travel, spreading costs and target an earlier tee time!
Date Tuesday, 10, September 2019
