Review's of Hainault Golf Club
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
Play here at off-peak times
Today, the UPPER Course - shorter & more variety with 4 short Par-3's. Fun to play and, on the right day, a good score can be had. I know this course well, but hadn't played it for several years.
Quite hilly - in fact the 5th has been called 'heart attack hill', so consider a buggy.....but isn't walking one of the best forms of exercise? Dating from 1909, it's certainly a very good place to walk! You'll find many sloping lies and a few 'blind' shots, so leave time for those in front to be out of range. If a shot is in the direction of trees, a provisional is a good idea, as balls can run off fairways - especially when conditions are dry.
Improvements have been made since I was last here, but there is still work to be done. Greens looked quite good, although dry, hard and in need of cutting. Some tee boxes now have wooden posts/rails to keep the buggies away - a problem in past years. There is no signage at all, so play with someone who knows the way. No ballwashers and very few seats on this course, but a 'halfway' hut by the 8th green.
This was an afternoon round on a warm/sunny spring day, when the course was very quiet, so under 3 1/2 hours and very enjoyable. However, it can get busy here and at those times, with standard green fees of £19/£27, I think better value can be found elsewhere.
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
No Motorway in Sight!
Locked security gates prevent entry except through the clubhouse building - slightly strange, but probably due to previous problems, so a good idea to check anything of value is locked out of sight in your car. Don't let this put you off.....it gets better!
We played the LOWER course, which is the longer of the two 18-hole layouts, designed by five time Open Champion, JH Taylor. There are two Par-5's and only two Par-3's, so variety is lacking, but this is a good test of golf - some of the long uphill holes will take two good blows to reach. The 12th, inviting a good long drive, has been described as the best golf hole in Essex and the 13th is possibly one of the toughest Par-4's around. The last five holes give a chance for a score to be rescued, with the 18th being a driveable (occasionally) downhill Par-4.
This was a quiet Friday afternoon on the course, so ideal to take in the pleasant surroundings - fields and the Hainault Forest Country Park. Once away from the first tee, you won't see or hear any cars, which is quite refreshing after playing several courses in the area close to Motorways!
There are some scruffy areas around tees and greens - some marked GUR, so should be repaired. Greens had been tined and sanded, but will improve soon. The two bunkers I went in were good, but I noticed several resembling water hazards, but there is a plan to rebuild these. Lots of un-repaired divots make some fairways a bit messy, but the reason a sign reads 'Preferred Lies All Year'
Overall, a good experience and I shall look forward to playing the 'Upper' course in the near future.
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
Upper Course - Challenging on so many levels
A return visit still confirms the Upper course as a real challenge - a mature parkland, cleverly established in some undulating hills. Clarity of thought may get you around, but on a day where the ground was still boggy in places (we do need the rain apparently) this was a tough day to work out. Greens were fluffy, soft in paces and really quite slow uphill. Tricky to read quite difficult to avoid the odd 3-putt. Bunkers still water impacted so playing out was hard... Course Management at a premium to navigate some twisty, sloping, and inconsistent roll...
A critique was that tee times were a bit close, and lots of people on the course could have made it a slow round... as it happened not too much of a delay... never a fan of overindulgence in blind holes - there are a lot...
Visit the Caddy Shack pre-round, tea and sandwiches various, served with humour... Do sample the lunch menu (Chinese influence and good quality)...Nice people very attentive...
Lots of unrepaired pitch marks evident today, rememeber to make 1 and fix 2....
Whilst this course isn't ever going to be my favourite, it is value for money and never uninteresting...
Latest update, return to the upper course, on a day when the rain stopped just before play began, we had a late tee time, course played OK but of course the recent rains had left it soggy in places, with a selection of temporary tees. Observation was that the yellow tee boxes were showing signs of wear and were a bit soft. Playing conservatively may be the best way around this course. Forgot to mention adequate car parking and going though the building to get to the first tees.
Lunch was again rather splendid, we alw2ays get a good welcome here.
