Michael Hanley

Par 3s are very difficult because of hazards in front of the greens which need to be carried.

This is a difficult course to 'master' because of its length in places and hazards, but although the fairways are generally wide the penalty for missing them can be significant, ie bad lies, lost balls etc,

Overall I like this course, firstly because of its challenge, its a fairly easy walking course, its moderately priced and its the closest to where I now live. I particularly found it useful helping me regain my golfing fitness after a period of absence due to illness/injury. The negative is that the area is very windy because of its seaside location. Also I've not placed it in wet winter conditions, but hey my home club can be closed to me during the December to March period.

Because Selsey is a holiday destination surrounded by holiday chalets and caravan parks, it gets a lot of holiday visitors during the summer season. Nearby Chichester GC, part of the Maple group of clubs, seems to be the more vibrant and popular clubs with two 18 hole courses and a driving range.

There is a very small pro-shop at the course, not sure if there is a pro based there, but the shop assistant is mainly there to take bookings/green fees and sell a few refreshments and miscellaneous gold accessories. A couple of buggies are available to hire but must be made before 14.00.

The clubhouse bar is very welcoming of visitors. However, hot food doesn't seem to be available except for booked functions or dedicated club functions. I believe a caterer is being sought but won't likely be available until 2025, if at all!

Aberdovey is a 'flatish' par 69 links style course on the mid Wales coast. Stunning, it is consistently ranked in the top 100 UK a& Ireland courses.

The course is adjacent to the sea, with protective dunes coast side and flanked on the opposite clubhouse side by railway tracks. The course is routed 9 holes out and turns for home. It crosses over from the 5th and crosses back at the 12th after a zig zag 10th/11th. Water filled cross and parallel ditches are on several holes including the 17th and 18th (which I found).

My 3 ball group was the first to tee off at 08.20. It was very windy on the outward 9 holes, especial the early four holes before crossing over to the railway side. I'm not a big enough driver in these conditions so struggled badly. Obviously greens in regulation was out of the question going outward but the reverse was true when we turned around.

Once balls were on the fairway, ball striking was good and most fairways and greens were in good firm condition despite recent rains. The greens were accessible. Some were semi-blind and difficult to gauge distances between hazards and the fronts. They were generally large and very undulating. My short chipping game was not up to my expected standard. Cost me a few shots/points.

My belief is that I should be able to reduce my gross score by about 10 shots if played again just by applying the knowledge gained of where/where not to hit the ball, ie better course management.

The course is bordered by a beautiful mountainside adorned with hotels and beautiful houses overlooking the course and bay. A lovely setting.

Despite any negative remarks about the course or of my playing of it, I consider it to be a wonderful course and hope to be able to play it again some time in the future.

I played it by entering their annual Seniors Open Competition, which was my best way of getting to play such a highly ranked course. I had previously entered the competition a few years ago but had to withdraw because of injury.

The competition entry fee was £50.00 green fee only*, compared to a £100.00 visitors green fee. (*pre-covid this would likely have included pre-round coffee/bacon roll and a post match one course meal). VFM if you exclude travel, hotel and food/drink cost.

Access to the clubhouse, proshop and course from the club carpark is over the railway tracks. Buggies and trolleys are available to hire but you will need to carry your golf bag over the tracks.

The proshop is separate from the clubhouse. It is a good size facility and the staff were very helpful.

The catering offering was excellent. I didn't have time for breakfast but my post game meal was lovely.

Luton Hoo is a challenging 18 hole championship standard course in the grounds of the country estate on the Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire border!

The Course
The course is long, a par 73, for both genders!
The card comprised 4 tee options, ie blue (7107 yards), white (6810 yards), yellow (6544 yards) and red (6143 yards)!

The course planner indicates that it is one of the longest 18 hole courses in the UK!

By comparison with my club the red yardage for ladies (& men if so chosen), is the same as the Cherry Lodge mens yellow tees and the yellow tees were longer than our white tees!

There are separate slope ratings for men and ladies off the red tees, ie 130 for the ladies and 119 for the men!
The 4 ladies played off the red tees and the 4 men from the yellows! Given the course length it wouldn't have been improper for the men to also play from the red tees but perhaps it would have been ungallant to go against tradition!
The course planner describes it as a "harmonious blend of inland links (front 9) and
mature parkland (back 9)"! These two characteristics probably reflect the change from the original Victorian 9 holer to the 18 holes by designer Mike Smith!

The Water Holes
There are 6 holes with water hazards to overcome, the par 4 3rd, the par 3 4th, the par 3 7th, the par 5 8th, par 5 11th and par 4 12th!

The 3rd. Visually this was the most intimidating drive with two lakes either side of a narrow fairway and a wide landing area beyond! The lakes were very much in play for the ladies and higher handicappers though there is the option to take less club and play for a bogey 5!


The 8th. This requires a complete carry over the lake complex with no bailout area for the shorter hitters! A design flaw!

The 11th. A challenging risk and reward par 5 with the approach over a wider lake than it appears! On my 1st round I attempted a 5 wood approach from a downward lie which didn't make the carry and a double bogey resulted! Need to be at least 40 yards closer to the lake/hole to 'safely' take this on!

The Parkland Holes

The 9th and 18th holes both play towards the different ends of the clubhouse, both are slight doglegs left with the safer driving lines leaving the right sides of the greens semi blocked out with high trees go over or round! Bigger hitters could probably cut the corners with their drives but it's a riskier approach!


The 17th. A par 5 with a big tree in the middle to go past or over! Thereafter it's a tight tree lined approach to a long narrow undulating green! Index 5 says it all!

The Par 3s
There are 4 par 3s. Amongst them is the most ridiculous par 3 for any club or casual golfers?

The index 1 13th is listed as 246 yards from the yellow tees or 224 from the ladies red tee! Given its length, size, shape and protection (front right trees), this is a hole designed never to be reached and never to be birdied by anything other than a fortuitous approach 2nd! The red and yellow tees should be repositioned 60 to 75 yards closer to the green to make it a 'fair' challenge!

This is a lovely course which I hope to play again sometime soon!

The Hotel Accommodation
There is a 5 star mansion hotel and a separate clubhouse/Proshop/restaurant with a stay and play hotel accommodation!

I/we played the course on a 2 rounds one night stay and play deal, including 1 dinner and breakfast!

The golfers hotel accommodation was very good, no complaints!

The evening meal was a 3 course meal with multiple choices per each course! Not necessarily my preferred options but acceptable!

The 19th hole bar closed early, drinks prices were excessive and the choice of beers was limited! A pre-game sandwich and coffee in the 19th bar was £18! Ridiculous! The negative aspects of the experience!

The course is located in Hersham, Surrey! It's a short drive from Burhill and Silvermere golf clubs!

This is a clubhouse that I have visited many times over the years as it's a good place for food and Sky TV, but never played!

I'd heard that it was a course of two playing characteristics! This turned out to be the reality!

The course is a short par 67, 5301 and 5105 yards from the white and yellow tees respectively! The slope index is low at 113/112 when compared with cherry Lodge 66f

The shortage of the course is explained by there being 6 par 3s, 11 par 4s and only 1 par 5!

I was fortunate to see a game invitation from Rory O'Malley in mid May 2022 !

My first round was a gross 91/25pts however my score reflected the difference between the characteristics of the two 9s, ie +17 and +7!

The first hole is a severe left to right dogleg but the green can be blocked out to a tight right drive! A triple bogey 7 followed by 4 consecutive double bogeys represented a torrid debut! Fortunately the back 9 of +7 restored faith!

Rory kindly invited me to play it again the following week!

Conditions were wet and windy to start the front 9! Unfortunately the pattern of my first round repeated itself, ie 2 triple bogeys and a quadrupole bogey!

However the game's fortunes changed for me for the back 9, in particular making a hole-in-one on the 145 yards 12th, and a +3 back 9 overall with the -2 eagle complimented by 3 pars and 5 bogeys!

I clearly need to focus on the front 9 of the course but is it something easily remedied! I currently have similar scoring difficulties on the front 9 at Cherry Lodge, which I attribute to a combination of not warming up on the range and a belief that the first 5 or 6 holes are my most difficult holes!

The green fee for seniors was about £22! Excellent vfm!

The clubhouse shares the facility with a driving range and a crazy putting course! There is a small but thriving membership but it is mostly operated on a pay and play basis! Tee times need to be booked!

Cheers
Michael

Windmill Village GC is a parkland style course in Allesley, Coventry, Warwickshire!

It is part of a Best Western Hotel and golf course resort!

The venue was chosen to stage our Ryder Cup style team match between BIG (British Inclusive Golf) and TSG!

*****
The course is a par 70 off the white and ladies red tees!

The SSSs are are 66 and 70!

Yardages are 5,085 off the whites and 4,470 off the reds!

There are 6 par 3s, 8 par 4s and 4 par 5s!

The front 9 is an unusually balanced layout, ie it opens with 3 consecutive par 3s, followed by 3 consecutive par 4s and then 3 consecutive par 5s!

*****
Two of the par 3s, ie the 12th and 13th, are extremely challenging for the average club golfer, which the club seems to be especially happy about! Both are long narrow/tight tee shots with OOB along the left and a deep running ditch along the right designed to ensnare those trying not to go OOB!

