North Wilts Golf Club

North Wilts GC is a members downland style course in Calne, Devizes, Wiltshire.

The course was founded in 1890.

It was designed by xxxxx xxxxx!


*****

The course is a par 71 off the white and yellow tees and par 73 off the ladies red tees!

It comprises 4 par 3s, 11 par 4s and 3 par 5s!

The SSSs are 71, 68 and 73 respectively!

I/we played off the yellow tees!

*****

The course is split into two by a main road, ie holes 1-10 are located across the road from the clubhouse, holes 11-18 start/finish from in front of the clubhouse!

The round opens with an uphill par 5, index 8, with OOB all the way up the left bordering the road!

The finishing 18th hole is a longish uphill par 4, index 5, to a raised green! A tough finisher!

The back 9 is more difficult than the front 9! The index 3 par 4 14th has the most challenging uphill approach shot to a very high multi - tiered green, flanked right by a heavily grassy Bank, and a severe drop below left!

*****

The greens were large, undulating, firm and fast! They were well guarded by deep bunkers!

Total putts taken was 32, comprising 3 singles, 13 doubles and 1 triple! Reasonable but should be a few less!

*****

The Par 3s
The par 3s are a mix of short, medium and long tee shots!

I managed to par 3 of these holes and bogey the other so a very good return!

The outturn score for the 4 par 3s was +1, ie 3 pars and a bogey! Excellent!

*****

The Par 4s are an interesting mix! The 14th is the toughest!

My worst score was on the downhill index 7 11th, but this was due to a simple mistake with my tee shot!

The outturn score for the 11 par 4s was +13, ie 1 birdie, 7 bogeys, 2 doubles and 1 triple!

As I have 9 shots the outcome is +4 too many! The triple accounts for most of the excess! I would have expected to get at least 3 pars!

*****

The Par 5s


The outturn score for the 3 par 5s was +2, ie a par and 2 bogeys! As 2 of the holes are shot holes, this is nett par golf! Excellent!

*****

Visitors green fees vary depending on the day of the week! They are £40 or £20 on Thursday's!

I entered their annual Seniors Open Stableford competition! The £30 entry fee included coffee, 18 holes and a two course meal, and prizes! Excellent vfm!

*****

There is a moderately sized pro-shop!

The catering was good!

The club members and officials were wonderful hosts!

*****

This is a very enjoyable course to play!

I'm minded to include it again in next year's calendar, but will probably try to bundle it up with a couple more clubs/competitions to minimise the time/cost of travel!

It is sited on the side of the downs. Although the fairways are quite wide the landing area is quite narrow as the slopes will take your ball into the rough. The views around the cpurse are amazing. A very challenging little course.