Blackmoor – Golf Course Review

Golfer’s Tips

• The driving range is a decent walk away from the clubhouse and first tee, so do leave yourself enough time should you need a pre game hit. The driving range itself is turf rather than mat, which can be fairly unforgiving and not much of a confidence builder in winter conditions!
• The course is tailor-made for a long fader of the golf ball. The 2nd hole is pretty much the only one that shapes right to left, and there are a few holes that require a shorter club if right to left is your shot shape. This being said, it doesn’t mean you can’t take plenty of drivers, as the fairways are reasonably generous.

Signature Holes

• 9th – a delightful uphill par 3 to round off the front nine. Played up to a green beyond heathery mounds, surrounded by excellent bunkering with the halfway hut and clubhouse in view beyond.
• 18th – a great finisher, but not without its perils. Following a tee shot played to a generous fairway banking right to left, the approach to the green perched on a hill in front of the clubhouse is one to be considered carefully. Miss right and you finish down in a cavernous hole some 20 feet beneath the putting surface, but short, left and long are all equally dangerous. The key to holding the green is to run the ball in and use the camber from the left edge, but it’s a great challenge and a fine way to finish.

Review:

Hidden in a rural pocket in deepest Hampshire, Blackmoor is a delightful heathland track that is well worth a visit.

Arriving at Blackmoor you very quickly acclimatise to what is on offer – from the viewpoint afforded by the clubhouse at the top of the hill you can see half a dozen established heathland holes located amongst rolling terrain, flanked by heathery mounds and tall pines.

The round starts with a good quality but relatively gentle par 4, allowing you to get going with a wide downhill fairway with the second played back uphill to the green. This is then followed by a couple more par 4s, with doglegs left then right, where the underlying quality of the course and its surfaces is very clear.

The course really hits its stride with an excellent stretch from 9 to 12. Hole 9 is a standout par 3 played uphill to a well guarded green, very much Harry Colt designed, set amongst heathery mounds and bunkers with the clubhouse and halfway hut sat above and beyond. The opener to the back nine is a tough one – a longer par 4 with a daunting tee shot played over heather down to a fairway diagonally running left to right, but cutting the corner means flying trees lining the right hand side.

Unsurprisingly the strongest stretch includes two par 3s, as this is another strong Harry Colt design which always seem to produce such excellent short holes, often with elevated greens surrounded by clever run-offs and tricky bunkering.

The back nine is strong across the board, but the finishing trio also makes a nice diverse finish. 16 is a par 4 that feels akin to Foxhills, navigating a fairway that splits tall pines, 17 is a yet another nice par 3, and you finish with an excellent par 4 where the approach plays up to a very challenging green perched on the hill below the clubhouse, but miss right and you find yourself in a huge bowl some 20ft beneath the hole.

Overall Blackmoor definitely fits into the ‘hidden gem’ category, and certainly warrants its top 100 status. The club is also one of the friendliest that we have played on our travels – a really nice welcome from the pro shop, and the members clearly have a nice camaraderie and two were more than welcome to join up and enhance what was a great introductory round here.

• “Top 100” Ranking: 71st (England)
• Golfer View Rating: 77%

https://www.blackmoorgolf.co.uk

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