Better these 2 holes were redesigned as a tricky par 4! It is not a pga championship course but a local facility for amateur club golfers! (possibly a controversial personal view!)

*****
The par 4s and 5s......





*****
For the BIG/TSG competition I was partnered with Brigitte Lockwood in round 1 and with Noirin Fitzgerald in round 2! We comfortably won both our matches for the team with 39pts and 47pts respectively!

I think a combination of better playing conditions together with our new found course knowledge contributed to the better round 2 points tally!

All three of us gelled / played well in both rounds when the pressure was on!

*****
On a personal performance perspective; my scores for the two rounds, my round 2 gross score of 81/40pts (+11), was -7 shots better than my round 1 gross 88/31pts (+18)!

A combination of wet and windy conditions, difficult greens, lack of course layout knowledge, especially hazards, and the occasional bad ball striking off the tee, contributed to the round 1 +5 over handicap!

While my round 2 stats reflect a -7 shots improvement, my better gross total hides the matter of a +7 on holes 6 (+2) and 13 (+5)!

What my score could have been with a bit of concentration!


*****
The course was a mixture of very good holes combined with a few unlikeable holes!

The event was very enjoyable because of the occasion and the personalities involved on both teams.

However I would prefer to try an alternative venue (in the Midlands) for any future rematch!

*****
Weekday visitors green fees are various, depending on the day or times, varying from £12.95 to £21.95, or £24.95 at weekends! Good value!

We were on a stay and play society deal!


*****
The hotel accommodation was a top floor ensuite room in an outbuilding! Spacious and comfortable for cheaper end provision but could have been so much more hospitable by the inclusion of a couple of comfy armchairs, and the inclusion of a much bigger TV!

Breakfast in the main hotel building was of indifferent quality, the formal main meal fare was very much better, pretty good in fact but not a menu of personal preference!



*****
The club website is one of the most uninformative golf course websites ever it is possible to have. It is a hotel reservation system with the addition of a tee time booking system, but for the golfer visiting the course and hotel, there is no hole plan diagrams, or drone flyovers of the course, to assist understanding of the course layout, bearing in mind that their scant excuse for a pro-shop doesn't sell course planner booklets!

This IT deficiency is one that is very common on courses operating as part of hotel chains!

Very irksome!

Dale Hill Golf Club (& Hotel), is located in Ticehurst, Sussex!

There are two 18 hole courses, ie

(1) the Old Course, often referred to as the members course, &

(2) the Woosnam, a longer tougher course designed by Ian Woosnam and named in his honour!

*****
I played the Old Course in early October 2019 in a 4BBB Seniors Team Open competition, best 2 of 4 scores counted on each hole!

The weather was bright and moderately windy! The course was very playable after yesterday's substantial rain but would not have been if it hadn't stopped raining overnight!

The event was originally intended to be staged on the Woosnam course but was switched (some weeks ago) to the Old Course because of damage caused by leatherjackets!

Personally, having played the Woosnam course a few times before, and finding a new and different type of style, I was very pleased with the switch to play the Old Course for the first time!

(Club management announced that the damage to the Woosnam course has now substantially been rectified!)


*****
Summer weekday visitors green fees are £various, ie £45 list, £35 peak, £22.50 County Card, £20 Members Guest, £25 Twilight, etc!

My competition entry fee of £40, included coffee and bacon roll, 18 holes, a two course post match meal, coffee and prizes! A great vfm package!

The buggy hire was £30, ie £15 each! There is a £20 special rate for the two competitions held on the Woosnam course in 2020 if pre-booked!

*****
The Old Course
The course occupies a former dairy farm, opened in 1973!

The original layout of the course was modified in 1995 - 1997, ie new 9th and 17th holes, to accommodate the construction of the Woosnam course!

*****
It is a par 69, 5,856 yards off the white tees, 5,512 yards off the yellow tees and a par 70 off the ladies red tees!

The SSSs are 68, 66 and 70 respectively!

The par 69 comprises 5 par 3s, 11 par 4s and 2 par 5s!

The course is an undulating walk in places, some significant uphill slopes! I had the help of a buggy which means I can't make a proper assessment of it as a walking course!


*****
The greens are small to moderate in size, undulating and multi tiered, are receptive after recent rain, are beautifully maintained! They are not as fast as Cherry Lodge, putts need striking rather than caressing!

Three of the greens on the back 9 have no bunkers!


*****
The 5 par 3s are a very interesting mix of holes!

The 9th and 17th are moderate length 140ish yarders, the 9th is 141 yards (index 18) uphill tee shot carry over a front left deep bunker to a large green! Avoiding also 2 right hand bunkers!

The 17th is a tricky 144 yards (index 17) tee shot over 2 ponds halfway, to a small green with a pot bunker front right!

The 2nd is a 216 yards (index 8) downhill left to right, bunkers front left and right! Par is great, bogey is good!

The 7th is a 202 yards (index 14) downhill left to right, large bunker short left, with a large pond wide right! Par is OK!

The 15th is a 177 yards (index 11) tee shot across a tree lined ravine to a high level tiered green, bunker short front right! The most daunting looking par 3 tee shot!

The very difficult 2nd and 7th holes could be 'easier' for a natural controlled drawer of the ball!


*****
The 11 par 4s are a very wide variety of challenging holes! Only 4 are on the front 9!

The course opens with a 338 yards, index 10, 'dive bomb' tee shot down to a sharp left to right dogleg, trouble down the right, with a double fairway target option either side of a row of trees!

The 3rd is a short 297 yards, index 16, with an uphill approach to a 2 tiered green, bunkers front right and left!

The 5th is a tough 393 yards, index 2, uphill left to right dogleg to a raised green, pot bunkers front right and left!

The 6th is a 380 yards, index 6, downhill tee shot, a fairway bunker left, and an approach over a roadway and ditch, to a large tiered green, with a front right bunker to carry!

The back 9 opens with 5 consecutive par 4s, holes 10 to 14!

The 10th is a short 301 yards, index 15, slightly uphill, with an approach over a pond to an unbunkered green!

The 11th is a 365 yards index 7, right to left dogleg, with a blind tee shot along a tree line on the left, with a downhill approach to a green with bunkers front right and left!

The 12th is a long 445 yards, index 5, downhill right to left dogleg to a green with bunkers front right and left! This is a genuine bogey hole for most club golfers! Longer hitters may seek to shorten the hole by cutting the corner of the dogleg!

The 13th is 349 yards index 13, tee shot to a tree lined ridge, leading to a short downhill approach to a bunkerless green! Right or left leaves a blockout!

The 14th is 376 yards, index 1, (our first hole in a shotgun start), a tee shot carry over a ravine, to an upsloping dogleg fairway, heavily tree lined along the right to the dogleg! An uphill approach to a tiered green, pot bunker front right! A truly tough index 1 hole! A bogey would have been a great score!

The 16th at 390 yards index 3, is an uphill right to left dogleg, about a 200 yards carry to clear the corner, and a long approach to the bunkerless green! A bogey is very good!

The 18th, a short 331 yards, index 9, a right to left dogleg, with a tight left line carry over 3 closely grouped left side fairway pot bunkers! A drive centre right should lead to a par or birdie opportunity!

*****
The two par 5s are on the front 9! Both are dogleg holes but one is infinitely more of a challenge!

Firstly, the 4th, 471 yards, index 12, is an inviting scenic downhill tee shot to a significant dogleg left of a copse of tall trees, to a moderately sized green protected by a large bunker front left! Reachable in regulation with a good drive and layup!

Secondly, and the more difficult, the 8th, 540 yards, index 4, a significantly uphill right to left dogleg, with the most challenging tee shot on the course, with a 200 yards carry to the corner of the dogleg, against a fairway sloping right to left towards trees or the rough! OOB right is all the length of the tee shot! I almost went OOB, blocked myself out, a couple of poor ball-strikes and a missed hole-able putt ended in a blob 8! My worst hole of the round! Even after the blocked out drive a bogey 6 was possible!


The Round
Our team score was only 71 points, way off the top three prize winners!

It was a shotgun start, we started at the index 1 14th hole!

Individually I got a gross 85, +16 (8 pars, 5 bogeys, 4 double bogeys, and a triple bogey), +3 above handicap; 33pts! 2 blobs!

My total putts was 33, (ie 5 singles, 11 doubles and 2 triples)! Very good but could have been a couple better!

Customer Service
The club members and officers organising the competition were excellent hosts!

The post match 2 course meal was excellent!

Petersfield GC, is a parkland style course located in Liss, Hampshire!

It is a members club!

*****
The club was founded in 1892, initially as a 9 holer, later extended to 18 holes in 1962! Sir Henry Cotton designed the new layout!


*****


The course is a par 72 off the white and blue tees, par 71 off the yellow tees, and par 72 off the ladies red tees! The SSS's are 71, 69, 69 and 72 respectively!

The yardages are 6,437, 6,004, 5,913 and 5,424!


*****
The 4 par 3s are a mix of very short, medium and moderately long tee shots, 2 moderately uphillers and 2 downhillers!

I double bogeyed the 3rd but parred the other 3! An excellent outcome for this compartment of the game!


*****
The par 4s



*****
The par 5s


*****

The greens are....

