Gatton Manor Golf, Hotel & Country Club

Played Gatton Manor last week with TSG and to be honest I was expecting a lot better than it actually was. The grass had been cut but all the cuttings had been left on the course so if your ball rolled off the fairway then it took forever trying to find as nearly every time it was hidden under a clump of cut grass. Also some of the tee boxes where a shambles. There just seemed to be a bit of a “couldn’t care less” attitude towards the upkeep of the course which is a shame as I think it could be a great little track if more care was taken over its maintenance. Was it worth the money? Sadly not this time.

Gatton Manor GC (& hotel), is a par 72 6,563 yards par 72 from the white tees. However it is a 6,026 yards par 70 from the yellow tees, as played.

It is a parkland course in Ockley, near Dorking, Surrey.

The course is a very tricky challenge, with significant elevation changes, blind shots (for the shorter hitters), doglegs and deep bunkers. The tee shots on the 3rd and 10th holes are particularly problematic for medium hitters, with water awaiting. Also the uphill approach to the 18th green is particularly difficult if playing up from the rough on the right hand side of the fairway. The 6th hole (index 1) has the most challenging blind approach to a raised green protected by overhanging trees, a deep brook/pond below the green and bunker above to the right of the green.

Because the course is scheduled for closure at the end of October 2017, it was evident that the course was not being maintained to its best condition, in particular the fairways were not being cut to a proper level. This had a detrimental impact on the length of drives and the general run of the ball approaching the green and off banking etc.

The above said, the greens were in good condition though were playing slower than they ought to for the time of year, again not being cut often enough or close enough, or being ironed. A lack of maintenance resources I presume!

The 'golf only' green fee paid was excellent VFM, particularly for a bank holiday weekend.

TSGers probably know that the owners plans to close the course for a two year period for hotel, leisure, health and course upgrades were rejected by the local planning committee so the latest news is that the owner has put the course/hotel on the market for sale but the course will nevertheless close as scheduled rather than carry on until a buyer is found. Let's hope that there is a good outcome sooner than later or none at all. The course is a great layout which only requires a bit of TLC to bring it back up to a high quality.

The course is at its best, the staff is friendly and welcoming , the food is excellent .

It is such a shame that it closing at the end of October for a new development with its private golf course. It will be then a totally private affair, maybe some Visitors fee in the region of £200 , no one really knows . The locals are devastated to loose such a gem of a course.

If you get the chance to play @ Gatton Manor before October , please do it. Excellent value for money and a course that will tease you and please you.

THE END.....

It seems that I just see the good everywhere I go as every new course I go to I can't help but sing its praises but hands down this is the best course I have played, ever.
I got a deal off teeofftimes for £20 wih a normal round costing £45 on a Sunday this was a great deal.

You drive down a country lane and pull in and you know you are going to be playing a great course.

The range allows you to play off grass, nice putting and chipping green round the back, club house is warm and friendly although the club shop is a little room off it and sells the basics.

I was told before to leave my driver in the car but this is rubbish, loads of holes to let rip and I actually found it fairly forgiving on my odd wayward shot, still lost a few though.

Tee boxes, fairways and greens all in good condition and the sand was best i have seen in a long time. Just as well as I'm not sure i missed a bunker!!

Every hole was great fun to play and although I could comment on every hole the 6th was terrific, stroke index one for a reason and the 18th has got to be the prettiest hole I have ever seen, and blooming hard too!!

Nice little half way hut. Order your coffee, play the 10th and walk back up to the 11th and pick up your goodies.

I won't go on. Its a fantastic course and I will be looking out for deals to play again and again. I'm not sure i would play it without a deal as pretty expensive at normal cost, but still probably worth it but why pay full money when you don't have to.

Didn't eat here but food looked alright, all the beers etc you would want, nice seating area outside. Loads of parking close to the clubhouse.

Take a trip down here, you won't be disappointed.

Maybe it's a result of all of the rain we've had this year, but the fairways were a joy to play off of today. And if you want to score well at Gatton Manor you will have to find a lot of fairways, because it's tough enough without playing your second from behind a tree or two.

The greens too were in very good condition, and with the slopes in some of the greens you'll do exceptionally well to get round without a 3 putt or two on your card. The practise green certainly doesn't prepare you for what you're going to get on the course.

The downsides to playing here? Numerous multi-coloured discs in the fairways, for which there was no key to on the card. I am guessing that there are disc markers at 125 & 175 yards, as well as the 100, 150, and 200, but I hit at least one shot well short because I had completely the wrong club in my hand. This was thanks to a confusion over how far back I was.

That said, this is an excellent place to enjoy your golf, and there are quite a few interesting holes to be overcome. The 6th is the signature hole, with a smallish green and a stream surrounding it, and you'll certainly enjoy coming off there with a par. Or so I'd guess!

The 11th will tease you into going for the green from the tee, but it gets awful tight the closer you get to the hole there.

The feeling you get from playing here is that you're playing an up-market golf club, so I suggest you just get along there and enjoy it.

Beautiful condition, though a bit boggy in places

A great test of golf .. along with great weather, company and of course food. Guest rate of £16 you cant go wrong.

This is a mature parkland course, with a hint of a links feel about some of the holes. No two holes were the same, each new tee presented its own unique challenge. Fairways were in reasonable condition, somewhat undulating, often with unseen hazards (a course guide is recommended). Greens are particularly challenging, slick and fast with some extreme borrows, easy to put yourself off the green... no guarrantee of being down in regulation here... (greens were multi-faceted, slick to very fast, some borrows were obvious some were not apparent until too late (so a fair chance of 3-putting). Clever layout, with nice use of water hazards to distract the unwary... bunkers were a little sand-light but not too difficult to negotiate...

Being hyper-critical, still a fair amount of leaves and leaf mulch just off the fairways, enough to hide a ball with ease... Yardage markers probably need some reonciliation as they were at variance with GPS devices on a number of holes. Practice greens do not reflect the real greens... But all in all a good challenge and a chance to exercise short game skills as well as driver accuracy...

Bar and Pro staff were welcoming, and food was good.

The course is hidden away down single-track lanes so take care when arriving and departing...

Played here last Friday and really enjoyed the course! The course twists and turn around woodland and no two holes are the same. The greens were true and theres more than enough to keep golfers of levels interested. The Pro shop was helpful and friendly too. The only complaint maybe that the greens fees are a little high at £35 on a weekday but they did except my openfairways card - well worth a look!

Played here several times many years ago and it's as good as my rosy memory of it recalled.
Clubhouse staff are all very friendly and the course is excellently maintained (greens particularly good).
It's a very pretty course with no two holes the same and laid out through wooded valleys in enough land so that you don't generally even see the other holes.
It's a course which is hard enough to challenge the best whilst not putting off the higher handicapper.
All in all I'd certainly recommend it to anyone (and because the accept the Open Fairways card it's good value at £25) BUT do buy a course planner as a couple of times we played our shots and then walked up to find the fairway drops away into a ravine which we could easily have avoided if we'd known it was there...