Guildford Golf Club

Attractive course

Attractive course - lots of variety and enjoyment to be had

  

Update of this little gem in Surrey

I played Guildford golf course 6 years ago & returned on June 14th 2020 to attend an Open day for prospective « Lifestyle » members, a well structured scheme geared towards new players in the 21st century.

The day was organised by the young Club Secretary, Tom May, who gave us a warm welcome & answered all questions we had . Very well organised despite the COVID-19/Pandemic restrictions . A complimentary bottle of chilled water and a banana was offered too.

Guildford Golf Club is very traditional with lots of history & members seem happy & genuinely welcoming. That gives a good feel to a Club.

The hilly course is in excellent condition, well maintained all around , it has that WOW factor from the beautiful uphill Par 4 starting hole to the great dog legged right Par 4 finishing hole.

Today I discovered that the 17th is the Signature hole but it could have easily been the 13th, the 15th or even the 18th!!! This show how interesting and beautiful the holes are, challenging & diverse due to the hills and slopes.

The Greens are superb with a well manicured fringe , they are large , well contoured and lots of them are 2 tiers. I believe if one plays this Course regularly one will become a Master Putter.

The bunkers are undergoing a renovation programme , started 3 years ago and due to be completed next year and it is paying dividends: new drainage, new soft white sand and plenty of it. Sand shots are proper sand shots, it makes the game so much more enjoyable.

Lovely views all around, lots of altitude too, plenty of wildlife & some protected areas.

The course is on chalk, so it is playable all year round unless there is snow (obviously safety reasons on this hilly course).

Good Visitors rates late afternoon or with a County Card.

Highly recommended.

THE END......

  

Lovely course great challenge

Lovely course. Lots of raised tee boxes and greens. Greens were in great condition but very difficult to read and to hold on the slopes. Great challenge though and very enjoyable. Very good practice facilities.

  

Great challenging course in very good condition

Guildford golf course was in good condition with fantastic greens, although tricky, especially the back nine. Interesting design makes you think about your shots and approach to the greens. One issue was bunkers on the first nine contained lots of stones in the sand and were compacted.
Otherwise a great afternoon out, shooting my best ever front nine of 40 (25 points) and winning the event will definitely return, might even join next year.

  

Great Course - Worth playing if your in the area

Traditional golf club, with great practice facilities and a good clubhouse. Practice facilities include a short driving range where you are allowed to hit shots of up to 160yds. There are a couple of driving nets, large putting green, a small chipping green, and another short game practice area with bunkers and an elevated green.

This is a mature tree lined course with a good mix of holes with dog legs, plenty of slopes and changes in elevation. The green complexes are large with undulating fast greens; if you avoid 3 putting on these greens you've done well. Although the course looks shortish on the card, it plays longer due to the significant amount of changes in elevation. The teeing areas were large and well maintained, and the fairways were very good.

If there is a minor negative about this course, it's the public. Don't be surprised to see walkers and dog walkers on the course, whilst there were not loads I imagine this could be off putting for some.

The clubhouse hospitality was OK, although as we played a late round we were asked to order our last round of drinks as they wanted to close the bar; I guess they don't need the money...

I paid a green fee of £30 with SES teeing off after 2:30 on. Saturday, I think this was good value considering the quality of the course;would definitely play again.


  

Very good but!

Guildford GC is a par 69, SSS69, parkland/downland course. There are 5 par 3s and only 2 par 5s.

The course contains some significant uphill elevation changes, eg the 1st, 10th and 17th, which were very difficult.

I entered the club's annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition. There was a two tee start, I started on the 10th, but the 10th was nowhere near the clubhouse. My trolley conked out on the walk back tio the clubhouse from the 9th green. Not good. if I'd played the course the correct way round from the 1st I don't thing the battery problem would have arisen.

By entering the seniors open competition I paid a £40 entry fee which included coffee/bacon roll, 18 holes, a two course lunch and prizes. This was great VFM. Normal midweek visitor green fees are £40, or £30 with a County Card.

This was an enjoyable golf challenge for the most part. I would be happy to play this again but only if starting from the 1st hole. I hesitate to categorise it as a 'must play' or 'play it if you can' but I think most TSGers would enjoy it.

  

Guildford gc

Great club house and practice area, I liked the layout but with all the dog walkers and public traffic on course. Might as well be playing in your local park. Greens were very good but rest of the course almost un-kept and at £35 on the twilight rate might look at other local courses rather then return.