My total putts for the round was 32, ie 5 singles, 12 doubles and 1 triple! Very good but I'd like to have eliminated the triple on the 1st par 3 played!


*****
Weekday visitors green fees are £42.50 up to 1pm, £37.50 between 1pm and 4pm, members guest rate £27.50, or £32.50 with a County Card!

A TSG 4 ball with Pitter and the 2 Smith's! £??!


*****
The clubhouse is a modern two storey building, with the bar, dining room and lounge on the 1st floor! There is an external balcony surrounding the clubhouse with 360° panoramic views!

Waterlooville GC is a parkland style member's course in Waterlooville, Hampshire! Just a little north of Portsmouth!

*****
The club / course was founded in 1907, initially as a 9 holer! It was extended to 18 holes in 1962! Thereafter a complete redesign of the course to its current layout took place in 1976/77! Sir Henry Cotton was the architect!


*****
The course is a par 72 off the white and yellow mens tees, and is a par 73 from the ladies red tees!

There are 5 par 3s, 8 par 4s and 5 par 5s! The SSSs are 71, 72 and 73 respectively!

The white, yellow and red yardages are 6,542, 6,371 and 5,722!

*****
This review belatedly follows my playing in the club's annual Seniors Open Stableford competition, in July 2018 last year!

****

The course opens and closes with challenging par 5s!



*****
The greens


My total putts for the round was 31, ie 5 singles, 10 doubles and 2 triples! This was a very good outcome but with room for a moderate improvement! Putting wasn't the weak area of my game!


*****
The par 3s


My outturn score for the 5 par 3s was +8, ie 2 bogeys and 3 double bogeys! A 2 shot penalty for a tee shot infringement accounted for one double! I put myself in 3 greenside bunkers off the tee!

Only one shot received for the 5 holes! Par 3s were the real weakness of my game this day!

*****
The par 4s

The index 2 8th (420 yards) and the index 1 12th (429 yards were well over 400 yards and so unreachable for me in regulation! My bogey 5s were very good scores!

The index 5 10th and index 7 14th were not far behind!



My outturn score for the 8 par 4s was +8, ie 1 par, 6 bogeys and 1 double bogey!

This was only +2 shots too many against my handicap after taking into account my 6 shots! A respectable outcome!



*****


The par 5s


*****
My competition Stableford points off my club handicap was only 28pts, including 2 blob holes and 6 1 point holes!

The winning score was xx points! I finished xth of xx competitors!

This outturn was +7 shots too many! Only 3 pars against my expectation of 6-8 pars! My 2 shot penalty for teeing off outside of the tee marker on one of the par 3s didn't help matters!

I always give myself an allowance in my mind of +5 shots to account for the unfamiliarity with the course layout, holes, greens, bunkers etc, when measuring my performance outcomes on a new course played for the first time, especially under the pressure of a qualifying competition round!

With that in mind my overall performance was not too bad! A next time playing with my new found course knowledge, should result in a much better (lower) gross score outcome!

*****
The clubhouse was good! The host members were very welcoming and helpful! One of my playing partners was a club member!

*****
The 2019 Visitors green fees are £42.50, £27.50 as a member guest, or £32. 50 with a County Card! Cheaper rates apply after 1pm and then 4pm!

As much as I enjoyed the course and the general ambience of the club, I would only want to play it again if it was no more than £30 golf only!

I do recommend it to any TSGer contemplating playing in the area!

*****
There is a moderate pro-shop! The club did not provide a course planner booklet!

Goring and Streatley GC is a parkland style course in Streatley on Thames, Berkshire!

The course opened in xxxxx!

The course was designed by Harry Colt!

*****
The course is a par 71 off the white and yellow tees and a par 72 off the ladies red tees!

The SSSs are 71, 70 and 72 respectively!

The course yardages are 6,355, 6,008 and 5,543 respectively!

I/we played off the yellow tees!

*****
The round opens with a short par 4,gentle dogleg right, with 2 pot bunkers each side of the fairway, with a downhill approach shot to a multi-tier green, with back bunkers right and left!

Thereafter, holes 2 - 4 are 3 consecutive seriously uphill holes which are difficult and an ordeal!




*****
The greens....


*****
The par 3s

The outturn score for the par 3s was +4, ie 2 pars, a bogey and a triple bogey! After allowing 1 shot this was +3 shots too many! All on the same hole, ie the 9th! A bunkered tee shot followed by 3 putts! A blip!

#4: a 127 yards uphill tee shot to a blind green, bunkers front right and left!

#9: 131 yards to a green surrounded by 3 bunkers!

#12: 136 yards, index 18, to a green surrounded by 5 bunkers!

#16: 191 yards, index 10, a long tee shot to a green with bunkers front right and left!


*****
The par 4s

My outturn score for the par 4s was +11, ie 4 pars, 4 bogeys, 2 doubles and a triple bogey!

*****
The par 5s

My outturn score for the 3 par 5s was +4, ie 2 bogeys and a double bogey!

#5: 458 yards, index 11!

#15: 484 yards, index 4! A sweeping left to right to a rectangular shape green! A bogey was a good score!

#17: 509 yards, index 14! A high level tee shot sweeping left to right to a sloping fairway, and an approach to a green with no bunkers, but a steep drop of a few feet to an upwards sloping green!



*****

Weekday visitors green fees are £0000!

I entered their annual Seniors Open Stableford competition! The £0000 entry fee included.....

*****
The post game meal was an excellent ham, egg and chips!

*****

The members were wonderful hosts! The disappointment for them was the low competition entry! Much reduced from previous years!

Possibly the severity of some of the front 9 holes make this a much less attractive proposition for Seniors golfers, especially if the competition clashes with another not too far away!

I'd be very happy to play the course again if using a buggy; but I won't be entering their competition again!

Chorlton-cum-Hardy GC is a parkland style course in Northenden, Chorlton, 4 miles south of Manchester!

The club was founded in 1905!


*****

The course is a par 70, comprising 4 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 2 par 5s! It is a par 72 from the red ladies tees!

The yardages are 5,994 and 5,817 from the white and yellow tees, and 5,387 from the reds!

The SSSs are 69 from the white and yellow tees and 72 from the red's!


*****

Chorlton is the home club of Old Man Pat (Gilsenan), Liam Harrison and Steve Barlow, eBay Pete, among others, players who regularly feature on the YouTube golfing vlog GolfVlogsUK, ie Golfmates!

OMP is a 78 year old long exiled Irishman of 11 handicap, Liam a 40 year old 7 handicap and Steve a 50+ 13 handicap!

The main thrust of the vlog is that Liam and Steve play 3 holes with/against OMP for a fiver each the main purpose of which is to supplement OMP's pension! He seems to win about 80% of the time!

Thanks to YouTube they are world renowned!

Apart from my own nationality background in common with OMP, as a 66 year old, moderately long hitter, I also aspire to approach the game in the same way as OMP, ie hit at least 85% (12/14) drives in the fairways or light rough, use my shots judiciously, applying his traffic light system approach to risk/reward for approach play to the greens!

*****

It was my admiration of these guys that steered me to seek to play Chorlton-cum-Hardy if I found myself up north and in the Manchester area! Which I was able to do on my way back from Silloth on Solway!

I particularly wanted to challenge myself on the holes that regularly feature on the vlog!


*****

When I played the course I found it in a lush green condition! There was a lot of rain about up north and consequently the course was soft in places, particularly the lower lying rough areas! The greens keepers were busy mowing the fairways as I progressed my round!



*****

The greens....

My outturn total putts was 33, including 4 singles, 13 doubles and 1 triple! OK but would have liked to be a couple less! I missed few birdie and par putt opportunities but couldn't read the pace and lines well enough! They played a good bit slower than my Cherry Lodge greens!


*****

The par 3s.....

My outturn score for the par 3s was +2, ie 2 pars and 2 bogeys! Given that l had 3 shots over these holes, this was an excellent return!

*****

The par 4s.....

My outturn score for the par 4s was +11, ie 4 pars, 5 bogeys and 3 double bogeys!

With 8 shot holes, this was +3 too many! Failing to find the greens in regulation from good positions off the tee, on the short 5th, 12th and 18th, none of which are shot holes, banjaxed this compartment of the game!


*****


The par 5s.....

My outturn score for the par 5s was +4, ie a bogey and a triple bogey! Both are shot holes!

The triple bogey on the 16th was the real blot on the card! I was just below the significantly raised green in 3 having deliberately laid up, but I managed to take 3 chip shots (including 2 duffers) to get up to the green! I should have waited for the 2 ball waiting up on the adjacent tee box to hit their tee shots away before playing my first chip approach!


*****

The clubhouse is located in Barlow Hall, a 13th century Manor House! The clubhouse retains some obviously ancient features but has been externally modernised in places!

The standard visitors weekday green fee is £25! I paid £17.50 by booking online!


*****

There is a moderately sized proshop! A very helpful young assistant on duty!

Unfortunately the club no longer sell a course planner booklet!

*****

I only had time to have a quick pregame soup and roll lunch! I finished my round after the kitchen had closed!

Magnolia Park GC is a parkland style course in Boarstall, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire! It is very close to Oxford!

*****

It is a proprietary commercial club with a small membership! There is a 40 bedroom Best Western Hotel on site! The hotel is the primary focus of the business!

