Pyrford Lakes Golf Club

Lovely clubhouse, scenic course, friendly staff, and excellent food. You will have to be accurate to get a good score. The clue is in the name; be prepared to lose a few balls in the lakes.

Played Pyrford lakes today for the first time.

Loved the setting and beautiful views around the whole course. Lots of water but course still very playable, even for a very average golfer like me.

Greens in great condition and fast too.

Ignore all preview reviews/comments on TSG or Golfshake or Trip advisor, etc. This is the latest update on Pyrford GC.

Pyrford was on my list for a very long time, but I never managed to play the course till last Thursday (1.4.2021). Not far from home, easily accessible via M3/M25 or "A"/"B" roads. The course went downhill under Crown Golf, but with the recent new ownership & management (July 2020/Get Golfing) this beautiful Peter Allis/Clive Clark's design course is coming back to its prime, and soon will be another Top course in that leafy part of Surrey. Since the lockdowns, the Membership has double in size, and is still growing !!!!! One can understand why, a huge renovation programme is in place, lots of money being invested: all bunkers are being rebuilt from scratch, some are added, some are removed, rubber crumbs base, drainage, lovely new fluffy white sand, Hooray ! Renovation still in progress, so most bunkers are GUR for the time being.

The fairways have irrigation, Greens are fantastic. A new pond has been created on the 6th Hole, Par 3, instead of the large sand waste area, the new owner must have taken TSG member Michael H.'s comments into account!!!!! The large lake in front of the Clubhouse's terrace is being rebuilt with strong maintaining edges, at the moment it looks like huge Lego bricks all around, there will be stone facia on their front.

Pyrford is a beautiful woodland, famous for all its water surrounding every hole: 23 acres of water, lakes, ponds, streams, ditches. Apparently, every 3 months, divers recover a certain amount of Pro V1, Srixon, Taylor Made etc. Lots of wildlife to be seen, a real immersion in nature. Some holes have the River Wey Canal in the background or alongside There are gentle mounds, a certain links feel in places. Every hole is different, there are definitely no "samey" as someone else did suggest. Not a long course (so you wont see BDC 's presence), but it is all strategy, flair, careful selection of club. Pure enjoyment, so looking forward when all renovation work is completed on the course, around it and inside the Clubhouse too.

There is a Marshall on the 1st Tee, a drinks/refreshments buggy driving round, which you will probably see twice in your 18 holes round. A nice idea, One can do a "Loo" stop back at the Clubhouse between 9th & 10th hole......

A big Car Park, can be quite full due to everyone rushing back to golf, but one is allowed, as far I can see, to park on the green verges/banks....

Warm welcome in the Clubhouse/Proshop/Reception area. Coffee and take away food available. Next week one will be allowed to sit on the terrace overlooking the large lake with views of the 12th & 18th greens. Only the basic necessaries will be available in new Proshop, all the rest will be done on line with a 10% discount for members.

Lots of different membership options, a very good programme of competitions etc. and one certainly caught my interest: "THE RACE TO LE TOUQUET". More about in another review maybe.

Grass practice area, behind the large lake, 2 nets, a Chipping & Putting green too. Not too sure which is the signature hole, several suggestions were made to me: the 6th Par 3, the 9th Par 5 (index 2) or maybe the 18th, Par 5 (index 9). Will confirm that in an update.

Pyrford GC is on the way to a very special course that everyone should play. Make sure you have spare balls though.



Very highly recommended.

THE END.......
(My very own views and reflection of the day)

I think it's £25 to play. But it's part of the Crown Golf group, I just swiped my membership card.
Personally, I'd rate it in the top five courses on Crown Golf.
Well worth a visit. In fact, I'm thinking of advertising a TSG game there in mid May.
I'd give it 10 outta 10.
The changing room is also of a high standard with about 6 showers.

Updated June 2022
I was invited to play here again in May 2022 by fellow TSGer Brigitte Lockwood, who is now a member of Pyrford Lakes!

The course is under new ownership with a change of name!

Obvious signs of course enhancement are evidence of investment by the new ownership which is to be welcomed! The reinstatement of the large pond in front of the par 3 6th was aesthetically very pleasing!

The fundamental difficulty for club and occasional golfers, which hasn't changed, is the preponderance of water features to be navigated!

Risk averse course management off the tee is essential! However even that approach can fail with poor ball striking execution! In this regard I failed once with a lost ball into water on the par 5 12th! Annoyingly my 'sliced' tee shot landed short left of a bunker, and rolled into then rolled out sideways into the water!

