Ross-on-Wye - Gloucestershire - England

Having played Ross-on-Wye a long time ago I was a bit surprised to see it at the top of the Gloucestershire rankings so I returned in September 2019 to view for myself.

A woodland course with the holes seemingly cut-out of the forest it is in places reminiscent of Woburn albeit on a smaller scale; nice but with a similar claustrophobic feel (ie. no views). There is a similarity to the holes as they are basically all tree lined and small greens are a noticeable feature. Tee shots can be tricky as hitting the narrow fairway is not always as easy as it seems and although there is no fairway bunkering the trees are the hazard and there are plenty of blind tee shots, marker posts and sloping fairways which means if you are slightly astray the bounce sends you veering towards the trees often hidden form view; in places possibly a tad unfair !

Only three par 3's (the pick of which was nr 7) and three par 5's which oddly fall in the space of four holes between holes 5 and 8. This means that the back nine has eight par 4's and this feels a bit imbalanced. Some bland holes and in particular I didn't like the 4th (drive in lap of the gods with the bounce) and the 17th which was a long uphill slog. Some interesting holes though and the side by side elevated tees of holes 8 and 16 were quite a feature and both of these were good looking holes. My favourite hole was nr 11 which is a dog-leg par 4 where avoiding the large tree on the right of the fairway is as important as avoiding going left into the trees (quite a narrow gap).

My conclusion … overall I did enjoy the course and I can see why Ross may be rated nr 1 in Gloucestershire (let's face it there are no stand-out courses in the county), but personally I'm not sure it's any better than several other courses and for me Bristol & Clifton would take the top spot. Also the greens were very very slow when we played (and it was an open comp) and with greens that slow you can't be nr 1 !

I have played this course twice, the first time some years ago, the second time in summer 2017, and to be honest I had forgotten just how good it was. It is a course you have to think your way round. It is as well documented that the course rewards accuracy, hit it straight you will have chances to score, hit it wide... well okay whilst you will probably find your ball, but still good luck getting out of the trees.. you'll need it!

The close tree lined fairways can be intimidating...on the tee of every par four or five the course asks you Clint Eastwood style, 'Do you feel lucky punk, well do you?' Personally I didn't feel lucky enough, so took a three wood every time, and I'm not ashamed to say it either.

Still saying the course 'rewards accuracy' is not in this case a euphemism for 'short course', so that player brave enough and good enough to get their driver out will have a chance to attack the greens.... which brings me on to a whole other topic...

The greens were excellent, they are amongst the best parkland greens I've played.

If you want to play Parkland Golf, you will struggle to find better.

It feel at heart it's a matchplay course, with those risk-reward opportunities, still whatever the format don't turn down a chance to play there.

Our group played Ross-on-Wye as part of a trip that included the Players Club, Weston-Super-Mare and Burnham & Berrow earlier this month. We expected quite a lot from Ross, which is ranked very highly and was once in the English 100 I think. I liked the course, but agree with many of the reviewers below that reckon it could be so much better. The trees make the course feel very confined and frankly most of our group struggled to score anywhere near handicap. It’s a tough course where length and accuracy is key to playing to handicap. On the back nine I resorted to hitting a mid iron off most of the tees and scored better. You need to be on top of your game here to enjoy it, especially for the higher handicappers who lost umpteen balls in the leaves. Hugh

I agree with the last two reviews, great condition but a bit to tight, quite a few blind shots, challenging yes - but not very enjoyable. There are only 3 par 3's, the last being the 12th, for perfect balance they could use the ladies tee on the 16th and have a mind blowing par 3, instead of a mundane 290 yard par 4... just a thought. Staff and food very good.

This course was in great condition when I played it in June. It requires long tee shorts in parts and very carefully thought out positional tee shots in others. It is a test of accuracy as well as length, but the layout suffers in part where you are playing blind shots and are trusting in the bounce of the ball not to penalise a good shot. If 3 or 4 holes could be remodelled it would be a gem of a course.

Too many trees, too many drives or approach shots over brows, trees to close to fairway, that's why it never makes the list of good golf courses by the experts. Yes it's normally in great condition but a little mundane in the design, with every hole played in a funnel of trees, to repetitive. Sorry, but I was so looking forward to it, great food and very friendly members.

Ross-on-wye is tucked away just off the M50 which means access to the golf club is very easy. The course itself is beautiful and tree lined but also a decent challenge to club golfers. Currently ranked number one in Gloucestershire it shows its quality throughout the course with a number of star holes. Always been in very good condition when I have played there. A decent finishing hole coming down the hill to the clubhouse is a good way to finish. Highly recommend.

What a friendly club and the course is a serious challenge, cut through miles of woodland. With tight tunnelled holes through the trees you have to keep out of them otherwise its chip out or goodbye ball but decent driving will pay dividens as this is not an overly long track. Beware, playing this course in autumn can result in plenty of lots balls as they tend to hide underneath the myriad of leaves. Green fee is quite expensive but you can ply for half price on a county card. Ross is certainly one of the best courses in this neck of the woods with top greens and I would give it a higher score, but when I played last autumn, the leaves were down and I lost six balls on the edge of the fairway.

Ross is special;a true woodland course (there are not many)with sweeping/undulating fairways and small greens. A gem which bears comparison with the best. Many outstanding holes with a good mix of par 5s;3s;long 4s and short4s.