*****

The course opened in 1999 and was designed by Jonathan Gaunt!


*****

The course is a par 73 for both men and ladies! The yardages are 6,946, 6,556 and 5,613 yards from the white, yellow and red tees!

The course comprises 4 par 3s, 9 par 4s and 5 par 5s!

The SSSs are 74, 73 and 74 respectively! Reflective of a difficult course!

I/we played off the yellow tees!

*****

The round opened and closed with a par 5!

Conditions were wet and windy then improved after a few holes! A very heavy shower hit as we were having coffee at the halfway hut, but the weather cleared thereafter!

Water is in play on several holes!

There are very scenic views from the course in places, including the M40!



*****

The greens were generally large undulating in very good condition! They were firm despite heavy morning rain!

My total putts for the round was 31 putts, ie 3 singles and 14 doubles. A very good outturn! The remaining hole was a zero putt birdie!

*****

The Par 3s
The par 3s are a mix of hole challenges :

#2: 149 yards, index 9! A challenging tee shot over a heart shaped pond, early on in the round, to an angled green, bunkers right, left and back! Messed this one up!

#7: 125 yards, index 15! Into the wind, my tee shot was short of the green! Holed for birdie!

#11: 207 yards, index 12! A long slightly uphill tee shot! I missed the green right, chipped on and 2 putts for a good bogey!

#17: 142 yards, index 10! A carry over a ravine to a raised green, with a deep ditch short front and left! Bogey is a good score!

My outturn score for the par 3s was +4, a birdie, 2 bogeys and a triple bogey! As I had 3 shots on these 4 holes, I was nett +1 too many! The triple bogey on the 2nd hole, due to my tee shot finding water, my only blob on the round!


*****

The Par 4s



My outturn score for the 9 par 4s was +8, ie 2 pars, 6 bogeys and 1 double bogey!
As I had 7 shots the outturn was only +1 too many! A very good outcome!



*****


The Par 5s are a good mix of holes:

#1: 508 yards, index 11!

#3: 439 yards, index 17!

#8: 522 yards, index 3!

#13: 477 yards, index 8!

#18: 501 yards, index 16!



My outturn score on the par 5s was +3, ie 3 pars, a bogey and a double bogey! With my 3 shots this was nett par golf! Excellent!

*****

Visitors green fees are £22.50 if booked via the Internet!

I entered their annual Seniors Open Stableford competition. The £35 entry fee included coffee and bacon roll, 18 holes, and a ham, egg and chips meal, and prizes! Excellent vfm!

*****

There is a small Pro-shop, with welcoming staff!

No course planner booklet available!

*****

All in all this was a very enjoyable golf experience!

The post match meal was excellent!

The disappointment for the club organisers was the low number of competitors in the field! It must have clashed with another nearby popular

Sutton Coldfield GC is a heathland style course in Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, Warwickshire. It is not far away from The Belfry!

The club was founded in 1889, initially as a 9 holer, and was later redesigned by Dr Alister McKenzie opening in 1934!

*****

The club website indicates that the club is ranked #87 in the 2018 National Club Golfer top 100 courses in England! I also found reference to it being ranked #2 in the West Midlands!

*****

This is a members club! The course is located on public land! Consequently the public have rights to walk across the course!

Apart from the 1st hole tee shot which is hit across a public footpath, where we had to wait for walkers and cyclists, only a few persons walking their dogs were encountered!

Another factor is that cattle roam the course, luckily none were found during our round!

*****

The Course is a par 72, comprising 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 4 par 5s!

The yardages are 6,548 and 6,202 yards off the white and yellow tees respectively!

I/we played off the yellow tees! The SSSs are 72 and 71 respectively!

(The ladies red tees were not on the scorecard! Possibly the ladies operate as separate clubs but share the same clubhouse!)

*****

The Greens are generally large, very undulating, play fast and are surrounded by deep heather topped bunkers!

All of the greens are surrounded by metal posts and wire 'ropes' to protect the greens from cattle damage!

These fences were highly inconvenient to the golfer, especially first time playing the course, particularly as it affected distance assessment and club selection! A local rule is that any ball played to the greens within 20 yards hitting the fencing had to be replayed! This effectively eliminated the low pitch and run type shot, a favourite of mine!

I think the uncertainty about shot selection cost me 4 or 5 shots!

Interestingly the club is seriously evaluating a GPS based technical solution to the cattle control situation, ie the cattle will wear a collar which will give out an electric shock if they wander within a specific range of the green!

My outturn putting stats was 33 putts! OK! However the 4 triple putts badly offset the positivity of making 7 single putts!

*****

The Fairways are generally generous landing areas though many of the tee shots are semi blind! However there is a lot of heavy/wispy gorse/heather rough awaiting wayward tee shots!

*****

The Par 3s all have the highest indexes 15 - 18!

The 2nd and 9th are very short but are completely surrounded by bunkers and trees!

Holes 15 and 17 have long challenging tee shots!

My outturn stats for the par 3s was +3, ie 2 part, a bogey and a double bogey!

*****

The Par 4s are a good mix of short and moderately long holes. The 3rd and 12th are well in excess of 400 yards! The 12th was my worst hole due to an inexplicable mishit tee shot!

My outturn stats for the par 4s was +14, ie 3 pars, 2 bogeys, 4 double bogeys and 1 quadruple bogey!

As all the par 4s are shot holes, I was +4 above nett handicap. However most of the excess was due to a +4 on the lndex 3 12th, due to a lost ball off the tee followed by an unplayable lie penalty! A blip!

*****

The Par 5s were beautiful looking holes, with changes in elevation, minor doglegs, were reachable in regulation, even for me, with good drives followed by well hit approaches, with birdie opportunities!

Unusually 3 of the par 5s ran consecutively on the front 9! The 5th and 14th holes are indexes 2 and 1 respectively!

My outturn stats for the par 5s was +3, ie 2 pars, a bogey and a double bogey! As all the par 5s are shot holes, I was 1 shot better than handicap! Very good!

*****

The clubhouse is owned by the club and is situated across a busy road from the course! There are two crossing points, one of which is a traffic light which members can press a button to activate the red light sequence!

The clubhouse was undergoing some building work to extend / reconfigure its layout!

Car parking space outside the clubhouse is limited! Because of the high entry level some parking was across the road on a grassy area between the 1st and 11th tees!

*****

Visitors Green Fees / Seniors Open Stableford Competition

Visitors green fees are £45, £20 as a members guest, or £40 with a County Card!

I entered their annual Seniors Open Stableford competition! The £30 entry fee included a pre-round coffee and bacon roll! Also refreshments were provided at their halfway tent (11th hole)! Good vfm!


*****

Members were very welcoming marvellous hosts for their competition! There is a moderately sized pro-shop! The head pro is an affable high calibre Irish man!

I cut it fine with my arrival so didn't have time to have a pre match bacon roll. However, I had a very nice post round fish and chips meal before setting off for home!

Overall I enjoyed the course despite its idiosyncrasies!

I'd recommend it to anyone visiting the area!

I'd be tempted to enter next year's competition and try to use my new found course knowledge to better this year! However l'll probably also seek to find a couple of other courses in the Birmingham area to make a good trip out of it!


*****

Reigate Hill GC is a parkland style course on the outskirts of Reigate, Surrey. It is very close to the M25!

It is a members club!

The course is a par 72 from all tees, ie white, yellow and red! The yardages are 6,246, 5,993 and 5,676 respectively!

All tees play to the same indexes! The SSSs are 71,70 and 73 respectively!

There are 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 4 par 5s, the usual construct for a par 72!


The course was designed by David Williams!


*****

The course is a scenic undulating course!

Assessing it as though I started from the 1st, not the 14th, it opens with a sweeping downhill par 4, a significant change of elevation up to the 2nd tee and a steep uphill tee shot to a blind green; then meanders away from and around back to the 9th green in front of the clubhouse!

Part of the front 9 runs within sight and sound of the M25!

There is then a steep elevation change from the clubhouse through the car park up to the 10th tee! The holes then work around to the 13th green at the back of the clubhouse and then play away from the 14th tee to the side of the clubhouse and back to the 18th green below the clubhouse!


*****

The greens are generally large, some very large, with many changes in elevation and tricky putts! As we were playing a competition, many of the pin placements were in the most difficult spots on the greens!

My outturn putting stats were 30 putts, ie 8 singles, 8 x 2 putts and 2 x 3 putts! Only my birdie putt on the 2nd was of any length!

A very good outcome!


*****

The Par 3s

The four par 3s are a variety of challenges!

#2: a 140 yards uphill tee shot to a blind green! There is a row of 4 pot bunkers running below the front of the green! However there is an apron front left and I avoided the risk of the bunkers by running the tee shot in from the left! I managed to hole my 15 foot birdie putt!

#8: a 148 yards downhill tee shot to a multi level green! One pot bunker front left and 5 pot bunkers behind the green!

#12: a 206 yards downhill tee shot to an undulating sloping green! There are bunkers wide right and left!

#15: a level 144 yards tee shot to dogleg triple tiered green which runs around the lake which runs most of the left hand side of the green! There are 2 pot bunkers long of the green! A no shot hole for me!