Another lost ball happening was with my approach shot to the 16th, where my shot entered the right green side bunker then excited to nearby heavy undergrowth OOB !

These incidents irked me then and still do after the passing of some time, but a ball shouldn't exit a properly designed/constructed bunker! They are hazards to be avoided but they shouldn't facilitate heavier punishment by not containing the balls that enter within, especially if they are placed adjacent to OOB and water hazards!!

Something I hadn't recalled was how big most of the greens are and how much they slope down from back to front, and that because of the large volume of approaches over or adjacent to water, one tends to play safe and play more to the back of the greens leaving oneself with more downhill tricky putts than one would like!

This is a course I love to play!

2017 Review

Pyrford is a Peter Alliss & Clive Clark parkland design in/near West Byfleet/Woking Surrey.

The most notable feature of the course is that water features in 17 of the 18 holes. The one hole that doesn't is the par 3 119 yard 6th hole, which happens to have a bunker between tee and green that is at least three times the size of the green. Me thinks this was originally intended to be a long carry over water but there was a change of mind. Personally I would like to see a 'small 'water feature at the front of the green with the remainder of the bunker filled in but hey!

While there is such a preponderance of water there is ample landing areas from the tee to make the course very playable with good club selection/course management. Approaches over water up to the well bunkered greens poses the greater dangers to a good score.

*****
The course, played in April 2017, was generally in good condition, greens were firm, undulating and tricky to read. The greenside bunkers were deep but in very good condition. Approaches to the greens from the centre fairways were accessible but approaches from the sides/rough areas generally involved tricky carries over the greenside bunkers. Straight from the tee is king here! Be mindful of water filled ditches across the course.

*****
The course is a very level walking experience.

*****
Pyrford is a members club.

Weekday visitor green fees are £45 (am) or £33 (pm), and £27.50 as a members guest. This level of green fee is too much for this quality of course! Even the member's guest rate is high!

The above said, I entered their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition, with the entry fee including coffee/bacon roll, 18 holes, a two course meal/coffee and prizes. An excellent VFM way to play the course.

*****
The competition organisation wasn't as polished as I have experienced elsewhere, ie a new organisor took over shortly before the event, however, the catering service was excellent.

*****
The above said I thoroughly enjoyed playing the course for the first time, learned from the experience, and look forward to having another go at some point in the near future.

This is a course well known to fellow TSGers as it is on the TSG/SES Saturday calendar of events.

Perhaps it's reminiscent of Pebble Beach!!!

An awesome golf course with flat tees, lush, tight fairways and true greens, all mixed up with tons of water on nearly every hole. A thinking man's golf course; not something you could just rip the driver off every tee. Although this was a freebie, courtesy of Damian Benstead, Thank You, Damian, the weekend green fee of £55.00 would be out of my price range. Saying that, if money isn't an issue, then get down there and play it; you won't be disappointed. I would definitely play here again but only when Pyrford have a special offer on.

Water, water every where! Bring your "A" game!

Great welcome at the pro shop, so certainly no complaints there.

There are some nice holes, but there are a large number that just look a bit "samey". Too many of the fairways are bordered by mounds with long grass, although on the back nine a lot of the mounds get replaced by lots of water.

While the fairways aren't generous on the front, they appear to tighten up on the back. A lot of the holes are short enough to take a long iron off the tee though.

The greens were probably the slowest I've played all summer, and not exactly in great condition.

This is a decent enough course, but if you're paying full price then I can imagine that you'll feel that you haven't had value for money by the time you finish your round.

Part of the Crown Group, and from my experience one of the better courses that they own/run. There is plenty of water in the shape of lakes and ditches although from the yellow tees it doesn't come into play that much. I could see that the course would usually be very attractive but due to the exceptionally dry summer it didn't look at its best this time - I will return for another round when it has greened up a bit. Some quite long walks between tees. Nice clubhouse/patio.

with all the wet weather course held up really well. cant wait to play again.

played this course twice now. I understand it is the most expensive of all Crown golf venues (£40 non members)
There appears to be water on most holes wether it is streams or lakes, the course was very well maintained with the greens in lovely condition considering we have had so much rain recently. there were no trolly bans, no temporary mats & no barriers or walking restrictions.

All the holes seem to present a different challenge to suit the thinking golfer! The 9th is a par 5 curved dog-leg right with the only access to the green over a large lake. The green is raised with bunkers protecting the front & sloping banks to the rear, calling for pinpoint accuracy on your approach. Watch out for one of the biggest bunkers ever from the tee to the green on a 135 yard par 3.
Great course playing again soon.

I highly recommend this course