Review's of South Essex Golf Club
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
Well...what an improvement!
I returned to South Essex after a break of five years. Almost immediately I realised the club has/is going through major changes! The restaurant is still on the first floor, but the staff are friendly & attentive. £26 for 18 holes on a Saturday is very reasonable dur to the TSG Deal.
The pro in the shop was very friendly, gave positive suggestions as the buggies operate a geofence system. There are almost buggy paths around the whole course. Some are being constructed as you go around.
They’re three 9 hole courses, the Vixen, Heron & Hawk - We played the Vixen & Heron.
For this time of year, the Fairways and Greens were excellent. Bunkers have fresh racked sand. The tee’s were superb, flat, and well-mown. I’d never played the Vixen before AND I really enjoyed it. The Heron is a step up, much longer, but also in great condition.
South Essex GC is a course on the way up....Apparently, its membership is full, I’m not surprised it’s a fantastic set-up, putting golf and golfers first.
I hope to return next year and see how their changes are maturing as South Essex is fast becoming one of the top courses in the county.
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
An enjoyable course but post match kitchen service was awful!
South Essex Golf Centre is a 27 hole golf complex, comprising three 9 hole loops, ie the Heron (par 37), the Hawk (par 36) and the Vixen (par 35).
The course is located in Brentwood, Essex. It is part of the Crown Golf portfolio of courses.
Chosen as the venue of the TSG Masters event, the par 73 Heron & Hawk course combination was the one played. As there were two other societies playing the same course combination ahead of the TSG groups, this possibly reflects a view about its relative strength as a challenge! Given that the SSS is also 73, whether off the white or yellow tees, this should be reflective of the course difficulty!
There are 4 par 3s, 9 par 4s and 5 par 5s.
The course comprised wide/sloping landing areas, strategically placed fairway and greenside bunkers, with risk/reward scenarios for the lower handicapper/longer hitters! personally I think less risk taking and fairway finding is the most productive way of playing the course. Too much can go wrong for the wayward hits!
This is a wide open course so very exposed to the weather elements! Unfortunately our Masters event was played in significantly windy conditions.
The fairways and greens were very firm making club selection for approach shots difficult at times! Unfortunately my lack of prior course playing knowledge; allied to the absence of a course planner booklet, led to a few wayward tee shots into fairway bunkers not visible from the tees!
The 4 par 3s were moderate challenges but only 1 par achieved, 2-3 points were lost due to under clubbing!
On the day my back 9 Hawk loop proved to be my scoring nightmare with 4 double bogeys and 6 x 1 pointers on the card! Conversely, our Masters champion Speedy managed to score 21 points on the back 9! Very creditable!
The combined £38 cost of our green fee/food/prizes was probably reasonable for a Saturday society booking, but personally I think this is a £25 - £30 range golf venue for a society as big as ours, depending on wheether it was a golf only or minor golf/food option!
The prematch bacon butty was tolerable; far from the best, very fatty bacon and not a nice bun! (personal taste I know).
I also ordered some food postmatch! While the quality was excellent when it finally arrived, as most of our group had left; I had to remind the catering staff/manager a couple of time! Not good service; the club let itself down badly here! The kitchen staff weren't exactly being overwhelmed with orders near kitchen closing and my order was taken by the gentleman who appeared to be in charge of the bar/catering!
The above said; South Essex was a very good venue for our annual TSG Masters event!
A negative on the day was the very slow pace of play, especially on the front 9, with sometimes 3 groups playing the same hole/waiting on the tees!
Possibly contributary factors, the 2 x 3 balls playing behind rather than ahead of the 4 balls; plus 9 groups following on from two, possibly 3, societies playing the same course combination!
Very happy to play it again!
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
Long course, wide fairways
First time to play this course, plenty of parking available, clubhouse staff friendly. Driving range is available but I did not use, large putting greeen near 1st T. The course is long over 6,500yds, I played a Heron/Hawk.
Whilst the course is long the fairways are wide compared to other courses I've played, and the rough was not bad, so if your a bit wayward with the driver you can often get away with it. Fairways were in reasonable condition, as were the greens and the bunkers. Whilst there is water on the course, it rarely comes into play, although on the one hole it did come into play my ball got wet. In terms of value I would suggest this is very good if booked through t-times, I paid £16 for a 1pm T on a Saturday. My only criticism is on the day I played the T times were not well managed, I nearly walked off the course after 9 holes, but persisted, the round took 5hrs 10 mins to get round. I'm unsure if this is the norm at the weekend, however if it is there are plenty of benches to sit on at each T...
Overall not a bad course, would probably play again at a less busier time, however it's not a pretty course and some holes could do with adding some more features to create interest.
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
Summer play is definitely more enjoyable.... & a real Heron on the Heron Course.
Just a short review, as the is the 2nd time I played at South Essex and what a difference between icy, wintery play & lovely sunny summer breeze play.
The course was very well presented, the ball was running well, fairways & greens in good condition, rough very punishing, some bunkers did not have enough of the nice soft sand, but I only found one at the 18th and that was absolutely fine.
The entrance and surround to the lovely Clubhouse look superb with beautiful flowers in full blooms due to he tender loving cared from the Greenkeeper, Peter Dawson.