My outturn par 3s stats were +1, ie a par, 1 birdie offsetting 2 bogeys! A 3 putts on the difficult 18th green (albeit wrongly ranked index 18), largely accountable! A better outturn on par 3s than I usually get!


*****

The Par 4s


#1: 335 yards, index 12, this is a short left to right sloping downhill tee shot, grassy hollows on the right hand side of the fairway! A water filled ditch runs across the fairway about 50 yards from the green! There are 2 bunkers front left and 1 bunker on the right of the green!

#4: 384 yards, index 2, a very difficult dogleg right, from a high teebox to a ridge, protected by 2 pot bunkers right of the fairway, followed by a blind downhill approach to a tricky slopey green, guarded by 2 left hand bunkers! A bogey is a great score here!

#5:

#6: 366 yards, index 8! An uphill tee shot up the right hand side of the fairway, to run it down to the centre/left of the fairway! There are 3 pot bunkers front left of a long slopey right to left green! A pushed drive into the rough, followed by a lay-up into a bunker, led to a quadruple bogey, my worst hole of the day! Inexplicable play! A bogey is a great score on this hole!

#9:

#10:

#13:

#16:

#17:

#18:


My outturn par 4s stats were +11, or +4 above my shots for the par 4s! Most of the 'excess' par 4 shots were due to a quadruple bogey on the 8th hole, a shot hole, ie my intended lay up shot over a tall tree found a bunker short of the green but a long way from the pin! My approach from off the green didn't make it up to the upper level and I ended up off the green about 50 feet below left of the pin! A blip in the overall context of the round!

The most positive aspect was my putting stats which were 16 putts, ie 5 single and 5 two putts!



*****

The Par 5s

The par 5s are the 3rd, 7th, 11th and 14th. They are indexes 6, 4, 3 and 1 respectively, reflecting their difficulty!

#3: 540 yards, index 6, an uphill tee shot to a plateau, avoiding a blind right side bunker, a lay up short of a pair of pot bunkers on the left, and an approach into a 'sunken' multi tier green with a bank on the left assisting with running on! Longer hitters can reach in two!

#7: 502 yards, index 4, a hole with a choice of two fairways to play to either side of a row of trees in the centre of the hole! I chose to play to the left hand fairway, reached in regulation, got a 2 putt par, missing a 15 foot birdie opportunity! The bigger hitters generally go down the right hand fairway but this seemed to be the riskier line! A lovely hole!

#11: 548 yards, index 3. An uphill drive up towards the access road entering the course, severe slope right to left down to 3 pot bunkers left, followed by a lay up and approach to a raised green with a severe fall off the left of the green to either a pot bunker or grassy hollow! While attempting to run my 2nd shot down the right side of the fairway I found the only bunker (blind) between the road and the green! My fault for not checking my course planner before making my shot! A bogey was a good outcome due to a very good up and down!

#14: 519 yards, index 1, comprises a tee shot from high down to a fairway which runs alongside and around a lake on the left! OOB awaits a pushed drive right, plus a pot bunker, and OOB also awaits a hooked/pulled drive left! The green is 32 yards wide and between 13 and 19 yards deep! The degree of difficulty depends on the pin placement! There is a bail out area to the right of the green! I was left with an approach shot across the corner of the lake! Given that it was only my 3rd shot of the day, the fairway was wet and the atmosphere heavy, I took more club to ensure that I carried the water! Unfortunately I hit it long and it kicked off the back bank into the bunker! Too cautious! A bogey would have been a great score but a double bogey was OK!


My outturn par 5s stats were +5, a par, bogey and 2 double bogeys!

All of the par 5s are shot holes so I was effectively +1 too many! This was due to taking 2 shots to get out of the wet 14th bunker, my first hole of the day! I hit too much club into the green to make sure I carried the water!

*****

Visitors Green Fees
Midweek green fees during the summer months are £29.00.

I entered their annual Seniors Pairs open competition! The entry fee was £39.50, which included coffee, 18 holes, a two course meal, coffee and prizes! Pretty good vfm!

*****

The competition was a betterball Stableford pairs! Shotgun start! We started from the 14th tee!

My partner Ken Richardson and I scored 42pts! Only just outside of the prizes!
However Ken arrived late and missed the first two holes! I only managed to get 3 points for our opening so our teams potential to gain one or two more points was missed!


*****

The welcome and hospitality provided by the pro staff, the bar and catering staff and especially the members was excellent!

Each of the 4 balls had one pair which included a Reigate Hill member, which was a great help navigating the course for the first time!

*****

My overall assessment is that this is a very enjoyable challenge and a very good venue for a society get together! However I would very much prefer to play it starting from the 1st tee next time to get a better feel of the rhythm of the course! Also the 1st is an easier starting hole than the index 1 par 5 14th with its approach over water to the green!

Silloth on Solway GC is a links style in Silloth, Cumbria, along the English side of the Solway Firth!

The course is ranked #1 in Cumbria, #21 in England and #?? In the Too 100 countries in GB&I!

The course is a par 72! It comprises the usual 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 4 par 5s, associated with a par 72!

There are 3 men's tees, ie blue, white and yellow, and red for the ladies! The ladies play to a par of 75!

*****

The course played was off the yellow tees at 6,141 yards. One yard less than at Cherry Lodge! However that's where the similarities end!

*****

My outturn gross score was 94,ie +22 over par, or 28pts Stableford! Or looked at another way, it was +9 over my 13 handicap!

The Division 1 (up to 13 handicaps) winning score was 39pts! I finished 35th of 68 competitors! Overall categories I finished 53rd of 123 competitors!

*****

The greens........, and my putting stats!

The greens are big, very firm despite heavy overnight rain and drizzly rain throughout the majority of the round, are mostly raised above the fairways and are undulating! Pin placements were also tricky because of the competition!

Putting numbers were very good, ie 32 putts off which there were 5 single putts, 12 x 2 putts and only 1 triple putt!

I missed 3 birdie opportunities of which one led to an overly aggressive long birdie attempt running a good way above the pin hence the triple!

*****

The Par 3s.......

#6th: (index 16) , a 172 yards tee shot to a green with 2 pot bunkers short right and left! Into the wind I didn't reach the green but chipped on and 2 putted for a bogey!

#9th: (index 14) , a 121 yard downhill tee shot to a green surrounded by 4 left hand bunkers and 3 right hand bunkers! A poor swing resulted in a triple bogey!

#12th: (index 11), a 191 yard tee shot to a raised green! I left my tee shot short by about 30 yards and ran my approach putt through the back of the green so a 1 putt bogey was a good score!

#16th: (index 9) , is a 169 yards tee shot from a raised tee to a raised green! I found this green with a mishit low runner and got a 2 putt par! Lucky!


Overall I was +5 for the 4 par 3s! Given that 2 were shot holes my triple bogey on the 9th was the main reason! An avoidable ball striking error off the tee compounded by a duffed chip up and over the green!

*****

The Par 4s......




*****

The Par 5s.......

The par 5s include 2 holes that usually play into a headwind and 2 holes that usually play with the wind assisting! I don't get shots on the 2 wind assisted holes (14 & 17)!

My outturn score for the par 5s was +5! Not too bad on the face of it given the conditions!

However +3 of the outturn was down to one hole! I had problems with the index 1 13th, a brute of a hole into the wind, where my semi blind severely uphill approach shot wind assisted, veered away offline to the right ino the gorse resulting in a penalty and +3 for the hole!


*****

The Club History
The club was founded in 1892, and was laid out by Davy Grant, with the advise of prominent Scottish professionals Willie Fernie and Willie Park!

The course has been visited by (patronised) by at least 10 former Open Champions, including Harry Vardon, JH Taylor and James Braid!

The Club claims it is the #1 course for less than £100! Visitors weekday green fees are £50, or £65 weekends!
My 'golf only' entry fee into the annual Seniors Open Stableford competition was £25!

Customer Service
The welcome provided to visiting competitors, by staff and members, was excellent!

The pro-shop was moderate but good!

(PS: The full membership fees for Silloth are £525, with a £300 joining fee!)

Golf d'Hardelot is a two course golf resort on the Cote d'Opale (Opal Coast), Northern France! Near Boulogne & Le Touqet!

The Les Pins course at Hardelot golf resort is the older, ie original, of the two courses! Opened in 1931, it was designed by Tom Simpson!

A renovation was undertaken in 2016 by architects Frank Pont and Patrice Boissonas, to restore the Les Pins to the original Simpson design concept!

The course is a par 71, comprising of 5 par 3s, 9 par 4s and 4 par 5s.

There are two mens tees, white and yellow, and two ladies tees, blue and red!

Both men and ladies play off the same handicap indexes!

Each of the tees have their own SSS and Slope indexes, ie 71.5/129 white, 69.4/121 yellow, 72.7/125 blue and 70.1/118 red respectively!

I played off the yellow tees at 5,462 metres (5,975 yards)! This is pro-rata similar to the yellow tees yards at Cherry Lodge!

The course meanders among a highly mature forest of pine trees, and is bounded by an array of stunning modern and older classic houses! Heaven!

The course fairways, tee boxes and greens are fully watered and are in lush green condition! The fairways are as perfect as can be!

