Came Down Golf Club

A nice mix of golf holes, without ever really testing in length. We played in early May and the greens were excellent, good pace and very true, although they are almost all set up to hit the front left with your approaches and feed it in. Hilltop location means the wind will always feature, meaning you have to trust your yardages and judge the winds - we hit 9 irons from 170yds and 5 irons from 150yds. We teed off at 11.15am on a Saturday, after a womens competition, and playing a 3-ball, we got round in 3hrs 15mins. A rare pleasure of well paced play. The clubhouse is all that lets this club down - the pro shop is poky, the dressing room is a bit 1970s school changing room, and our group of 9 were the only ones in the bar/restaurant area at 2.30pm on a Saturday afternoon, which seemed strange. Good food, but don't rush the woman who serves or you'll feel her wrath! In her world the customer isn't always right! Good value at £21 with a 2-FORE-1 voucher though, which they accept at weekends too.

Situated halfway between Dorchester and Weymouth, Came Down is a wonderfully scenic course. Only a few miles from the sea, it is not a 'links' in the truest sense, although the winds do play a part and you need that sort of game to do well here. Came Down is a chalk-based downland course which drains superbly. We played on a very changeable evening on their twilight deal, which allows reduced green fees on summer evenings for guests - a very nice touch. Despite some heavy showers that day, the course stood up well and there was never any question of the greens flooding. The first hole is a tough, long par 4, with the 18th being a tight finishing hole with an upturned saucer green and the flag in an impossible position. Apparently it's never in an easy spot on 18, making it a really tough finishing hole. Several good par 3's too, especially the 10th (I birded it, so I'm biased!) The clubhouse to be honest doesn't look much, it is small but it is very welcoming and they do good food and beer for a reasonable price - all you could ask for really!

Fifth time i have played here and the condition of the course is not what it was even 2 years ago. The greens were slowish and bumpy. The run off areas around the greens were inconsistently cut and in poor condition - even a reasonably good shot just missing the green by a couple of feet was finding clingy thick rough making a recovery shot near impossible. Carting one bad shot 20 feet wide of the green i had a good lie - that said it all for the course condition. The one thing that made up for the day is the magnificent view. I only hope that attention is paid to the condition of the course over the winter.