Abridge Golf & Country Club

Great course

Simply an outstanding course in my opinion, in fantastic condition albeit a wet day. Is it worth £40? I'd have to say yes, can't wait to play it again.

  

A Henry Cotten gem?

Hmmm Abridge, I've wanted to play here for years...like I did Romford. Before I start it is very nice golf club. Did it make me feel wow...er no. The club house is modern, facilities are nice and clean. Food (we ate before our round) was ok but nothing to get excited about, it was Steak and Ale Pie. Drinks were expensive £2.20 a can of coke. Staff were friendly, starter was a smashing guy.
The Course. I'm a fan of Henry Cottens work Canonsbrook being a favourite, so I was excited at the prospect of one of Henry's gems. Don't get me wrong Abridge is a bloody nice golf course but is it one of the best in Essex? Maybe, I prefer Toot Hill and Bentley. I think its on a par with Canonsbrook maybe the fairways are better. Its tough and the greens are very tricky though some of them had disease which was a shame. The fairways are good with the summer we have had, I thought the bunkers and tees very average. So there you go, a very nice Parkland course that deserves a play, but perhaps not jaw dropping for all.

  

A very very good course

Abridge is a beautifully scenic parkland course in the Essex countryside. Built in 1962, designed by Henry Cotton. The course has hosted major amateur golf tournaments, including the South East Regional Open Qualifier.

There are three mens tees in use, ie white, blue and yellow. We played from the yellows.

The course is a standard par 72 layout, 6,188 yards from the yellow tees.

The course is in magnificent condition, there are significant elevation changes, the course is tree lined and doglegs to be negotiated. The par 3s are a challenge. Greens were undulating and tricky as were the fairway and greenside bunkers.

Midweek visitor green fees are £35 and £25 as a members guest. I played the course in March 2017, under the Epping Bandits, as organised by David Jacobs, and a green fee of only £20 was paid. Excellent VFM for such a high quality course.

Hospitality at the clubhouse was excellent as was the welcome by members. Culturally the club and its membership historically follows the Jewish faith so their catering fare is tailored accordingly.

This is a touch challenging course which I highly recommend.




  

Interesting and well maintained course

Interesting course with a large number of dog leg holes (mainly right to left). Approaches into the greens can be interesting as most are elevated. Overall really nice course.

There is a driving range, putting and chipping area. This is one of the first courses where the putting surface on the pitch and chipping green was of the same quality as the main putting green.

The greens when I played were immaculate and are a credit to the club. We managed to get a deal from T times for £16 each for a four ball, which is fantastic value. Did not use the clubhouse, but changing room looked ok.

Recommend.

  

Great Course

First time I have played this course and its the worst score I think have ever carded - however I really enjoyed the experience because the course is immaculately kept and the tees and greens are fantastic.
I found this a very tight course and course management is paramount - i'm beginning to learn this.
Look forward to playing here again although a bit pricey at £30 a pop

  

What a course

This is the best course I have played, simple! And all for £17.50 twilight

  

Very pretty course which for some reason hates me

The course is really well presented. Superb fairways and decent greens - not the fastest but very true.

The practice facilities include a terrific grass range, something I haven't seen very often.

However there is a downside: the course is haunted by the ghost of somebody who really has it in for me. I've played here twice and am yet to break 100.

  

In short, immaculate!!

I've been meaning to play here on numerous occasions due to the great reviews but for one reason or another it got postponed, however, it was well worth the wait!!

As soon as you drive through the gates, you know the place is well looked after but this doesn't give you an indication of how good it REALLY is on the course itself. In short - it's immaculate!!

Seriously, the fairways are like carpets and the greenkeepers should be given a medal or even a knighthood. I have not seen fairways in better condition ANYWHERE or the greens for that matter!

The course itself is really interesting too, with few holes the same. Many of the greens are elevated but not as bad as I had feared and actually it's a good challenge!

I didn't visit the clubhouse or the practice facilities but for the purpose of the review I will mark them as good.

Don't pass up the opportunity to play here, its a good as people say and I for one will be playing here again very soon!!





  

Just awesome

I was told that the fairways here were good. They weren't just good, they were probably the best fairways I've ever been on. Well, when I found the fairways anyway... The tees and greens were likewise in excellent condition.

The terrain is generally very undulating, and I'm not sure that there are many holes which you'd describe as flat. The fairways are generally fairly generous, but there are a few which tighten up a little. I don't remember a lot of holes where you could see the flag from the tee, so be prepared for a fair number of doglegs.

