Kilworth Springs Golf Course Review

Kilworth Springs Golf Club

Played and Reviewed – Thursday 22nd July 2021

Address – Kilworth Springs Golf Club, S Kilworth Rd, North Kilworth, Lutterworth, LE17 6HJ

Website - https://www.kilworthsprings.co.uk 

Course Information and Stats – Kilworth Springs Golf Club is located in a quiet village countryside in the south of the county of Leicestershire. The course was founded in 1993 and around the course you get a lot of excellent views of the Avon Valley. Although the club is situated in serene surroundings, it is well located in terms of accessibility from all parts of the country. Kilworth Springs is a course that is built on sand and shale and therefore makes the course one that can be used all year round because of the materials the course is built on makes for excellent drainage. As a course, it is made up of two contrasting nines, the front nine is very much traditional in terms of being a links course and eases you into the round, however the back nine adds the challenge of water on the majority of the holes. The course boasts well maintained fairways and brilliantly maintained USGA specification greens and is a challenge to all golfers no matter the level of playing ability. Although the course did not make my Top 100 courses in 2020, it has been recommended to me a few times and is a strong contender to appear when the rankings are reviewed again and is certainly a hidden gem of a course. 

Upon arrival – I was really looking forward to getting out and playing a new course to me and my first in the county of Leicestershire. It was the first time I had picked up clubs for seven months and I was intrigued to see how the course would perform and whether it would be comparable to some of the courses I had played previously that did appear on my Top 100 list. Tee time was 7.08am on a glorious morning without a cloud in the sky, you could see from driving into the car park that the course was in superb condition and that keeping the ball on the fairway was an absolute essential for the day. The car park was very spacious and you could see a sunken driving range that looked in great condition. The bar and restaurant looked nice and the clubhouse gave a nice, warm welcome. 

Kilworth Springs Stats – From the longest tees (Blue), Kilworth Springs measures 6,697 yards. The course has an excellent blend of holes with four Par 3 holes, ten Par 4 holes and four Par 5 holes. I played off the yellow tees which measured at 6,278 yards. 

Signature hole – 18th Hole - 174 yard, Par 3 - After playing some of the longer holes at the end of the round, the final hole is arguably the signature hole on the course, a challenging par 3 and can be a challenging ending to the round. From the tee your first decision is your shot selection. Although the pin measures 174 yards off the yellows, it depends on tee and pin position as to the actual yardage of the hole. As a notoriously small hitter in terms of yardage, finding the right club for me was a tough decision. Once you're ready with club selection you approach the shot knowing that you need to carry a large body of water with little room for error. Anything left off the tee and your ball will find water, if you overcompensate and aim further to the right you are in danger of hitting trees or harsh rough. Coming up short, leave a greenside bunker just off the front of the green. Once your find the putting surface the green is a long one with a ridge in the centre making it a challenge from beginning to end 

Best Par 3 – 6th Hole – 140 yards – choosing the best par 3 on the course was a tough decision, however I went for the second of the four as the best for me. Arguably not the toughest in terms of yardage, requiring a mid or short iron from the tee. It is the surroundings that make it the best for me. As you stand on the tee box you get a clear sight of the hole but it requires a lot of accuracy to make the green. Anything left, right or long finds gorse and thick rough. Anything short finds one of the two greenside bunkers. Finding the green from the tee is further challenged with a relatively small green as a target. Walking away with a par is a good result on the day.

Best Par 4 – 13th Hole - 356 yards - again, a difficult choice, but for me the best of the par 4 is the relatively short, but challenging thirteenth hole. From the tee box, some course management is required knowing that you need to be particularly accurate with your opening shot. Anything to the left and your ball is lost to the lake that runs the first 200 yards to the left of the fairway. Mounds and challenging rough capture anything that strays off to the right and you don’t have to veer too far off track to be in trouble as the hole boasts a very narrow fairway. Once you have negotiated the opening shot a difficult second comes next with a stream acting a hazard around 300 yards down the course from the tee. Access to the green is hampered by two bunkers, one to the front and one to the rear of the green. For me it is the variety of hazards and thought needed in approaching the hole that makes it the best of the Par 4 holes on the course.

Best Par 5 – 10th Hole – 516 Yards – Although it was one of the more challenging holes for me on the day, I thought it was the best of the bunch of par 5 holes. Although there is water on the left hand side as you play your opening shot it should not come into play as a hazard (other than a mental one!). What is a difficult challenge is finding the fairway as it is tight and if you lack accuracy from the opener, you could find a high score presents itself on the card. For longer hitters, two very carefully placed bunkers, one either side of the fairway, narrow it further around 240 yards from the tee. Shortly after the bunkers gorse, large oaks and unforgiving rough come into play. Shots three/four need to be accurate as water comes into play down the right hand side of the course around 100 yards from the green. Approaching the green comes with difficulty as two relatively friendly bunkers protect the pin down the left, however the bunker down the right of the green is a deep, challenging one. Once on the green, it is relatively flat with a bit of a step towards the back but if you find the green putting out on it is fairly forgiving. A nice, but testing start to the back nine!

Birdie Time – 14th Hole – 335 Yards – not many holes to choose from here as the course is very well designed in terms of where hazards are placed and the difficulty of the holes. However, for me this hole is one of the ones that I could have made par on. From the tee you can see the green and the fairway is one of the wider to find from the tee box. For long hitters there are some water traps around 260 yards down the hole, however this did not become an issue for me as my drive is not as long as that. Accuracy is needed across the whole of the course, however on this hole there is some challenging rough but little in the way of other hazards - unlike the rest of the majority of the course. The green is protected by bunkers on the left and right of the green. However, once on there it is a nicely kept, but relatively flat one to putt out on. 

