Review's of London Golf Club
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
LONDON GOLF CLUB - No.1 COURSE IN KENT !!!
I've played a lot of golf courses in the last 30 years, some good, some, not so, but nothing has come close to The London Golf Club I played on Tuesday 2nd June 2015. This came about from the ill fated "SLA Golf Day" that was cancelled on the TSG Events page. I had already paid in advance so, couldn't really cancel and was really worried about the event actually taking place and hence losing my money I had paid. My fears were allayed the second I entered the gates and was met by the security guard at his hut. "SLA Golf Day" I said, "Yes, Sir, Straight to the end of the driveway and pull up at the clubhouse front doors". Now, although the weather was shockingly bad, (50mph winds and rain), and it had put me on a bit of a downer, pulling up at the clubhouse suddenly changed all that. I was greeted by several officials who took our clubs and put them ready for us on the golf buggies provided. I have to say, it's the first time I have felt like a VIP at any golf course and trust me, I'm not that by any stretch of the imagination. Once parked up, we entered reception and registered for the day and were given "Goody Bags" containing tees, pencils, stroke saver, water, bananas, choc bars and various other related items, a real bonus to me. Then, it was upstairs to the restaurant for breakfast, sausage & bacon muffins, (another first), tea & coffee; you could have as much as you fancied but I just stuck to the one, which was very unlike me. After a briefing, it was on the buggies to the practice range and a quick "WHACK" with my new clubs. The facilities here were superb, grass range with pyramids of balls to practice with, I couldn't fault it at all. A shotgun start off the 3rd tee commenced which was at the far end of the course, at this stage, I would just like to say this course is best suited for buggies with long gaps between some of the tees and a buggy path the whole way round, although we were allowed to venture on to the fairways even in the bad weather. Now, from our 1st hole to our last every tee box, fairway and green was of the highest quality, lovingly tended by the green staff and a credit to the club, no wonder it is a European Tour venue. On the times I did find the fairway, they were like playing off lush carpets, absolutely fantastic and the greens, so smooth and true, even in that wind, ( if you remember the scene from the film, "Caddy Shack", where the priest was playing the best golf of his life in a hurricane and finally gets struck down by lightning on the 18th, our game was definitely like that, although the lightning never arrived, Thank God!!) There were plenty of challenging holes with deep bunkers, lots of water and long grassy rough for the wayward shots but all in all, a great layout. After the round, we dried off and went back upstairs for the presentation and dinner, a lovely evening ensued with talks from the charities involved and from an ex welsh rugby international whose name escapes me and a wonderful 3 course meal. We left the venue at around 9pm and thought this was definitely the best course we had ever been to in Kent and, as good as The Belfry in Birmingham, which had been my No.1 for many years. To sum up, if you're looking for that special golf course and have a spare £100 or so floating about in your account, (although we only paid £67.50 for the whole golf day, I know, mad, isn't it), then go and play The London Golf Club, everything far exceeded our expectations!!!
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
A very special treat
When you arrive at The London Club you feel special, as you are greeted at the gate with a friendly face giving you instructions on where to go. You can drive in front of the house and drop your bags off before parking. All parking is close to the clubhouse. The clubhouse is stunning; very classy and generously staffed. Practice facilities are awesome; with all balls provided for free and the grass matching that of the course, as you find out when you play. The pro shop do not stock tees, which was surprising and I was very disappointed that there was only a handful of ladies clothing stocked. The changing rooms are very impressive, formal and classy, with beautiful wooden lockers, stunning showers and facilities. However, the lighting did not lend itself to applying make up and there were only mirrors at a stretch above the basins. There is no seated vanity area and would suggest that the lounging area just inside the doorway could be adapted accordingly. Our society were provided with a delicious bacon and sausage muffin prior to our game. Better than a bacon roll any day. Upon our arrival at the putting area just beside the 1st tee at the International course, we were welcomed by Darren, who was our host for the day and he greeted all with instructions for the course and each player was announced on the tee which was a nice touch. The course is absolutely smashing. Such pleasure to walk on beautifully manicured fairways and the greens were very true and testing. There were a lot of pitch marks on the greens which needed repairing which was surprising, taking into consideration the quality of the course and the amount of money people are paying to play it. Signage needs to be addressed, as it was difficult to know where to go for the majority of the course and there are very long, hilly walks inbetween each hole. The halfway hut was a delight and it's always great for the ladies to have facilities available on any golf course. As a course, I would say it was not particularly difficult and my advice would be to plot your way around and you can make a good score. Each hole is beautifully designed and there is a lot to think about. Don't be too greedy, but have some fun and you can steal a cheeky score. I found it very surprising that the 17th Par 3 was Stroke Index 2 for the men. Very gettable in 1 for most, even with high handicaps. It was only Stroke Index 8 for the ladies. This should be reviewed. We returned to the clubhouse to a delicious Chilli Burger which was an occcasion in itself. Our society really enjoyed our day; the hospitality was fabulous and I would recommend anyone to save their pennies to play this course and enjoy a very special treat of a day.
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
Fantastic!!!
Where does one start? Well before the review a quick background as to how I came to play here. I was lucky enough to be invited on a corporate day, with 1 guest (Darren). We arrived at 10.00am to be meet at the car park, by a gentleman who took our bags etc, and informed us they would be waiting for us on the tee at our scheduled tee time. Once parked up we entered the reception to be handed a goodie bag and directed to the chnaging rooms, after which we would go upstairs for unlimited breakfast/coffee/tea. At 11 o'clock we had a debrief after which Darren and I Were approached to told there was good news, and bad news! The bad news was the other 2 ball we were paired with would not be joining us, the good news was we would play a 3 ball, with the club pro (Simon Head, Shead to friends, and now Darren and me). We were starting on the 10th and even at my age playing with a pro made my stomach churn, which resulted in a shocking 11 shots on the hole! Thankfully the round improved. The day ended with a 15 minute bunker session with another pro (Chris), followed by a bar-b-q etc.
The course is far too good for the likes of me, having viewed their web site, and seen the flyovers of each hole, it had scared the s*** out of me! Thankfully some holes aren't as bad as they looked. The course is amazing, with fringes in better condition than some greens I would normally play on. The bunkers are full of beautiful soft sand, the fairways, very smooth, and the rough ruthless, which with out guidance from Shead, I would never have got out of. The greens are unbelievably fast (Shead says they have a run rate of 10'). Great pratice facilities, the changing rooms are amazing (Darren and I were like 2 kids on Christmas morning when we entered them) excellent showers, curtious staff, great food I could go on all night about the day, and the course.
Fortunately our day was free; however, though the course is very expensive I think if you only play there once it is great value, just for that experience.