*****

The greens are generally large, raised, undulating multi layered, firm, well guarded by bunkers, moderately paced and very tricky to read!

I had 38 total putts for my round, including 3 x 3 putts and only one single putt! I had 3 birdie putt opportunities but couldn't convert them! This was +6 putts too many!

*****

The Par 3s: the par 3s are a beautiful mix of short and medium range challenges! The windy conditions made club selection difficult! I managed to get a nearest the pin on the 106 metre 7th!

A combined +6 for the 5 par 3s was a very disappointing outcome as it includes only 2 pars, a double bogey (14th) and triple bogey (17th)!

Given that I only have one shot on the par 3s (17th), this was +5 too many shots!

*****

The Par 4s: the par 4s are a good mix of short and longer range holes, well bunkered, elevation changes and doglegs.

The 2nd, 16th and 18th holes, are significantly longer than 400 yards and are indexes 3, 2 and 4 accordingly!

The front 9 includes 3 of the toughest par 4s, the index 2 2nd, index 7 4th and index 1 9th.

The 9th hole is visually the most intimidating off the tee, with a carry required over a range of high faced bunkers to a blind left dogleg and an uncertain landing fairway width; followed by a tight uphill approach up to an unbunkered green!

A well struck tee shot should comfortably make the carry but unfortunately, and unexpectedly for me, this was my first ball striking error and I managed to hit under the ball and sky it into the bunker! While I subsequently made an excellent exit from the bunker I failed to make the carry up to the green! The dilemma on this hole is that the safer wider line to the right of the bunkers leaves a very long and blocked path to the green! A true index 1 hole!

The back 9 also includes 3 of the toughest par 4s, the index 8 15th is a severe dogleg right with two line options around a clump of trees, the index 2 16th is a 420 metre hole with an uphill approach to the green, and the 406 metre down hill 18th to a beautiful green just in front of the clubhouse verandah!

Collectively my outturn score for the par 4s was +10! Given that I receive shots on 8 of the 9 par 4s, this seems to be a reasonable outcome. However, I parred 3 of the holes, and countered the good scores with 2 double bogeys and 1 triple bogeys, so is about +4 too many against par! An unlucky lost ball penalty situation accounted for +2 of the excess!

*****

The Par 5s: the 4 par 5s are a good mix of challenges! The opening 1st is a tight looking hole, the 6th and 13th are the more difficult at indexes 5 and 6 respectively, while the 10th, which runs parallel to the 1st, is a fairly straight index 14.

Collectively I scored +6 on the par 5s, which was +3 too many given my shots situation! Finding the first fairway bunker with a mishit tee shot on the 13th followed by a 3 putt accounted for +2 of the excess!

*****

This was only my 2nd game on the continent of Europe, after Wimereux the previous day!

What a joy to get to play Les Pins, a course rated in the top 10 courses in France, and in the top 100 on continental Europe! The revision was rated on the Top 100 Golf Courses of the World website as one of the most successful programmes ever seen on Continental Europe!

Les Pins is a regular host of the European Tour Qualifying School!

Given the expected difficulty of Les Pins, and it being a new course, I was thinking beforehand that a total score of about +17, ie +5 above my handicap, would have been an acceptable outcome! In the event my +22 outcome was disappointing. Unusually for me two double bogeys resulted from two drives into fairway bunkers, and a lost ball penalty (15th), contributed to the additional shots!

I've played less than 20 of the top 100 courses in England! Les Pins would be in my top 5 courses played! A stunner!

Normally I use an electric trolley to carry my bag of clubs but I hired a pull trolley! Big mistake! The impact of the undulating course together with the very windy conditions made my round more physically arduous than was good for achieving best results! I should have hired a buggy! Next time eh!

There is a moderately sized proshop! Prices are expensive in comparison to the UK!

The club is very much geared up to the British golf tourist and most of the proshop and bar staff spoke good English!

The clubhouse bar has a wall covered by scorecards from courses played by visitors; mostly English! Many of the scorecards were from courses I have played! Whilst I didn't have a spare Cherry Lodge scorecard with me I left a Surrey Downs scorecard as my contribution to the decor!

Fini......

The Les Dunes course at Hardelot golf resort is the newer of the two courses! It opened in 1991 and was designed by Jean-Claude Cornillot! Yes that Jean-Claude! Or possibly Paul Rolin, or both, depending on which literature to believe!!

The name Les Dunes is a bit of a misnomer in that whilst the course may have been built on dune type land; it has been designed and laid out among pine forest and very much lush fairways due to the on-fairway watering system.

It is a par 70 comprising 6 par 3s, 8 par 4s, and 4 par 5s. The SSS is 67.1.

There are 2 mens tees (white and yellow) and 2 ladies tees (red and blue). The course is 4,892 metres (5,350 yards) off the yellow tees!

The course meanders through a pine tree forest, bounded by a wonderful array of stunning houses, all of individual design.

The course is watered throughout the fairways and greens and is in wonderful condition!

*****

The par 3s are a mixture of short and medium length holes from the yellow tees! The signature par 3 is probably the 132m 11th with a bit of a carry over a 'big' lake with a large front right bunker to be cleared or act as the safety net!

I managed to score at +2 for the 6 par 3s, ie 4 pars and only 2 bogeys!

*****

The par 4s and 5s are a wonderful combination of either straight or gentle doglegs with an occasionally more severe or blind dogleg! That said, the landing areas are reasonably generous even though the may not appear so from the tees!

*****

The course opens with an uphill par 4 (index 11) and finishes with a dramatic looking downhill par 4 (index 8), with an approach over a wide lake to the 18th green which is overlooked by the clubhouse balcony! There is a bailout area to the right of the lake for those who don't think they can make the carry!

The weather conditions were very overcast with a couple of very light showers! Consequently a good score was possible! I managed to score a gross 79, ie 3 shots under handicap. One of my best ever scores on an unfamiliar course and one of such quality! However I have not been cut because of the effects of the SSS rating!

Apart from the milder weather conditions, the use of a buggy was a major contributor to my physical condition for play!

*****

The greens are mostly raised requiring uphill approaches to large and undulating multilevel greens! They are moderately paced!

*****

This is a seriously good course that I would very much like to play again though I'm not sure if I could play it any better! Along with it's nearby, and better regarded Les Pins course, the Hardelot golf is hard to beat as a golfing venue!

The main negative was that the toilets supposedly located adjacent to the 11th green (as per the course planner) were not open much to the chagrin of our lady player's!

The club is very much geared up for the British tourist golfer as the pro shop and bar staff spoke a good standard of English!

Whilst we didn't eat at the clubhouse, we had breakfast at the hotel and didn't have time for a postmatch meal as we had to leave to catch the euro tunnel shuttle train!

However the clubhouse restaurant appears to be a popular eating spot for non golfer's! A good sign!

Fini......

Basingstoke GC is a par 70 members parkland style club in Kempshott Park, Basingstoke, Hampshire.

The course is 6,307/6,076 yards respectively off the white/yellow tees. The ladies red tees are a par 72 of 5,513 yards! The SSSs are 70/69/72 respectively! I played off the yellow tees! We had a 2 tee start, my round started from the 11th.

There are 4 par 3s, 12 par 4s, and 2 par 5s!

The course is moderately undulating. Many holes involve negotiating doglegs of various severity. Only the bigger hitters could attempt to take these on but trouble awaits the wayward tee shots! The landing areas on the par 4 & par 5s were more generous than appeards from the tees!

The 4 par 3s were a challenge, one long and 3 of moderate length; greens were well guarded by bunkers and club selection difficult as the front aprons were soft and landing short was of no benefit! Unfortunately my performance on the par 3s was woeful, 3 double bogeys and a bogey! My ball striking for 3 of them wasn't very good and I underclubbed on the 4th.

The greens were generally large, firm, undulating, pacy and tricky! My gross score was +6 over handicap. +4 of those extra shots was due to 4 triple putts! A lost ball triple bogey on the index 1 hole, and a combined +7 score on the par 3s, account for the unexpected additional shots!

The winning score on the day was 38pts; reflecting the difficulty of the course. Many senior opens have winning scores in the low 40s! I had 3 blobs, and 13 holes scoring 2 or 3 points. A very good score was getable with a bit more focus!

The club was founded in 1907. The current course location was designed and built by James Braid in 1928. It was officially opened in a match involving James Braid, Harry Vardon and Miss Helen Gourlay! (The club appear to have agreed to sell the course to a developer for housing and have also 'agreed' to buy the nearby Dummer GC as their new home. TBC)

Visitor green fees are £40 or £60 day ticket. A discount is available to holders of the Hampshire, IoW and Channel Islands County Card. Not a very customer friendly application of the EGU County Card scheme!

I played the course by entering their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition. The competition entry fee was £37, included coffee/bacon roll, 18 holes, a 2 course meal and prizes!A great vfm way to play the course! This is a very popular competition with 66 visiting competitors!

The hospitality provided by the club officials, proshop staff and members was excellent. The post match food was also of high quality!

This was a very enjoyable golfing challenge. It is playable by golfers of all standards!

The announcement by the club captain at the post competition prize giving confirming that the club was in the process of relocating was just public confirmation of what was already gossip! It may be that next years competition will be staged elsewhere! That being the case if you haven't played Basingstoke as it currently is but fancy doing so do it asap!

