2-FORE!-1 Best of Britain: Wiltshire
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Wiltshire is a great place to go golfing, specially if you take advantage of 2-FORE!-1 Golf – the biggest and best discounted green fee scheme in the game. There are some highly impressive courses dotted around the county including a couple of absolute belters in Manor House and Bowood.
*Bowood Hotel & G&CC – This mature Dave Thomas parkland track provides a memorable round and is always in tip-top playing condition. Bowood has a splendid variety of holes though you need to carefully avoid the trademark Thomas bunkers – they’re enormous and there’s plenty of them! water also occasionally comes into play, most notably at the par-4s 9th and 13th.
Signature hole though is the par-4 penultimate hole, a downhill sharp left dogleg to a green sitting within a wooded valley. Bowood is a great stay and play venue these days following the opening of a smart four star hotel – complete with spa – a few years back.
*The Manor House – A magical rollercoaster of a Dave Thomas/Peter Alliss layout plotted amidst 365 stunning acres of breathtaking Cotswold countryside on the edge of the ancient village of Castle Combe.
Parkland golf doesn’t come much better than this. It really is a must-play as it’s always in great condition, making the best possible use of the breathtaking undulating terrain with several stunning elevated tees including the sensational driveable short par-4 8th and the uniquely unforgettable par-3 17th with a pair of alternate greens surrounded by the Bybrook river way down below!
*Upavon – Mature downland course with stunning vistas across Salisbury Plain and the Vale of Pewsey. Another major plus is that it’s fast draining and therefeore playable all-year round.
*Broome Manor – Fine parkland municipal venue where former Ryder Cup star David Howell learnt his golfing skills.
*Hamptworth G&CC – Rapidly maturing parkland layout with a great variety of holes. Watch out for ther river Blackwater which runs through the course and both nines finishing on a huge double green.
*The Wiltshire G&CC – Solid all round venue and the home of the revamped Lakes course, nine-hole Garden layout and an on-site hotel.
