Hamilton Golf Club

Formed in 1872, Hamilton Golf Club moved to its present location on the outskirts of the town in 1925 when James Braid was enlisted to lay out a new course for the members. Despite one or two modifications down the years, Braid’s original design remains largely intact.

A major tree planting exercise in the 1970s certainly added definition to the fairways but the arboreal overgrowth from this process resulted in the club undertaking a recent tree removal program to open up certain areas – around the 18th hole in particular – and this now allows more wind and light into these parts of the course.

The layout features only two par fives (played back-to-back at holes 4 and 5, “Lang Gait” and “Woodyett”) so it’s Hamilton’s solid set of par four holes that form the major challenge here – apart from maybe the rather weak, semi blind short par four 8th hole, where the green sits in something of a dip at the most southerly part of the property.

The four par threes on the card are nicely spread out and they’re a rather diverse quartet with yardages varying from a mere 133 yards at “Hoolet Row,” the pretty little 3rd, to a mighty 220 yards at “Perfection,” the downhill 12th, which demands nothing other than pinpoint accuracy at a well-bunkered hole.