Hilton Templepatrick Golf Club
We didn’t play this course as part of one of our tours. I’ve qualified for a team at work and this is the course where we playing our match against a team from Manchester. So I used this round as a practice round before the match. We played with work colleagues of mine, Alisdair (who’s also on and the team) and Alan (who’s having a hip replaced soon!!)
Hilton Templepatrick is an 18 hole parkland course not far from Belfast International Airport. I’m surprised we hadn’t yet played this course but in a way I’m glad we didn’t Both Alan and Alisdair, who had played it before, said that it looked so much more mature and they noticed a few differences in the layout, particularly at the 10th tee (the Google Map below is not up to date – the upper-right corner is now a driving/practice area and the 10th tee is just beside the pond there).
I think we both liked this course but it’s not quite in our top lists.
It has a lot going for it. The course layout is pretty good: there are plenty well-placed bunkers (of which I found a few) and as you’ll see from the Google map there are lots of ponds and a river comes into play on a couple of the holes. And it was really well kept – everything looked neat and tidy.
There are some things going against it however. It’s pretty flat, though that’s not a major drawback and the layout makes up for it. The greens were very, very sandy. I’m hoping that’s because they had sanded them and were waiting for rain – if they were like that the whole time it would be A Bad Thing. But they were fast enough so that was OK.
But I think it’s biggest problem, or rather problems, are its par 3s. They are dull and boring (except for the one by the river, which was OK). Just a punt up a field with no real shape or features to make them memorable. It’s as if they just put a par 3 in because it was about time for one.
It’s still worth a go though but try and get a deal on the green fee. The regular green fee is £45, I think, and that’s just too expensive.
Thomas says:
I played some pretty good golf today – had 4 pars on the last 4 holes, more than a few near misses and a birdie on the 9th with a tricky putt that snaked over the green.
Quite enjoyed the course as well but I’m only really remembering a few of the holes. The 3rd, a par 5, has a huge pond across the full width of the fairway, just about within driving range and a pond to the left side close to the green. Certainly makes you think about how to play the hole. The index 1 (12th) was another nice hole beside the river and the 13th really brought the river into play. Definitely would not like to play off the blue tees at that hole. The 18th was a nice finishing hole with bunkers in the middle of the fairway hiding just how far the pond on the left side comes into play. So I just nailed the drive straight down the middle – no water or bunkers there!
Clive says:
It was good to get a local course we hadn’t played to make our 242nd. The course has lots of mature trees as it is on the Castle Upton demesne – the former home of Sir Robin Kinahan – and this adds to the general ambience of the place. I liked the water which came into play quite a lot and some of the ponds were seriously big. The holes from the tenth are lovely with interesting kinks in them. The second and third were lovely as well. Today I couldn’t drive for peanuts but putted pretty well. As Thomas says – the par threes are hopeless without any thought having gone into them. I’m glad we played it (and I hope Thomas and Alisdair do well tomorrow) but I certainly won’t be rushing back – marks out of ten, maybe 7.
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See our photos of Hilton Templepatrick
Hilton Templepatrick Golf Club
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Google Map:
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