- We couldn’t have picked a worse
day to play South Winchester it started off with us all
huddled on the first tee with a wet weather gear on
trying to keep warm watching the other players take
their tee shots to the par 4 first hole. I remember
joking at least we wont see the rain if it this cold, I
guess I shouldn’t have open my big mouth as it started
to spit with rain as my group teed off. As we stood on
the third hole the clouds opened and the rain was so
heavy we couldn’t see down the fairway towards the
group in front of us. It eventually eased off we moved
then as we walked down the fairway it poured again and
continued on and off like this until we reach the ninth
hole. By the end of the nine holes everyone was
completely soaked through and I had already had the
group in front calling for the match to be called off
much to my disappointed as I was scoring well. Looking
at most of the players in the clubhouse it was apparent
that their wet weather clothing hadn’t protected them
very well most had large wet patches around their
crotches and backsides. Needless to say a few of them
didn’t want to brave the afternoons round.
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- The course is located west of
Winchester
in a place called Pitt which is appropriately named as
the club is nestled in the bottom of the valley. The
course is an undulating parkland course with a number of
water features on the four of the holes and meanders up
and down the hills surrounding the club. The par 72
course starts with a gentle par four and followed by a
fairly easy par three. You can open your shoulders up on
the third a straight par five and then the next two are
back to back straight forward par fours. The sixth is
the first of the water holes on this course a delightful
par three about 150 yards straight over the water
hazard. The seventh a very long par five from an
elevated tee you have a good view right down the
fairway, It took a well hit drive and three wood from
the fairway and still didn’t get anywhere near the
elevated green. The eighth hole is a par four then comes
a real test with the par four ninth which takes you back
towards the club house, you will need an accurate tee
shot to give you chance at the green over the water.
There is a short walk to the back nine through the back
of the clubhouse and past the pond that sits at the back
of the eighteenth green. The tenth hole takes you
straight up the hill and your tee shot will seem to
balloon and come back at you as it catches the wind a
feature of many of the next four/five holes. The
eleventh is a short par three about 140 yards and is
followed by a very long par five at 540 yards which was
straight into the wind the day we played making it more
lake a par six! Thirteen takes you back towards the last
tee a fairly easy par four with the wind behind.
Fourteenth back up the hill again a dogleg right then
onto the fifteenth par four stroke index two with a tee
shot straight over water which will have you knees
knocking. The last three holes start with another fairly
easy par four then a 150 yard par three and end with a
tricky dogleg par five with the third shot played across
water to a green protected at the back and the right
hand side by another pond.
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