The Heron Golf Club

Last played it 40 years ago it was great then !!! and still is now,I may join this course ??

The club facilities and course are excellent

I thoroughly enjoyed playing at The Heron. Well maintained course, especially the greens. Also, the staff both in the clubhouse and on the course were excellent and engaging. (Fabulous bacon roll as well!). Will definitely be back.

The heron presents a good challenge for all standards of golfers. Due to recent rain parts of the course are very wet with a plugged ball a possibility even on the fairways. Second cut was long but the greens were in good condition and fast. Facilties at the club were excellant.

The layout was average in places, some nice holes, quite open. Plays a little harder than you expect or see especially on a first visit. Comments here are only relevant to this 1 day, which might not be fair as this week was the 1st for good weather for many months, so the condition of the course was of no fault to the club, pretty much the same for many throughout the UK.

I returned to South Essex (now renamed The Heron Golf Club (2023) 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 all super friendly & attentive. £26 for 18 holes on a Saturday is very reasonable due to the TSG Deal.

The pro in the shop was very friendly and 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.

Good condition, very good greens, didn't like sand in bunkers. Decent course, many of the holes blurred into one. Very exposed if weather is poor.

A good test of golf.
3x9 Holes give variety and each 9 has it's own unique character.
The Hawk is my favourite. Lots of variety and very undulating.
In very good condition as at the time of this review.
Excellent practice facilities with short game area, bunker, range with top tracer and a fine putting green.

Obvious signs of new investment around clubhouse. Courses heron/hawk remain pretty much as before. Lots of shiny new buggies and powered trolleys. New staff were friendly enough. 30.00 for a midweek round BUT still honouring emergency/defence discounts (if you ask). Pro shop was pretty much empty.

I've just played South Essex Golf Course, (Vixen & Heron), with our great leader.

Found the course in overall good condition, with some dry patches in places, nothing that a little rain wouldn't put right.

The greens are in lovely order with no patches of disease and I found them to be running true.

Thinking about making the trip there before The 2020 TSG Open, I think you'll find it won't be a wasted journey.

Marky Mark

We played the Heron/Hawk combination on a very warm summer day. Course was in excellent condition with consistent well maintained greens. Value for money was excellent at £20 which included the usual prizes. The layout is interesting and is a fair challenge at 6364 yards of the yellow tees.

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!

I have to say this was a very pleasent surprise. i would put this in my top 3 courses in essex alongside Abridge and west essex.We paid £27 for a Saturday green fee which was reasonable.This was mid october the course was so wrll maintained they even swept up the leaves so you could find your ball in the semi rough.The greens was as good as you would find in july.The pro shop was small but still had a decent display of goods but didmt have any course planners so you had to look at the board on each tee.I was highly impressed with this course needless to say i will be returning in a fortnight.If you want a good test of golf with every hole you got to think about then give this a try 9.5 out of 10 well worth a visit

As a member of Crown golf get to play here for free staff in pro shop and bar very friendly look all crown golf courses!
Stunning views and well kept course greens running ture enjoyable game of golf well worth the visit

Upon arrival at South Essex Golf Club, passing the Bowls Club, you feel like you are arriving at an industrial site and the clubhouse is not very enticing. Parking is generous and not too far to walk to the first tee. The ladies locker room is pokey and uninspiring, with no locker facilities. Considering there are shower facilities, I was surprised that the entrance door to the ladies room does not lock.

The best part of the breakfast was the bacon. The egg was overcooked, sausage undercooked and bread and butter served instead of toast. Tea and coffee was self serve with stewed water in flasks. No spoons provided, only wooden sticks. Very disappointing.

Onto the course and the complete opposite to the above write-up and totally made up for everything. It is visually inspiring and each hole offers its' own challenge and surprises. Most of the greens were a little tardy and slow, but this did not spoil the round. The red tees were mainly close to the yellows, which made for a sociable round when playing mixed. I really enjoyed the dog legs and some playing over water and ditches which really makes you course manage. The 18th brings you towards the clubhouse and a chance to hole the last putt for a glory point in front of a crowd.

I would definitely go back to play this course again and the hospitality in the clubhouse at the end of our round with friendly service helped make up for the disappointment at the beginning of the day.

Book a tee time and play this track. It's a great day out.

I was trying out South Essex with a view to becoming a member and while the club manager did his best to sell it to me, the course itself was the real clincher, as it should be.

Wonderful parkland course, in great condition. Reasonably long, though it is par 72 and there is generous fairways and forgiving semi-rough allowing good opportunities to score on the big contoured greens. A nice mix of dog legs and holes where the driver is not a sensible option, course management is important for sure.

A few nice touches - 200/150/100 yard stakes on each hole; red/yellow/white flags indicating pin positions; and a map of each hole by each tee so newbies like me and visitors know where they are going.

