# North Hants Golf Club - Review



## Snelly (Sep 5, 2014)

I had the pleasure of playing at North Hants Golf Club this week for the first time and with the H4H day coming up, I thought I would share my thoughts on the course. 

In essence, I was impressed.  North Hants is a lovely course and I found it reminiscent of the Army GC or a flatter version of either West Hill or the West Sussex.  Good company to be in anyway.. 

Both nines start with excellent par 3's which is very unusual but I think makes a nice change and a different challenge. We started at the 10th and were given a first class welcome by a genial Irishman who was the starter for the day.  He gave us a potted history of the club and a few tips before sending us off in true Ivor Robson style. 

The 11th is a fairly gentle par 4 but the 12th is excellent.  A slight downhill dogleg where a decent drive sets you up for a mid iron to the green.  I liked the 14th too even though the T shot was blind. It is a good hole and one that you would need local knowledge of before attacking off the tee.  15th was a nice little par 3, notable for me as I hit a 9 iron to 8 feet past the pin which spun back, hit the flag (according to the group on the next tee) and finished about 4 inches away!  The 16th is another superb par 4 and although stroke index 3, into wind, was much more of a test than the 12th which is SI1.  17 is a short par 5 and the round concludes with another really good par 4 at 18 that provides a lovely view of the clubhouse and practice green as you wander up the fairway.

Our second nine started at the first with a good par 3 then several excellent holes follow.  The second is a good par 4, leading to the 3rd, a very nice par 5.  As we stood on the tee, we could not quite convince ourselves that the marker post was the right line as it is a long way left of centre.  Our drives consequently all ended up in the wrong spot and mine was just past a temporary green leaving a gap to the green between trees and over a large pond - a really good hole with good risk / reward options.  This theme continues on the 4th as it is a short par 4 that could be reached with a good hit. I wimped out with a 6 iron but next time, it will be a driver or 3 wood at the green as there is a fair bit of bail out room on the right.   The 5th was probably my favourite hole on the course with a nice view of all the hazards and rewards for good play.  6th - short par 4 and again, next time I play, I will be hitting a driver to get close to the green.  I took a 4 iron and a wedge for safety and ended up with a bogey anyway so won't be cowardly again. 

7th was another belter of a par 4 then to the 8th which was a par 3, playing only about 105 yards and reminded me of the 10th at St Georges Hill very much.  9th is a par 4 that you have to plot your way down the dog leg as a driver is too much club - a good sand save for par here left me with a decent score of +1 which was enough to take the trophy, playing off a handicap of 3 (subsequently cut to 1 for a year by the Hon Sec.).  

In summary, I thought holes 1-9 were more challenging but felt slightly packed in to the available ground. 10-18 certainly feel more spacious but there are no weak holes and it is generally an excellent and fair test. 

I thought the clubhouse was very nice indeed and the service, beef burginon, wine list and London Pride were all exemplary.

Looking forward to going back and using the driver a bit more. It would also be nice to play off the white tees next time.  That said, like West Sussex, it has a short total yardage but doesn't feel short when you play thanks to those really good par 4's.

Highly recommended.


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## Liverpoolphil (Sep 5, 2014)

Very good review and think you have it spot on 

Couple of blind tee shots which I wasn't a great fan off but overall a great course


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## Deleted Member 1156 (Sep 5, 2014)

Nice write-up Dave. Although not very long, it can be very tricked up with some devilish pin positions. It takes a very brave man to go for the pin on the par 5 17th in 2 when the flag is back left behind the bunker   Likewise, the 2nd/3rd/4th/5th can be made very tricky by flag position. Couple of other holes spring to mind as well, the uphill 16th is awkward when the pin is at the front.

Expect the greens to be medium pace for the H4H day, they tend to only speed them up for bigger events.


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## Foxholer (Sep 5, 2014)

1st wasn't always a Par 3. They had to turn it into one when the (excellent) clubhouse was built.

I think you meant St Georges Hill 11th (not 10th) - aka 2nd of Blue.


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## richart (Sep 5, 2014)

drive4show said:



			Expect the greens to be medium pace for the H4H day, they tend to only speed them up for bigger events.
		
Click to expand...

 I played a charity day there a few weeks ago and the greens were 10.5 on the stimp and with the slopes were plenty fast enough.:thup:


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## richart (Sep 5, 2014)

Foxholer said:



			1st wasn't always a Par 3. They had to turn it into one when the (excellent) clubhouse was built.
		
Click to expand...

 The old first was a nice easy par 4 to start with, now it is a hard par three.


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