One of the most spectacular golf courses in Wiltshire

For golfers looking to play golf near Swindon, come to Ogbourne Downs Golf Club on the edge of the Marlborough Downs near the village of Ogbourne St George in Wiltshire just 10 minutes from the centre of Swindon.

The course provides a challenge for golfers of every standard. The course is built over fast draining chalk downland which gives rise to tight springy fairways that give you excellent lies although you seldom find a flat one. The greens are small, firm and fast and generally well bunkered. On most approach shots you don’t get to see the base of the pin so you have to trust your distances. The course is not particularly long; just 6,422 yards with a par of 71 but the course bares its teeth when the wind blows.

The ups and downs of Ogbourne

The overall layout of this Wiltshire golf course is in two nines that both start and finish by the Clubhouse. The first seven holes on the front nine at Ogbourne gently wind uphill to reach the high-point of the course before you turn to come back towards the Clubhouse. Pause and take some time on the eighth tee to enjoy spectacular views across the downs towards Marlborough then turn you attention to the tough par three followed by a fabulous par five down the hill all the way to the clubhouse.

The back nine is generally regarded as the tougher nine at Ogbourne; it starts with a long par five. You move uphill through eleven and twelve until you come to Ogbourne Downs’ very own ‘amen corner’ one of the toughest stretches of golf in Wiltshire. The long Par 4, Stroke Index 1, thirteenth is the first of this trio. This is followed by Ogbourne Downs’ signature hole, the Par 5, Stroke Index 3, fourteenth plays down the long valley then you play a Par 3 across the valley that’s over 200 yards and carry most of the way. Sixteen plays across the downs to bring you to the short downhill Par 3 seventeenth then its back down to the Clubhouse for a tough Par 4 finish.

Shot-by-shot guide