Greg Butler

One of the best courses I have ever played. Original designed by James Braid an outstanding 18 holes and in my opinion every hole has you thinking. It’s a tree lined fairway, parkland style of course, but the fairways are generous and the rough is friendly, so if you find yourself in the trees you deserve a little punishment. Some single tier and some double tier greens which were absolutely beautiful to putt on and different colour flags for front, middle and back. The bunkers vary in size but all very consistent in quality and quantity of sand…..it was almost a pleasure to be in one, which I was on numerous occasions. To me every hole was different offering a challenge but on every very well maintained and large tee, was a nicely painted accurate overview of the hole and good easy to see yardage posts made club selection easier.
Reasonably flat but with some undulations and dips to encounter during the round not a taxing course to walk.
The clubhouse is large and two storey with pro shop, locker rooms, toilets etc on the ground floor and upstairs is the very large bar/ restaurant area with large glass panels overlooking 2 greens and 1 tee. Also 2 good size balconies outside being well used on a sunny warm day.
Comprehensive practice facilities with putting green, chipping/pitching green, driving nets all close to the clubhouse and pro shop. Plus a 9 hole pitch and putt course and 10 bay (I didn’t count) driving range.
In an area with some well known Links courses, you should add this to your list to play if in the area, I’m definitely going back!

What a huge disappointment.
What promised to be a terrific afternoon round with great company was spoiled by the course conditions. When other nearby courses are being well maintained and starting to be a real pleasure to play on, Lexden Wood seems to have decided to apply "No Mow May" to most parts of the course. Tees, greens needed cutting. Fairways just about ok, if you were lucky with a couple of yards ( no exaggeration) of playable first cut rough. But then really thick uncut "meadow" and virtually unplayable everywhere else, if you could find your ball. We frequently couldn't. There appeared to be more bunkers as GUR, than bunkers in play. This might be more acceptable in winter but this was a May Bank Holiday weekend afternoon and being charged £30 for the pleasure.
There is also a distinct lack of signage, hole information boards etc to help those who haven't played there navigate their way round. Some holes have a trek between and is made more difficult without help.
This is all a shame as the course is local to me but I'm afraid I won't be going back anytime soon.

A mature parkland style course with more than it's fair share of outstanding/nice looking holes. Tees were generally immaculate, fairways also very well presented but for me the stars were the greens. Okay so I had a good day with the putter on greens that have to be in the premier division. Medium fast, most a generous size but with a quality roll with no imperfections. A very pleasant mix of pars, with varying degrees of difficulty but nothing that did'nt look good from the tee.
A very friendly and helpful welcome from members,bar staff and pro shop staff, the clubhouse comes with good locker rooms and generous sized, homely bar areas. Good practice facilities, putting green, chipping green and short game practice area with driving nets.
We played for free as a competition prize, (many thanks to Paul Houghton), but i would willingly go back again as a paying customer.

Popped in on the way home from work. Special August prices for 18 holes, £10 anytime, after 3pm twilight £5.
Course in good nick generally, fairways need some rain as some bounces are interesting.
Shall be taking advantage of these offers and will post games for 4pm starts on Fridays.

To start it would'nt be fair to comment on the condition as this was the day after some serious rain, that said the greens were in good nick and nice to putt on. The course is an interesting mix of different styles and types of holes laid out over some flat and some undulating terrain. Several holes make use of water as a hazard, either the river or ponds, others use plenty of bunkers. I enjoyed playing the course but what i was'nt so keen on was the long walks between a few of the holes and the trek from the 18th green back to the clubhouse. I felt the greenfee of £22 was a little steep for an afternoon slot given the weather conditions. Facilities are very good and include an on site American Golf, 9 hole pitch and putt, large driving range and a more than adequate clubhouse. Staff were very friendly, helpful and informative. I shall play here again but will wait for some better weather to see what condition the course will be in then.

