Shirehampton Park Golf Club

'The Shire' is something of a conundrum – a slightly odd mixture of some relatively straightforward holes, no par 5s, and then four or five extremely demanding par fours that most players would be happy to circumnavigate in bogey golf. The 3rd, 5th, 11th, 12th and 17th are all well in excess of 400 yards and certainly play that way too. When we played in mid-October there was very little run on the ball and I can't imagine even in the summer that the ground is that conducive to gaining precious extra yards. A couple of these holes also have out of bounds thrown in for good measure as well. Overall, this is a proper established course with constant changes in elevation which also keeps things interesting. I didn't like the crisscross fairways on the back 9 though. Best holes are the long treelined par 4 3rd and probably the par 3 16th over a chasm. I also enjoyed the uphill dogleg par 4 7th and the long par 3 18th is a good finishing hole if the game is tight. Worth a visit if you're in the area – just advise playing those long par 4s strategically! 5.5/10 'Young P'