Chipping Sodbury GC is a parkland style course in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, about 12 miles north of Bristol.

It is a members club and was formed in 1905. Fred Hawtree designed changes to the course in 1971 upgrading it to 18 holes. A new clubhouse was built in 1976. It was modernised again in 1996 with 14 new tee areas, sculptured mounds and 5 lakes.

There are 4 tees in use on each hole, eg white, yellow, green and red. The yardages are 6,860, 6,657, 6,342 and 5,743 respectively. All play to the same indexes, though in practice the ladies use only the red tees!

The pars and SSSs differ, eg the white tees are par 72/SSS74, the yellow tees are par 73/SSS73, green tees are par 73/SSS71 and the red tees are par 73/SSS75.

We played from the green tees! The card comprised 3 pars, 11 par 4s and 4 par 5s.

The 3 par 3s are all fairly short, no shots received, I found all of the greens but came away with only 3 pars.

The par 4s and 5s are a joy to play! A couple of blind tee shots, some bunkers and ditches to avoid. Course was in great condition! The round opened and closed with par 5s!

The greens are large, with uphill approaches, and were shaped like uphill saucers, ie with significant fall away points depending on pin placements!

The competition was one which had host club members and visitors combined in 3 balls. I was in the last group hosted by their 2017 Club Captain Clive Reynolds! An excellent host!

The club, members, catering and professional staff were very welcoming!

Chipping Sodbury is classified as an England Golf Championship venue!

This is a very good golfing challenge which I can readily opine that any TSGers visitors to the area would enjoy also! I may enter this competition again next year if a suitable itinary involving other course could be put together!

Visitor green fees are £46, £28 as a members guest, and £30 with a County Card. My Seniors Open Stableford competition entry fee of £24 included coffee and bacon roll plus 18 holes. There was a £6.50 competition post match food menu available. I had the ham, egg and chips. Excellent quality!

Mendip Spring GC is a modern parkland style course located in Congnesbury, Bristol, Somerset.

It is described as a golf and country club. From the golfing perspective it is a proprietary club with a membership!

There is an 18 hole 'championship' course, ie the Brinsea, plus a 9 hole course!

The Brinsea course is a par 71 off the white & yellow tees, but a par 75 of the ladies red tees. The SSS's are 71 & 75 respectively!

The course yardages are 6,369, 6,193 7 5,796 respectively off the white/yellow/red tees!

I played the off the white tees in a Seniors Open Stableford competition. Given the heavy overnight rains had softened up the course, many of the bunkers were waterlogged and therefore GUR, and there was light rains and strong winds throughout the competition, most of the views expressed by my fellow competitors, was that it should have been played off the yellows!The extent of bunkers GUR meant that the competition was downgraded to a Non Qualifier for handicap purposes!

The course comprised 5 par 3s, 9 par 4s and 4 par 5s.

The course is a moderately undulating walk! Water hazards, in the form of lakes, ponds and water filled ditches are in play on many of the holes.The strong winds made club selection difficult and a couple of misjudgements resulted in finding the water.

The par 3s were very challenging with carries over water on all of the holes. Indeed on the 1st par 3 we played (2nd hole), a course marshall was in use with his green and red paddles to signify success or failure in either making the carry over the water or going OOB through the back of the green!

The fairways are generally spacious though a few of the tee shots were blind!

No paper course booklets were available but all tee boxes had hole layout maps to assist!

The course, because of the water hazards, and in conjunction with strong winds, is/was a generally difficult challenge.

The greens are fast, large and undulating. Some of the best greens I've ever played. Stunning for a course of this nature/status!

The general 18 hole weekday green fee is £30 (£40 weekends), or £20/£25 respectively with a County Card!Very reeasonable! Howeever, mt entry fee for the competition was £24 including coffee on arrival, 18 holes and a hot post match meal (steak pie). Stunning vfm!

There is a good practice range (not used), a good sized proshop. Staff and members were very welcoming! There are also 15 dormy rooms of various sizes available for stay and play golf! About £59 for two persons sharing but charges vary!

The club house was very nice.

All in all this was an impressive course and facility. The only spoiler was the weather on the day!

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!

Ashford Manor GC is a parkland style course in Ashford, Middlesex.

The course is a par 70 for men and par 73 for the ladies. The SSS's are 71 & 69 respectively. The course is 6,406 & 6,093 yards respectively off the white & yellow tees. There are 4 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 2 par 5s.

This is an easy walking course. While the course fairways are reasonably generous, the course is heavily tree lined and any offline shots will badly impact the possibility of good scoring, eg blocking out direct access to the greens!

There are some challenging fairway bunkers to avoid and most of the greens are guarded by deep bunkers!

The greens are generally large and undulating, with depth perception difficult!

The 4 par 3s are an enjoyably difficult challenge; particularly the 234 yard 12th (a par 4 for the ladies). Also 3 of the par 4s, ie the 7th, 10th & 17th, (indexes 1, 6 & 4 respectively), are well in excess of 400 yards therefore long for the average handicapper.

Played at the end of February 2019 in dry sunny conditions, the fairways were very patchy/bumpy reflecting the impacts of a very wet winter. Hopefully conditions will greatly improve once temperatures rise for grass growth and the greenkeeping staff can get to focus their work on the fairways!

There is a good sized pro-shop and a lovely clubhouse. The men's locker room/facilities were excellent!

As a visitor, and one acquainted with a club member; a real disappointment about the course was the lack of on-course signage. It wasn't always evident where the next tees were when exiting some greens. The absence of a course planner and more importantly hole layout mapping on tee boxes compounds this negative image! The impression received is that the course is being managed as though the members will know their way around the course and that's OK! More and more the needs of visitors are becoming critical to the economic well-being /survival of golf clubs. This is surely an easily remedied issue!

While not at the level of being a 'must play' category course it is nevertheless very enjoyable.

Weybrook Park is a parkland style course on the outskirts of Basingstoke, Hampshire, overlooking the Hampshire downs.About a 90 minute drive from South West London.

It is a members club that asserts that it has a welcoming attitude to societies and green fee players! The club was opened in May 1997, by professional players Retief Goosen, Howard Clark, Peter Hedblom and Paul Broadhurst. However, a new front 9 holes was opened in 2016 and the old front 9 is being given a makeover to bring them up to the qualities of the new front 9 and to enhance the overall course provision of 27 holes.

This is a par 71 off the mens tees and par 72 from the ladies tee.

The mens tees are Black, White and Yellow. However, there is only 100 yards difference between the Black and the White tees, across 6 of the front 9 holes only!

The course is chalk based and appears to drain well! The profile of the front 9 is more open than the back 9, though at least 7 of the new front 9 holes have water hazards to avoid! The two par 3s and the par 4 5th were particularly intimidating. The old back 9 is a more tree lined part of the course! The par 5 14th and the downhill par 4 16th are troublesome!

There is a decent amount of bunkering and the sand quality was OK!

Greens were firm, generally big and undulating, with perceiveable difference in speed between each of the two 9s!

The green fee was only £20. Excellent vfm! I arrived too late to have time to wait for a cooked breakfast but I did have a rather nice cup of beef soup. There was also warmed quick snack pies/pasties/sausage rolls available!

I very much enjoyed the course, playable but also dangerous, and also our fellow TSG company. This is an excellent society venue.

Old Thorns GC is a parkland style course in Griggs Green, Liphook, Hampshire.

The course was designed by Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas, in 1982. It was formally opened by a world famous fourball match involving Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Isao Aoki and Bill Rogers. Isao Aoki came out on top with a 69.

*****

After a recent remodelling of the 9th hole as a short par 4 to a totally new green complex; the course is now a par 72 again!

The old 9th green is now a practice area!

*****

After the ownership of the course complex changed hands a couple of times the current ownership has invested significant sums in the enhancement of the course but also in hotel, conference, wedding, dining and a leisure centre gym/spa facility. There is also a Starbucks coffee shop on site.

*****

The Course
The course has a spectacular and partly secluded feel. There are several changes in elevation at the beginning and then at the end of the round. The walk up from the 2nd green to the 3rd teebox and then down from the 5th teebox to the green below are severe. Later there is a severe elevation change up to the 15th green, across the par 3 16th hole and then up to the 17th teebox. The use of a buggy would be recommended.

The course is 6,288 / 5,858 and 5,149 yards respectively from the white, yellow and red tees.

There are 5 par 3s, 9 par 4s and 4 par 5s.

Water is in play on at least 9 of the holes with a few lateral water filled
ditches also awaiting the really wayward tee/approach shots.

The par 4s/5s have some stunning tee shots in prospect. Severe trouble awaits those who cannot drive straight'ish on a consistent basis. The course meanders on the low level from the 6th teebox through to the 15th teebox.

Unusually, the index 1 hole on the course is the long double dogleg 18th!

This is a high quality course which I strongly consider falls into the 'must play' category. It is in particular a high quality venue for a club/society away break.

The Negative
The above said; all was not well with the condition of the course. Played in the 3rd week of March 2019 by a group of 20 Cherry Lodge Pistoleros on Sunday/Monday break; our group organiser was only informed on the Friday before our Sunday visit, that we would be using 4 temporary greens, ie the 4th, 5th, 13th and 15th holes. Reasons being that they had not recovered from winter weather damage. One of the greens OOU was their signature hole the downhill par 4 5th. The 4th green was being rebuilt. The 13th and 15th holes looked good visually but the reseeding apparently hadn't fully taken.

