Boundary Lakes GC is a new par 69 parkland golf course opened in July 2017 at the Ageas Bowl, ie the Hampshire County Cricket Ground, on the outskirts of Southampton, very close to the M27, ie within earshot of the motorway on the 4th hole. It is about an 90 minute drive from South West London.
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Back in 2017 the weekday visitor green fee was £30. (This is still the rate for 2019!)
We paid a charity competition event rate of £65 each including coffee/bacon roll, 18 holes, a three course post match evening meal and prizes. A little high as a two course meal would have sufficed! The competition was in honour of the Portsmouth Hospitals Charity.
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In 2019 I entered the club's inaugural Seniors Open Stableford competition!
The competition entry fee was £35, including coffee and bacon roll, 18 holes, a two course meal and prizes! Good vfm!
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Back in 2017 the golf club facilities were not yet complete, ie access to a new clubhouse was under construction with completion expected within weeks.
The golfers used the Hilton Hotel bar which was not a reasonably priced option.
Subsequently members and visitors now have access to a dedicated golf clubhouse bar to be a focal point! I have doubts about whether this will ever be the equivalent ambience of a members or proprietary clubhouse bar!
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There used to be a 'small' American Golf store on site which acted as the pro-shop. However, since the course opened, American Golf closed their franchise and the shop is now under the Head Professional! A positive development for the golfer!
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The practice range/facilities were not yet ready in 2017! I'm not sure if they are now available!
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I first played the course in 2017, as part of a four-ball team including captain Brigitte Lockwood, Steve Duffy and Tim Joy.
Best two stableford scores to count each hole. We scored 84 points, just outside of the prizes, 2nd and 3rd prizes were 86 points. Brigitte's individual score was 42 points, best by 3 for all of the competitors but unfortunately there wasn't any individual prizes. Shame but maybe next time!
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2019: I played the course again in 2019, by entering the club's inaugural Seniors Open Stableford competition!
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The course is stated to be of USGA standard greens, which usually means good drainage and lots of water hazards. Needless to say, as the course name implies, water, be they lakes, ponds or ditches, was in play in a significant way on at least 7 of the 18 holes. In terms of visual impact, the 1st, 2nd and 18th holes immediately in front of the Ageas Bowl/Hilton Hotel were most prominent in terms of water hazards!
I was impressed with the quality of the course back in 2017 but in the intervening two years there have been improvements to the conditions, bunkers have been reworked, trees and shrubs matured etc!
Their Veteran's Captain advised that since opening the club had installed new on-course drainage and watering equipment, which has led to improvement in the condition of tee boxes, fairways and greens!
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There are 7 par 3s, 7 par 4s and 4 par 5s on the course, an unusual combination. Only Chislehurst GC of the 18 holes courses I have played has more par 3s. Word was at the end of our round that plans are in place to modify the course to reduce the number of par 3s and bring the course up to a par 71 or 72!! I hope this develops in due course!
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The course starts and finishes outside of the Ageas Bowl, then meanders away through the 'country'. The course is wonderfully laid out; the visual impact of the back 9 is more stunning with numerous changes in elevation. Whilst hilly in places it was not unbearable so!
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I thought the 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 14th and 16th were visually stunning holes. The 17th might also fall into that category if I had played it how it was intended to be played! The downhill 'short' 231 yard par 4, drivable for some, was a brute of a challenge, despite its index 17 rating. An unreceptive green, whether directly from the tee shot (I wish) and a truly difficult uphill chip from short of the green.
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The course was in mixed condition. Fairways and bunkers were in excellent condition. The rough was lush or thick. Avoid! The tee boxes were showing signs of overuse even after only one months use. Probably needs more settling in before it is up to standard. Good sized 'all weather' temporary tee boxes would be useful.
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The greens were of various sizes, shapes and elevation, a lot of uphill approaches required. They were very firm, ie non-receptive, so were difficult to hold onto whether pitched onto or rolled up. Especially difficult with so many par 3s. However, they had recently been verticut and were about 7-10 days away from full playability. They need a good ironing to bring up the speeds.
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There are many blind shots from the tees or up to the greens, especially for the shorter/medium hitters. The 'tiger' line approach isn't the sensible approach to take on some of these.
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There is a waiting list for membership to the course. Not sure this has the ambience of a golf club, unless the new clubhouse changes this factor, but it is a very enjoyable golfing challenge and should be an excellent venue for societies! Despite the excess number of par 3s, which has the probability of creating bottlenecks at busy times, I expect this course to mature wonderfully over the next 18 months or so, and possibly become a 'must play' venue.
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The course do sell a good course planner booklet! However, as a new course my GPS watch didn't have any details of the present course yardages. You'll need to do an upload to get up to date. I believe however that the course buggies have GPS facilities on board.
Date Friday, 08, September 2017