Hilton Avisford Park Golf Club

Front nine very tight - quite a few short par 4's but it was easy to leave yourself out of position One of our society had described the back nine as being 'a bit rough' but he was pleasantly surprised how much it had improved. I thought overall the course was well presented. We would definitely consider going there again - and the food at the hotel was cracking!

First nine were not bad but not too difficult either. The greens were exceptionally fast and how ever hard I tried I could not get the ball to stop, so every approach shot had to be a pitch and run. Cross the road for the second nine and it gets easier still unless you don't like hills. Pretty good course for one attached to a hotel with the daily mass of societies abusing the course but at £25 for 18 holes and another £12 for a buggy you can only use on the front nine (where it was really needed on the last 9) I felt it needed a bit more to make it a challenge. Pleasant for a one off visit but, having played it, I will look around the area next time for another course to try.

A lot of work has gone into the course over the last couple of years with well over 100 trees planted, bunkers moved, removed or added, tees moved and lots of work on the greens and fairways. These changes have made a massive improvement to the playing standard all through the year with greens now better in winter than they were in past summers! All in all a much better challenge with wayward shots being painful in most cases!

We played on Saturday 2nd April 2005 and the cost was £18 per round. The first nine holes are quite pleasant, well laid out with a couple of ponds (and ducks). The second nine are over the main road and completely different in feel. More open and not that interesting (apart from the views and the 13th over a ravine). When we played, the tees were quite overgrown and the fairways not brilliant (bit overgrown as well). Could have been the time of year but all the greens had been dressed with sand, and so made putting tricky as you had to allow for bits of grit here and there. Also, even though it's a hotel course, it's fairly unusual to see a five-ball playing ahead of you! All in all, with the sun shining, we didn't let the course condition stop us enjoying ourselves, but I would check the condition of the greens before booking another round.

The first nine are an absolute walk in the park - literally - only the first being tricky because of the field to the left, the lake to the right, along with the large oak tree to block the shot, the rver to the right of the gree, otherwise - well, ok...Watch for the long dogleg 10th do NOT be tempted to cut the corner, or you'll end up in the farmer's field next door. Play instead to just past and to the right of the small thorn tree at about 130 yards. This opens up the fairway and it's 370 yards to the green, should be ok then for a fairly easy par. The 13th is a killer, over a deep gorge to an elevated green which slopes back into the gorge, so plenty of club here! Then there's the 14th. Watever you do don't overclub here, or the wind takes your ball and slices it into the large tree, where it bounces off into the out of bounds. The 18th is up the side of a steep slope where you can only just see the top of the flag. All in all, quite a nice course, and pleasant to play. Those golfers with a low handicap will enjoy the workout. best of luck, and good golfing to you all! Pete Keen

The course has 2 distinct 9's. The first 9 being the old 9 set amongst lovely old woodlands. The second 9 has a very open feel about it and is also very hilly with most of the holes played alongside hills so a lot of awkward bounces occur. The condition of the fairways was OK but the tees were rock solid and the greens were very patchy. Cost was £18 per person on a Saturday.