What you won't get are any bad holes. I'm pretty safe in saying that you will enjoy playing here, from the warm welcome you receive in the pro shop, to the final putt at the 18th, this is just an awesome place to play golf.

  

Good test - excellent condition

Well designed and maintained - used for local Open qualifier!
We paid £15 - twilight meant to be from 3pm but you could play 2ish.......very good value!

  

Course in fantastic Condition

The course is always kept in perfect condition and its a challenging course!

  

Well worth a visit

Played here the first week in December. The course was in a good condition despite the weather. Very interesting, hilly layout. Well worth a visit.

  

wet but a lovely course

I haven't marked the course as well as I could have, but this was a member of staff was quite stroppy with us re the teas etc, and I didn't go anywhere near any of the practice areas so I cannot comment on them. Despite being very wet, and parts of the fairways roped off to stop trolleys, I thought the course played rather well. Scenery was good, and I thought quite a well laid out course. After the previous 3 weeks playing on v slow greens, playing on good greens with a reasonable pace caused some putting problems. Hit the ball straight and you can score well here, but go off line and it will chew you up and spit you out


  

Lovely Venue

Managed to take advantage of the latest abridge offer, which is great value for money. As you can imagine this means the course is busy all day so a slightly longer round than usual. A few holes let the course down (where they have been squeezed in) but overall it is fantastic. I haven't seen fairways like that all year! Made to feel very welcome and really enjoyed the whole experience

  

MAGNIFICIENT.... Greener than green....

The Organiser of our game which took place on the 2nd Aug 2013, John A. told me I would like Abridge and John was right!

The iron gated entry to Abridge Gold & Country Club gives the impression of a beautiful, well cared for golf course and you feel you wont be disappointed. It is greener than green everywhere you look...

The course is nearly 50 years old, originally designed by Henri Cotton, with with some changes over the years to provide a Championship pre-qualifying course. A small road takes you past the large open air driving range on the left and putting/chipping area on the right, and takes you to a large car park with multiple sections. Clubhouse/Proshop/1st Tee are well sign posted. Nice display of colourful flowers/shrubs before the entrance to the Proshop & by the sun terraces.

The golf course offer expansive lush green fairways (how can one miss them with their drives ?), the greens are immaculate carpets with tantalizing undulations and some tiers. True, fast but a real pleasure to deal with. Lots of bunkers which I found a lot of times, some had standing water unfortunately, but playable none-the-less. There are some various inclines are we are in a valley, giving you a chance to play those uphill or downhill lies depending whether you are a lefty or not, side lies etc.

The views are splendid, the 4th hole offers the best panorama of the surrounding Essex countryside and today after a storm a few hours before our game everything looked so fresh and vibrant. The M25 is in the vicinity but one can only hear some road noise by the 11th & 12th holes. The rest is peaceful. Will mention a small (private?) airfield by the 13th.

Lots of walking on well defined paths, good signage too, pretty plant displays at each hole, with ball washer, towels, sand/seeds to repair divots and some water dispensers along the way as well.

Tee boxes were raised on a lot of holes, so were the greens, the reason of this design is to keep water away from these areas. Lots of irrigation work has been done on the fairways to keep the bottom of the valley dry. Trees are well established and varied, they provide curtains either side of the fairways or a lovely backdrop for the raised greens.Some lovely water holes (2nd, 3rd, 5th and 14th), some ditches on the 7th, 13th, 14th & 16th.

My favourite hole(will only describe one this time):

HOLE 14th (Par 5 from the Red 418 yrds):

Raised tee, wide fairways sloping downhill & narrowing to a wide pond, concealed green from the tee. The raised green can only be seen from some 150yrds or so and slopes front and back. Wonderful views as you look back to the tee. That applies to most holes as well, so take time to look around & enjoy the scenery, the invigorating "Green" colours all around.

The course offers opportunities for every golfer, good scores can be add on this challenging not overly long Championship golf course. Small but well equipped Visitors changing rooms (Members have their own). Nice, well stock Proshop with a friendly service but no Ladies clothing on offer.

Bar/Clubhouse has reasonable prices, friendly staff, large sunny terrace on two sides, the biggest one is by the immaculate putting/chipping areas well defined by laurel bushes. I nearly did my practice putts & sand on the 18th green at first as I did not see the area hidden by the bushes. Oops, I would have been barred for life !!!!