Bogey Beware – 12th Hole – 408 Yards – Looking at my card it could have been any of them! However for me the one that stood out the most as a challenging hole was the 12th. Firstly, from the yellow tees it measures at 408 yards which is particularly challenging for a short hitter. When standing on the tee box the first thing you notice is the water on the left hand side of the hole. The first lake should not be an issue, however the second of the lakes comes into play down from around 210 yards if you head off to the left. As a dog leg round to the left, a tee shot down the right hand side of the fairway will be ideal. With the second shot not only does water come into play down the left hand side the issue of the River Avon down the right hand side also is a hazard. On approach to the green the hole becomes less of a challenge with the only additional hazard to note being a green side bunker off to the left hand side. A very intimidating hole from the start to the end and one that a par is a good result on, well for me anyway!

Post round thoughts – thoroughly enjoyed all aspects about the round. I managed to get a round in with my best friend which was brilliant. The weather was absolutely glorious, beginning to get too hot towards the last two or three holes and for my first round in seven months the golf was nowhere near as bad as it could have been! Not only was that aspect of it brilliant, the course also was in absolutely superb condition. The fairways were clearly identifiable and superbly kept, the rough were brutal at times but the greens were just incredibly kept. The round was played in a very good time with clearly well thought out booking times. I strongly believe that it will appear in the Top 100 courses when I re-rank the courses again and it is one I would love to play again.

Course Rating by numbers – 74/100

Course Design and Test 7 (out of 10) 

Initially, I thought that this area would score less than this as I recall being able to see the pin from the majority of the tee boxes. However, there is a huge difference between seeing the pins and being able to reach them! Each of the holes is designed very well with purposefully placed manmade hazards where natural hazards are not in play. It is a contrast of a course from the front nine, where the course is full of manmade hazards and using the brutal rough to the back nine where water is brought in as a further test. It is a fantastic mix and balance of holes in terms of par 3, 4 and 5 holes. The majority of the holes are also met with tight fairways meaning accuracy is an absolute must. Although the greens in general are not as challenging as other courses they are absolutely beautifully kept. 

Landscape and Scenery 7 (out of 10)

From the moment you arrive at the course you can see it is very picturesque with views of the Avon Valley all around. At very few points on the course do you see buildings in any shape or form and it has a very peaceful feel to the course. It has a good mixture of different trees, both mature and new, gorse and in the second half of the round - water! 

Fairway Condition 8 (out of 10)   

Could not fault them, the course was in superb condition and you could clearly identify whether the ball was in regulation to the fairway or not. It is rare to find a course that shows consistently the quality of fairway as you will find at Kilworth Springs and usually a couple of the holes will be ones that stand out for the wrong reasons but this was certainly not the case. The time of year and hot weather did not have an adverse effect on the fairways either. I would love to play the course again and think that even in October - March the fairways would be good based on the excellent drainage on the course. 

Green Condition 8 (out of 10)

Some of the nicest looking and best kept greens I have ever played. Again this was consistent across the whole of the course. Most of the greens on the course are relatively flat making the greens smooth and possibly easier to keep. The fringes and grass around the green gave clear distinction. Another real strength to the golf course.

Hazards 8 (out of 10)   

Again, another area of the course that scores well due to the variety of the hazards and the placements of them. During the opening half of the course the main hazard to contend with are bunkers, usually well positioned with a good proportion of sand. A lot of the hole have greenside bunkers making reaching the pin more challenging. Then as you move into the back part of the course you experience lakes and the River Avon as a real challenge, with 12, 13 and 18 being standout holes that contain water. Throughout the round the challenge of gorse and brutal rough add to the challenge of the course. 

Practice Facilities and Amenities 7 (out of 10)

You would struggle to fault the facilities at the course as they have a good floodlit driving range which is sunk into the ground and becomes part of the out of bounds on the opening hole, the putting area which is well maintained and shows a good representation of the pace of the greens when out on the course. Where it falls down is that there is not the option of a chipping and short game practice as well. For what they have it is very good. In poor weather there is not an option for simulator play and no practice facilities for bunker game but a good set of practice facilities all the same.

Clubhouse & Overall Cleanliness 6 (out of 10)

Although my main focus is the golf and the course itself this is an area that should be thought of in reviews. The general cleanliness is good both in the clubhouse and around the course. The clubhouse is well used and they offer good selection in terms of post round meals at a reasonable price. Couldn’t fault it for what was being offered.

Pro-Shop 7 (out of 10)

A really good pro shop at Kilworth Springs situated close to the first tee and the putting green practice facility. In the shop you have a good variety of club branded merchandise as well as other clothing. Snacks and drinks are also available to purchase prior or post round. The course also had a great range of its own branded apparel - perfect for a souvenir collector!

Access & Parking 8 (out of 10)

Another strong performing area to the club with a lot of parking available at the course and well located to the clubhouse, bar and opening tee. Signage for the car park was very good and the access from the road to the car park was also very good.

Value for Money and Experience 8 (out of 10)

I played the course at 7.08am on a Thursday morning and paid £28 for the privilege and I use that word purposefully as it was a real privilege to play the course. I think this represents excellent value for money for lesser courses than it is. I think the challenge and enjoyment of it add to the value for money. Again, impressed with this aspect of the course and feel that each time you play it you could learn something different and new.