  

Another gem in Surrey with wonderful views of surronding counties and London too

A real gem with history, tradition & a connection with a French golf course (Pau in the Pyrenees, South West France). The course is on the large Onslow Estate with Clandon, Clandon Regis golf courses in the vicinity. The 8th hole run parallel to Clandon with mature trees as a natural border.

Born in 1886 as an original 6 holes, Guilford GC quickly progressed to a full 18 holes, incorporating another local Men's club and also allowing the Guildford Ladies to share their course. Some improvements were made by the famous pair J H Taylor/Hawtree with shorter holes and extra bunkers.

As you enter the well laid out car park, you know you are going to encounter typical Surrey downland and when on the 1st Tee, it is a "wow" that sets the scene. A truly stunning opening hole, raised tee, with a beautifully cut fairway narrowing as it rises to the elevated tiered green slightly dog-legged, with 2 large protective bunkers. OOB on the left with thick rough, mature trees, thick rough on the right too. Quite a short course but every hole is attractive, different from the previous, setting a challenge for every level of golfers as mostly sloping fairways, one way or another, little mounds here and there, small shapely bunkers, the sand is darkish but fluffy.

The greens are to be remembered, wonderful shapes & contours, superb quality and a pleasure to putt. Most holes are bordered by ancient, mature trees, some grass is left to grow wild between perfectly manicured tee boxes and fairways, can be a disadvantage is you are not a long hitter. The wildlife is encouraged in the rough which will hide your ball and if found pretty impossible to escape. My advice: always take a provisional should you land in the rough with your 1st Tee shot.

The Par 3s vary from just over 100 yards in length to just over 200 yards and as all Par 3s very well guarded and sloping. Only 2 par 5s from the Yellow but 5 from the Red, hence SSS 69 and 72 respectively. Some cleverly presented dog legs. No water comes into play, the natural slopes, mounds, mature trees and wild areas create the challenge.

Very well kept and presented, every hole has a "wow", either due to the natural landscape, the ancient trees, bushes, wild areas, the surrounding views are quite remarkable too. Take extra care when crossing the road to play the 6, 7 8 and 9th, traffic is very faaaassssst.

A very pleasant game, mixed 4 balls Matchplay with new Lady TSGer Sue M., Mike W. who had the luxury of his own charming Caddie, Andrew who is going to take up golf very soon. Thank you to our very own Smiffy who organised this venue at an excellent half price rate of £24.

Large, attractive traditional Clubhouse being repainted on the outside. Drinks reasonably prices, coffee excellent and friendly staff. Large terrace with lovely seating arrangements overlooking the putting green. Excellent practice facilities for chipping and bunkers that reflects the landscape of the course. Open driving range too.

Well stocked Proshop, lots of Ladies clothing, a warm welcome too. Course planner only £3.50 and useful for following the layout to the next hole as signage is not always apparent if you don't land on the green with your chip/pitch shot. Good facilities in the Ladies changing rooms.

A course that is very memorable and that I would like to play more often, so a recommendation to our Social Golfers members, I am sure you will enjoy the experience too. Will post some photos to tempt you. These obviously are my personal views.

THE END.....This was my 100th review!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another review coming up soon, actually 2, 3, 4 & 5 more to ponder...

  

Enjoyable visit

There has been a golf course/club on the Merrow Downs for 125 years, and I certainly enjoyed the historic feel of the place. The course is relatively short off the yellows but very undulating in places making it far from easy - all aspects were in lovely condition and many of the greens have interesting contours. There are a number of excellent holes but particularly worthy of mention are the 17th, a tough sweeping down and up dogleg, and the 18th which affords good views back to the welcoming clubhouse. Well worth a visit - I would look to return.

  

Superb condition

Green fees are £33, this is there own discount rate and does not include further reduction using open fairways.

The course was in superb condition(excellent tee boxes, greens lovely, really nice feel about the layout), was a members only course but now allow visitors(we were virtually the only ones on the course - played after lunch).

Course plays short off the yellows(5728 yrds), there are whites for members and Blacks for competition which would give the course a different outlook, the course is quite hilly with a few blind holes but for me who plays off 22 a very enjoyable course and for anyone else you would expect to play to your handicap here.

This is one I would call a little gem although one of our group was not so keen, different strokes for different folks I guess!!!