Today, we had an extremely good deal arranged by our handsome & wonderful TSG ambassador, John A. who unfortunately could not join due to back injury but John walked the 1st 4 holes with us. It only cost £20 and that is such a bargain. I believe everyone that played today will want to return, I do as I want to show I can score better on a course that suits my style of golf.

If you get a chance to join a future game at Abridge, do make sure you put your name down as it will be a very memorable experience in a beautiful environment.

Thanks again to John A. for providing such a deal for TSG


THE END....

Signed by "Miss Lockwood"



  

Carpets!

The fairways are like carpets and the greens are somewhat faster carpets. The recommendations for this course were fully justified. next time there is a game I'll do my utmost to be there. A club built up by the membership, for the membership, and all credit they have done a superb job.

It's an Open Qualifier course, and after playing the first nine you wonder - why? Well the reason you think that way is, first that you are playing off the yellows/reds and, second you have yet to play the second nine.

For a change, the putting green is just like the greens on the course. It is also good to see that the green staff are actually filling the divots with seed, sand and earth instead of leaving them. The tee boxes ALL have 'hole fillers' available, and ALL have bins and ball cleaners.

It is also in a stunning area that has but one blot on it - the M25, but ignore that and it is a wonderful place to play. I have every intention of returning whenever there is a game that I can fit in with. It would have had 5*'s but the chipping area was a bit of a walk!!

  

Only three words

Superb,magnificent,fantastic.OK if you want more! Nine of us played on a Friday cost was £20.As you enter the course the range is on the left,there were a number of buckets full of balls to hit free of charge. The practice putting greens were exactly the same as on the course,there is also a chipping area.The condition of the fairways and greens were the best I have ever played on and that includes the Grove.If you can get a decent deal you must play this course.

  

'Open Championship Qualifying Venue'....says it all

Abridge GC is to be found well off the beaten track with the approach along narrow country lanes, so best to allow plenty of time before your game. In any case, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the practice range, chipping and putting greens to give yourself every chance of playing well at this truly delightful course.

Being a Regional Qualifying venue for The Open Championship, it's a good test for any golfer and in excellent condition throughout. Some good downhill driving holes invite use of the 'big stick', but well placed bunkers lie in wait. White OB posts are to be found on the left hand side of many holes - don't go there! Four shortish Par-5's provide scoring opportunities if your tee shot is well placed and four good Par-3's add variety. A long, straight drive is essential to have any chance of reaching the green in two on the signature 14th, where a pond awaits the over-ambitious!

You'll find no 'blind' shots, although many approaches to greens are uphill, so you can't see where the pin is located, but the scorecard includes a plan of each green divided into 3 sections - giving todays pin position. Greens were quite fast and I found them difficult to read, but ran very true.

Despite some 'indifferent' play, our group all happily enjoyed a drink after and there were requests for a repeat visit. I even had a message of thanks from one TSGer for arranging the game! Staff and members were very welcoming which added to our experience - a very good day on one of the best golf courses around!

  

Awesome best I’ve played in Essex.

This course is one of the best I’ve played in Essex. Mature tree line parkland course with undulating fairways with firm, fast & true greens in superb condition & bunkers, with some super 'driving' holes.
Your course management will have to be at its best as there are plenty of doglegs right & left.
You also have to take an extra club when approaching the greens as many are elevated, too short and you have an awkward pitch shot too long and the same.
£40 during the week it makes it a bit pricey but if you’re a 4-ball you only pay for 3 a better deal.
You have to play this course at least once you won’t regret it....
Club house & pro shop had friendly staff, with practise chipping, putting green, driving range.
Sort of course I definitely be a member.


  

Great fairways at Open qualifier

The fairways here are superb - nearly as good as The Grove: soft to walk on and receptive for any club; but there isn't much roll so you have to hit a decent length. Greens very fair, signage and presentation good. Good range of varied holes make this a good overall test and no really weak points.

  

good course, interesting, well worth a visit

Have played it many times. A quality course. Quite long and tricky off the back slabs a good test. Greens not as fast as usual which are generally fast.A few fairways having some drainage work, but you will certainly enjoy a round here

  

Abridge is a very well maintained

Abridge is a very well maintained golf course. The Greens were in excellent condition for the time of year. I would highly recommend this course and facility's.

  

Will be playing again.

Lovely course and in excellent condition for this time of year. Greens were particularly good. Played on a society day and so green fee was cheaper than normal so that made it all the more enjoyable.

  

As expected

all the reviews that said this would be good were right

  

Good Venue

Have played matches and society days here.
Very nice views with good facilities to compliment.
Course is tight in general and a good test.