Ogbourne Downs Golf Club

An interesting course and overall a very enjoyable venue to visit. Views once on the top are amazing but does mean wind and weather will always be part of a round here. The fairways and greens were in good condition and the greens, although a little slow, were true and pleasingly most were absent of pitch marks. Others have commented on bunkers, the position of some was surprising but all had plenty of fresh sand and were nicely raked so no really problem. We played off the blue, 'winter'' tees which were small and very worn (March) which was a shame but one could see the normal summer yellows / whites which did look in nice condition and much larger to take the wear the small winters couldn't - still, no sign of any mats which is an instant fail in my view. Off line was fair and most minor transgressions were only 1/2 a shot although I guess the summer could be different when the grass grows. Club house was fine, a little dated decor and typical society grub straight from the 70s but tasted ok. Locker rooms had no visitors lockers, all were pre-allocated to members which is a pain as I had to take bag back to car and retrieve at end of round. Practice facilities were ok, driving range fine, short game area very short and ban on using range balls for some reason, not sure why so need to bring own! Overall a good day and worth a trip.

Hmmmmm!!! What to say and be fair, well, magnificent greens, fescue and bent fairways, the best. It as advertised as a linksy style course, which it could be, but the grass is left to long around the greens to play the bump and run, if it was fringe length it would be perfect. They could do with thinning out some of the bushes, they are to close to the fairways, bunkers badly designed and mainly badly positioned. But it does have a great location, there are not many better places to than here when the weather is good, but, boy do you feel it when it's windy and cold. Overall I would highly recommend it for a pleasant days golf, but it could be one of the best in the west with a bit of a re-design.

No doubt this is a great place to play golf, the golf itself is unusual, in that you play some brilliant golf holes and some ordinary holes, although with a bit of thought all the holes could be exceptional. It seems like every hole has its own Red Kite. The greens were beautifully presented and the fairways were the best possible, bunkers are possibly the worst I've come across for a quality course, all sorts of designs and generally badly designed, and they clearly have a problem with the limestone coming through. The course plays very similar to a Links course with the wind and the dryness of the course, even after the wettest summer on record, very big plus point. We came up from Bristol on the B&D RAG scheme and for the price we paid it was well worth it, on reflection we all agreed that we would definitely come a few times per year as there is nothing like this near Bristol, I would imagine that on a summer's day this place must be amazing. For fun and enjoyment I would give it 9/10. For condition of the course, 10/10. Design and challenge 6/10 (sorry) Staff, pro shop etc 10/10. Food 8/10 not bad, nothing fancy. Overall, I think it's worth it, because it is different from most golf courses that I've come across.

Very pleasant walk with some amazing views, leave the clubs in the clubhouse and bring your binoculars and do some birdwatching, Red Kites, Buzzards, Kestrels, Merlin, Short Eared Owl, Hen Harrier, and many wild flowers, butterflies etc.... Oh,the golf, well tough, tough, tough when the wind blows, magnificent greens, plenty of slopes. Great par 3's. Lots of variety in the shots required, bump and runs, drivers on par 3's, lob wedges on par 3's. Still one the most enjoyable days on a golf course in Wiltshire, even with all the so called super course's built, Bowood, Cumberwell etc Certainly the best downland course in Wiltshire It's true to say it's not everyone's cup of tea but if you get a beautiful day it's one of those course's where you get the 'great to be alive feeling'. Also great winter course, and this summer, where parkland golf was unplayable this course wasn't even affected. I'm not a member but with a £15 green fee at certain times I do play here regular, best value in golf. Clubhouse and Pro shop staff are always very pleasant and we always feel welcomed, the food was of a very high standard.

Our twenty strong Society played this course last Sunday.Very friendly reception at the Pro's shop and we set off on time at noon.This is a pretty undulating course with some spectacular holes which we played in winds gusting up to 40 mph.This made it very difficult on the day but it was good to note that if you went off line, the grass had been well trimmed under the trees so it was relatively easy to locate mishit shots. The greens were pretty fast and true but bunkers had very variable levels of sand. We were well looked after on our return to the clubhouse and our pre ordered plates of sandwiches were promptly delivered as requested. This is a very good and challenging venue for a Sunday, in our case on the way home from the West Country and we enjoyed the experience.

First visit. Fantastic course and a good challenge for my handicap. Bit of a mix up at the start with our booking, but sorted out and told to go off from the 10th. At our tee time, we were met with a very rude reception from a lady member. She asked if we had permission from her playing partner to play through. She then stood right beside my playing partner as he was driving off and then made it clear that we shouldn't be playing in front of her, as we would be holding up the competition she was playing in. We went back to the pro shop and asked if we could start from the first. No problem. There are points at which there are two or more tees are close together and you guessed it we met our lady again, who talked and talked while we driving. Some really good holes and now that we know the lay out, looking forward to returning, despite the bad behaviour.

As a high handicapper I found this course quite challenging.It is a very well maintained course with a good variation of holes and some well kept greens. More often than not the lie of the ball can be above or below your feet due to the undulating nature of the course. Additionally, as the golfer cannot see the base of the pin this can add to the diffulty of most approach shots to the green. The club has recently taken delivery of some new buggies to add to the 6 external and 4 covered driving bays. I have found the staff to always be very helpfull and courteous on my many visits and would highly recommend a visit.

An excellent club with spectacular views of the Thames valley. A well laid out course where position off the tee was very important,especially as it was on this windy day. There were multi-levelled greens to test the best of putters. The greens ran at a good pace but held a well struck ball. My friends and I had an enjoyable meal in a very pleasant clubhouse where we found every body most friendly. Well worth a visit to golfers of all standards.A thoroughly enjoyable day at a club worthy of it's reputation. (eleven handicapper----10.6)