This is the pay and play arm of the company that own Channels Golf Club, but Regiment Way has a lot going for it on it's own.
The course while being a not too long 9 hole that uses different tee's on the back nine, has a lot going for it. You can score well here but you still need to be striking the ball well and put your tee shots in the right place.
The condition of the course is pretty good with the greens being particularly good. The layout is fairly open with the 1st cut of rough not being too penal, some holes have some clever bunkering.
Practise facilities are top notch and would put some more expensive courses to shame, indoor or outdoor driving range, large putting green, practise bunkers, chipping green.
I payed £10 for a twilight with unlimited golf, bearing in mind you may do nine holes in 1.5 hours this is great value. I shall play here again.

Now owned and run as part of a group, its council origins are still evident, but don't let that put you off.
Yes it's a little different being criss crossed with a few foot paths and some of the bunkers could have a little tlc spent on them. Offset these and a few other very minor points against a well layed out course with a good mix of holes, enough hazards to make you think often and fairly quick greens in good condition.
Also being on the coast the wind comes into play, a gentle breeze when we started turned onto a 2 club wind.
We payed only £6 each with a special deal from an online tee booking service which is fantastic value, compared to £22 each for the normal green fee on Sunday mornings.
I don't expect Castle Point to be overrun with TSG bookings as a result of this, but if you're in the area and fancy a game and can get a good tee time deal, you could do a lot worse.
Overall an enjoyable round on a course i will be playing again.

Going to try to make this as fair as possible because a)this course has only recently gone independant, b) it's the middle of winter and c) it rained all day the day before this visit.
We were trying to decide (because we don't know), if the course had originally been nine holes. Some of it is very nicely laid out with some lovely shaped holes where the route from green to the next tee is obvious, some is a little confusing. As if some extra holes have been squeezed in.
The course itself was very, very wet and muddy, all bunkers are GUR at the moment, most of these are being totally revamped it appears. Every tee is off mats, tho with the wet conditions this is probably a good thing.
The river Brain runs thro the course and comes into play on a good number of holes, not just to get over it but can you clear it from the tee or not?
All things considered i shall play here again, but not until late Spring or Summer, when course conditions are better, due to improvements being made and some warm weather.
They are doing some great deals on their website
www.notleysgolfclub.co.uk as shown on a leaflet i picked up.

This was my first time here and i will definitely be going back. This is a long course, even off the yellows, coupled with the reasonably tight fairways, makes for engaging the brain on a lot of the holes.
Allthough a challenge the course and layout of the holes is very asthetically pleasing and enjoyable.
Considering the time of year the course is in very good condition indeed, fairways fairly dry in comparison to elsewhere, greens are a joy...quick and true.
Couple all this with a green fee of £20 on a Sunday makes for a very happy golfer.

An interesting course layout with a good and varying mix of holes, some of which are very pleasant on the eye. All of the major landscaping work seems to be finished, a majority of it being in play, just leaving a few areas where "finishing touches" are still GUR.
At the time of our visit i would say the fairways had a good thickness of grass on, the 1st cut of rough is playable, the 2nd cut is best avoided if possible being very thick. The greens run true with several being two tier and most having some wonderful contours to contend with.
A good selection of practise facilities are available, a spike bar is well located for the 1st tee/18th green and practise.
At £15 for a twilight tee from 2pm in May this is very good value for money, i have no problem in recommending and will be returning myself in the near future.

If anyone knows of a mature,tree lined course,in very good condition,that you can play for these prices,please let me know. Not a long course by todays standards,but an excellent all round test for more than most. If you've not played here,check it out,i doubt many will be dissapointed.

PS: Anyone know a tip on how to get out of green side bunkers in one shot?

The main course is a delight, well established, very well maintained, it is a good test of your all round game. Water comes into play on several holes as does the gently undulating terrain. The clubhouse and facilities are superb for a nine hole course.
As a terrific addition you can also play Badgers par 3 course. This comprises 9 full size par 3 holes in a very scenic, challenging setting. Todays Golfer rated it one of the best they have played.