North Wilts

Few downland courses in southern England carry the pedigree of North Wilts, which traces its origins to 1890, making it one of Wiltshire's oldest clubs. The course sits high on the chalk downs above Devizes, and that elevation defines everything — wide, open fairways, firm turf that runs through summer, and the kind of sky that makes you feel genuinely exposed to the elements. The downland setting is as pure as English golf gets: short-cropped grass, natural contours, and very little artificial shaping needed when the land already does the work.

Devizes itself is a handsome market town in the Vale of Pewsey, surrounded by the ancient landscape of the Marlborough Downs and within a few miles of Avebury and the Ridgeway. This is chalk country, and the course reflects it — fast-draining, firm underfoot, and playable deep into autumn when lower-lying parkland tracks are sodden.

North Wilts is a proper members' club with a course that rewards local knowledge. Learning its slopes, its winds, and the way the ball behaves on true downland turf takes time — which is precisely what makes it worth the effort.