I played the 'standard' Heron-Hawk combo, but am reliably informed that the Vixen 9 is just as good if not better. I look forward to finding out when I join.

Got there at 9.30 am - 45 mins early to go on the range but could not get on there as they were cutting the grass and collecting balls.

Only annoying because it was my first game in 7 months and I was very rusty.

Changing facilities were a bit ropey but friendly enough in the Pro Shop and the barman was a happy chappy.

Lost a few balls in the unforgiving rough, but in general, the course was in good condition and the greens were fast and smooth.

Very busy with a lot of 3 and four balls.

Enjoyable round and a nice cool pint of Coors afterwards on the terrace overlooking the course.

Will play there again.

South Essex is playing really well considering all the bad weather we have had over the winter, I played on a Monday and was surprised at the deal of £11 plus a Mars bar, for this course that's a great deal and well worth a visit

Very nice clubhouse, shame about the other facilities.
The course was in fantastic shape bearing in mind the recent weather and as always I thoroughly enjoyed it, shame I struggled to get better than a three putt on most holes! Will be back and the improvements being made look great - roll on the summer!

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.....

South Essex is a fair challenge with some interesting holes. Good fairways and bunkers. Greens subtle and fair condition for time of year. I enjoyed the round very much and would recommend.
Clubhouse ok and friendly.

Well, its a great course and for this time of year in great condition. It has some lovely holes to challenge any golfer.

It plays long, so if you're a short hitter you're looking at pars at best.

The Clubhouse is very friendly with a good selection of drinks and food.

Would go back anytime.

I have played here before, but today is the best I have seen the course. The fairways, had been cut nicely, the rough was rough enough to penalise you, but not rough enough to make you loose balls. The greens were in very good condition. A course I will play again, but probably only on a 2 for 1 voucher, as its a bit over priced otherwise in my opinion.

Pretty straight forward parkland course shame that i couldn't putt for toffee Greens in good nick staff happy polite and made to feel welcome great price at £19.00.
would play there again

A nice course gets busy at weekends, very open course rough can be rough greens in good condition, we played with a 2 fore 1 voucher so only £15 each.

When I turned up to play in a charity event at South Essex, first impressions were good. A decent enough driving range and putting green. Sadly those good first impressions were well and truely blown away come the first hole. A slightly errant tee shot on the first (no more than 7-10 yards off of the fairway) landed in the "rough". By Rough I mean 3ft heather/straw. This is how the course panned out. I'm all for poor shots being punished, but this was nothing short of a disgrace. I have no idea if this is laziness on the clubs part, or if they are going for an Open qualifying course set up. Walton Heath it isn't!! All in all, with a bit of work i.e. thinning the rough so that if you ball goes in, you have a chance of finding it, this could be a decent pay and play track. As it is, I won't be parting with my hard earned to play there again.

A bit biased as I worked there for 3years. Little bit disappointed at the condition of the course. Greens were not too bad though.

South Essex was an OK course to play, the conditions were a little tough and the course itself was very wet in places. I have played this course in the warmer weather and it was a lot better (like most courses). I do enjoy this course very much especially as we played after 1pm and we used the 2 for 1 voucher, it cost £9.50 per person....Bargain!

Having played here a fair number of times you know what you should be getting at any time of year.

The course condition is fair for the time of year but I noticed a lot of unrepaired deep divots on fairways, some greens look like they need a little TLC.

Obviously, the recent bad weather has had an effect on greenkeeping so i hope things improve.

A few holes are currently being played from mats, which is never ideal.

I consider the full price of £29 to be a little OTT at the present, as there are a lot of golf courses to choose from in the area, many of which are cheaper.

an enjoyable course with lots of room if you don't always hit straight. some long holes which can be rewarding if playing well. enough hazards to ruin your card which should make you think before playing your shots. the weather was awful from start to finish i would have walked off after nine holes but my playing partner wanted to carry on. the course was waterlogged due to the conditions but we managed to finish hence the bad scores. worth a visit there are three nine hole courses to play.

It has been a long time since I played this course but I was pleasantly surprised by how well the course had grown up - also liked the new ditches they have put in, which adds to the course! Greens are good and true and the area overlooking the 18th green is a pleasant place to enjoy an after-round drink. Good value at £29 (weekends). Well worth a visit!

Played The Heron/Hawk combination here on Saturday 11th October.

The weather was very pleasant apart from the low sun making keeping your eye on the ball tricky.

Holes were varied, fairways were generally wide and green big enough targets but a bit too firm making holding the greens tricky.

All in all a nice friendly club with a course that should challenge all without being ridiculously difficult.

The cost was £27 which was probably fair.