The reception was warm & welcoming, I even managed to speak to the Manager, Matt, who gives TSG members a very special rate (2for1). Spoke to some members who were very friendly & welcoming.
Food is tasty and coffee 1st class.
Very enjoyable to sit on the sunny terrace built on stilts overlooking a picturesque pond & the 18th Heron green and some of the Vixen holes.
Will return to play this summer sooner than later and next year you might see there more often as I shall be working (Voluntary work ....) in Essex one day a week, well that is the plan.
THE END..... not quite:
There is a vegetable garden that belongs to South Essex by the left handside of the path leading to the Starter hut & 1st Tee of Heron Course. I believe that the Greenkeeper also tends this part. Some TSG might be interested to know.
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
Winter Golf on a pleasant Essex course......
South Essex Golf Club is a parkland, Pay & Play course with a fluid design, wide fairways, some sloping, some with ditches across, lots of bunkers with nice sand, some ponds and dog legs (Left & Right), rough, gorse, some now mature trees, sort of forest as well. Some areas of the rough area are now protected to encourage the wildlife/fauna. It shows the course is managed in a responsible way.
A place where one feels at ease as you arrive in the Car Park, well laid out. Then you have an easy access to the Ladie's/Gentlemen's changing room, the Pro Shop & the Bar which is upstairs. All these facilities are housed in a stylish restored Essex barn. It has character. The Clubhouse is roomy & light with apparent oak beams, large windows giving you great views over the Golf course made of 3 loops of 9 holes, the Heron, the Hawk, the Vixen. There is a big wooden balcony & terrace overlooking the uphill path leading to the 1st Tee of the Heron. Must be a pleasant place to enjoy an after-round drink in the Summer. There is a Starter Hut with pleasant & smiling staff, lovely putting green to spend a few minutes before Teeing off.
From this point, one can see the driving range and other practice facilities. Did not use them, but they look good from the distance.
Today, 1st December 2012, the course was wearing its winter coat, iced fairways/greens, trolleys were allowed but lots of roped areas to protect parts of the course. A few temporary Tees but "real" greens. All bunkers were G.U.R. as full of frozen water, so was the pond on the 2nd, which was useful as my ball managed to ricochet several times and landed on the faiway.
Ice was sticking to the golf shoes, a bit of a nuisance, constantly having to scrape the soles before each shot, but that is part of winter golf.
Today was an Epping Bandits game organised not by the usual, famous DJ (who had to wait a while for his breakfast!!), but by Ian F., his cool, calm & dark sense of humour made it a very pleasant day. We had a very good deal including breakfast, 18 holes on Heron/Hawk, a meal after the game & prizes. I was paired off with Ben F., Duffy Divot, it was an entertaining round on a cold December Saturday.
2 favourite holes:
Hole 3 (Hawk), Par 4,356 yards: not very long but an interesting dog leg which I managed to mess up, tee uphill with sloping fairways, then sharp right with a ditch and a very thick edge before reaching the uphill green which is well protected and sloping.
Hole 9 (Hawk), Par 5, 529 yards: supposedly a finishing hole that can ruin many cards with lots of hazards (ditches, stream, pond, OOB on the left, a sloping fairway) but surprisingly enough I played this hole well. My score was not great as I found chipping/putting difficult with the ice on the ground (being the 1st group out), also Yellow/Red tees were very often played from the same spot, so no advantage.
Friendly staff all around: Pro shop, Bar, Starter Hut, etc. South Essex is part of Crown Golf and also a preferred TSG course.
The day was a little grey & wintery, but one can sense how pleasurable it must be to play the South Essex courses on a lovely Spring or Summer day where good scores can be added, looking at the records, even on a winter day. Without a doubt, I shall return in the warmer weather.
THE END.....
Clubhouse/Hospitality
Quality of Course
Practice Facilities
Value for Money
Mature and rolling parkland, improvements continue
Society Day (Cyder Cup) visited South Essex, and although there were more than just us, the clubhouse managed to service our needs more than adequately. Included in the day was breakfast - golf and lunch...
Clubhouse staff were welcoming, serviee was with a smile.
On a day perfect for golf, bright (light breezes) this course showed signs of TLC (since a previous visit), fairways just about perfect, approaches to greens good, greens were in good nick (although a touch bobbly in places) and some long putts went in...
Off the fairway the rough could be punishing and bunkers were in the condition to be expected after a couple of days heavy rain, so saying the course was overall in great condition, staying in the fairway was recommended (and I had my 'sand nav' working well so managed to enjoy the bunkers more than usual).
This was a return visit (after a lapse of a couple of years) and the course Heron/Hawk combination was better than I remembered, some feature holes - and some new features - steady play brings its own reward.
Something here for everyone, this 18th is always a good challenge, very easy to get lost in the deep rough or bushes that skirt the long fairway, and watch out for the ditch...
After round lunch was much appreciated and once again same level of service in the clubhouse.
Good day for golf and some good golf was played...
Easy access from the M25 - adequate parking facilities.
This is an experience worth repeating - and as far as value for money goes, just about unbeatable.
