Waterlooville Golf Club

A group of 4 from the Newbury area played this course on Sat 23 May in their B/B Open medal for the 8th or 9th time. The course was in tremendous condition as usual and offers a stern but fair challenge. Virtually every fairway is tree-lined and they are very unforgiving and you are lucky if you can advance the ball far from in the trees. If you hit straight you will be rewarded (apart from the 10th where there is a massive tree in the middle of the fairway). In general the course is something of a wolf in sheep's clothing. It appears easier than it is and any off-line shot is likely to cause a bogey at best. If you are not a long hitter then you need to lay up on two holes where a deep ditch protects the front of the greens. I find the 10th very difficult as you need to hit a LONG tee-shot to the very left-hand edge of the fairway to have any kind of approach to the green. My only criticism of this course is the depth of sand in the bunkers. None of my 5 attempted bunker shots went further than 10 feet as the sand appeared to be about 6" deep. Waterlooville is an unsung gem plus it has a fox you can feed from your hand. It feels and looks like a real challenge but it also gives you a chance. A lovely golf course.

I’ve played the Waterlooville course a number of times on their great club championships days. Compact and difficult but some nice holes. Long par 5 to start with followed by a par 4 with a blind 2nd shot. A downhill then uphill par 3’s follow before an intimidating par 4 with OOB to the right. The tough par 5 6th is followed by a watery par 3. The 8th & 9th are testing holes requiring good fading and strategy The back-9 opens with a dog-leg par 4 and is followed by a tree-grasping par 3 requiring good clubbing. The 12th is a long par 4 but my favourite hole is the 556 yard up-hill par 5 13th requiring both brawn (for the tee shot) and brain (for the carry to the green). Following a testing par-4, an uphill par-3 and an interesting drive to the par 4 16th you come to the short par 4 17th. Unless you’re Tiger Woods you will not carry the centre bunker so treat the hole to an accurate drive rather than a blast. The final hole is a very long par 5 where even if played well you’ll have a mid-long iron in your hand for your 3rd shot. The course is now over 100 years old, the natives are very friendly and is normally in tip-top condition for fauna and nature in May/June. If you've scored 30+ points then you've played the course well.

I am a mamber here so am a bit biased, but do enjoy thechallenge here at Waterlooville The 5 par 3s and 5 par 5s make it an interesting round, and despite plaing her over and over ain as a member i am always challenged and always enjoy playing the course It is well kept up and the greens are always top notch, as are the fairways. My only critisism is the relatively easy laning areas befor most o the greens, which make it possible to run up to the greens in the right condition.

this is waterlooviles web address http://www.waterloovillegolfclub.co.uk/homepage.htm