While winter/spring course conditions at all courses are at the mercy of the weather; and course maintenance regimes; what is not acceptable is that the problems with these 4 greens were not of an emergency nature and no reference to this was on the club website and our organiser was not informed in time to enable our group to cancel and find an alternative venue.

The absence of these 4 greens was a significant disappointment, especially for those members of our group who had not played the course before and had accepted the opinion of those who had already played it in choosing this venue ahead of other options.

Our group was on an inclusive deal of £99 for 2 rounds of golf, an evening 2 course carvery dinner, an overnight stay and breakfast. Evidently 80% of the £99 cost is applied towards the food and hotel accommodation element with only 20% applying to the 2 rounds of golf. The golf resort was obviously not prepared to put that proportion of revenue at risk!.

While the club/resort was not prepared to consider any cash refund in lieu of the inferior course condition, we did accept their offer of a free round of golf to be taken within the next 12 months.

This curtesy round was taken at the beginning of September 2019, however only 13 Pistoleros were able to take up the complimentary round!

*****

Catering

The evening meal was a multiple choice main course carvery with options of having a starter/main; a main/pudding or even a starter/pudding. The roast turkey and ham was of high quality. The breakfast was the usual combination of cereals, continental or full english.

The twin rooms in the Alliss Suite were adequate but some of our group complained about the lack of air conditioning.

*****

Tokens for the use of their driving range were provided as part of the deal, however, the range is short and only the use of irons was allowed.

The vfm for this off season break was excellent however prices for this type of deal rise significantly during the high summer season.

Hurtmore GC is a moderately lenghty par 70 (ladies par 72) parkland style course in Hurtmore, Surrey. The course is 5,530/5,254 yards respectively off the white/yellow tees.

The course opened in 1992 and like many courses in the area was designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark. It is a proprietary pay and play course with a membership.

The course comprises 3 par 3s, 14 par 4s and only 1 par 5. The mens SSS is only 67 reflecting the fact that 13 of the 14 par 4s are less than 400 yards and most will involve only a short iron approach to the green!

Six of the holes involve water hazards. Well placed fairway bunkers are on the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes. The 18th has a daunting approach over water and front bunkers. I just made the carry then proceeded to hole the putt for a birdie.

I liked the par 3s.

The greens are huge, mostly raised, with no proper perspective of how deep they are. They are also very underlating.

The greens drain well and are firm but were still bumpy after hollow tining maintenance which hadn't fully recovered.

Most of the holes involve real or perceived doglegs from the tees which if your alignment is not right can lead to trouble. However, in reality the landing areas are generous.

This is a very easy walking course which my knee appreciates!

I played the course at the end of January 2019 on a bright but cold and very windy day. I look forward to playing it again on a nice warm summer day!

The green fee was only £14 for a twilight game post 2pm. Morning peak tee times were only £19. Very good vfm!

Catering at the course was reasonably good but I'm not sure if it is available every day. I thing they are a chef short.

As a well draining course encircled by numerous private members clubs, not always playable at this time of year, this appeared to be a very busy course! I'm sure members of other courses use this as their 'winter' go-to course!

Clandon GC is a proprietary pay and pay course in Clandon, near Guildford, Surrey. It is located immediately behind a Park & Ride bus station.

The course is described as a parkland style course but the course is very akin to an inland links style course in places!

The course opened as an 18 hole course in 2010. The front 9 was built in 2008 and the back 9 in 2009. The design of the course is accredited to European Golf Design, a partnership of the European Tour and IMG Design. No named individual designer is identified though the design company has a celebrated portfolio of completed courses!

The course is a short par 69 at only 5,672 yards off the Yellow tees!There are 5 par 3s, 11 par 4s and 2 par 5s.

The course is built on a chalk base so all round playability is claimed. I/we played it in mid December and despite recent rains, the fairways, banks, bunkers and greens were in relatively 'dry' conditions. Very playable!

The rough areas were cut to make it easier to locate and play wayward drives/shots!

The greens were firm, generally large and undulating and difficult to read pace and line, as evidenced by 4 triple putts on the day! A few greens were patchy and perhaps infected but nevertheless played well!

Bunkers are numerous, large, deep and well sanded.

The standard weekday green fee is £18. However, an over 60s rate of £13 is available on Thursdays! An excellent vfm option for us vets!

The course is administered from a port-a-cabin type arrangement. Adjacent to this is a basic kitchen/dining area. Hot food was not scheduled to be available on Mondays, but due to a society booking the kitchen was open for hot food. I had a nice pre-game toasted fried egg sandwich! Catering availability finishes at about 13.30pm. There is however a coffee/tea machine and sandwiches and confectionery available.

I first played the course a couple of times in 2012 but hadn't played it since largely due to a 'prejudice' about the lack of 'proper' facilities; particularly the absence of decent post game refreshment options. There is no alcohol licence held so no beers available! We finished in time top have a post game coffee but nothing else!

Back in 2012 I though the general design/layout of the course was good, with many challenging holes, risk/reward choices to make and 5 lovely par 3s. My concern was always that I couldn't be certain, based on a perception of lower utilisation/revenues, that the course maintenance would be poorer. However, on this occasion my previously held view was unjustified. The course was infinitely in better playing condition throughout than many pay and pay and members courses I've recently played.

While I generally look to play 'new' green fee courses during the winter months outside of my Cherry Lodge play, I'd have no reservations about playing here again on an ad-hoc basis, especially on the Thursdays seniors rate.

Milford GC is a par 69/par 68 parkland style course near Godalming, Surrey.

The course is part of the Crown Golf portfolio of courses. A proprietary style pay and pay club with a playing membership.

The course is a par 68 5,521 yards from the forward Yellow tees. it opended in 1993 and is a Peter Alliss & Clive Clark design.

There are 5 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 1 par 5. The additional par 5 applies to the White tees.

The course is currently bounded by the railway and 3 holes are currently across the adjacent main road, ie the 9th, 10th and 11th.

However, the land upon which holes 9 to 11 has been sold and work is currently underway to reconfigure the course to include 3 new holes. The modified course layout is expected to be in place next September 2019. The club professional comments that he expects the new layout to be a big improvement to the current layout. I look forward to playing the new layout in due course!

To accommodate the course modification works in progress, holes 5 - 16 have been renumbered holes 6 - 17, hole 17 is temporarily OOU and and a temporary short par 3 5th hole is now in use using temporary mats for tees. A minor inconvenience while the development takes place!

The weather was awful at times but the course was a pleasure to play. Many of the par 4s are long and difficult challenges, eg the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 11th, 12th and 14th. The par 3 7th, 9th, 13th and 16th are very challenging par 3s.

In conclusion, the tee shot on the par 5 18th hole is by far the most daunting for us medium hitters, involving a choice of three possible driving lines/options; is a shorter carry through a gap over the lake, a carry over a bank of high trees or a longer carry over another gap to the right of the trees. For the fun of it I chose the more difficult option and only just made the carry in winter cold/wet air conditions.

When discussing my game at Milford with the Cherry Lodge club professional he remarked instantly that the 18th tee shot was the most challenging on the course!

The 'off season' visitor green fee was £20. Good vfm!

The staff at the course were very helpful.

I enjoyed an excellent pre-game breakfast bacon and eggs muffin. Post match catering was limited to a toasted sandwich, due to catering staff being engaged servicing a function (ie a wake). Not a good scenario given that we had finished ahead of the usual kitchen closing time!

I look forward to an opportunity to play the course again next year, preferably under dry conditions, and again thereafter when the modified course comes into play.

An excellent venue!

South Winchester GC is a par 72 inland links style course outside of Winchester, Hampshire. It is a proprietary pay & play/members club which is part of the Crown Golf portfolio of courses.

The course was designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark (? when?).

The course meanders through/round numerous 'artificial' looking hillocks/mounds. There are 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 4 par 5s, ie a conventionally structured layout. The course is long, with Blue, White and Yellow men's tee boxes.

The Blue back tees play at 7,086 on the card, wheres the Yellow forward tees, which we played, were a mere 6,485 yards.

Four of the par 4s, ie holes 4, 9, 13 & 15, were in excess of 400 yards and 2 of the par 5s, were over 500 yards. The layout and topography of the course means that us moderate hitters found the course play a lot longer than its simple card yardage. The SSS is 71.

The course meanders away left from high above the clubhouse, returns back to the 9th green outside the clubhouse, then after a significant upward change of level to the 10th tee, meanders around to return down a par 5 dogleg left to the 18th green directly below the clubhouse verandah.

Apart from the two climbs up to the 1st and 10th tees at the clubhouse, the course is a moderately undulating walk.

The course fairways are firm, generally wide beyond some challenging carries on some holes, are slopey in places and some have some large bunkers bordering the fairway edges. The sand was generally in good condition.

A significant downside, both visually and having an actual impact on some holes, was the large number of damaged fairways/banks, caused by voracious crows!!! Whille patching was underway the extent of damage was extensive!

All of the par 3s involved tee shots hitting down from varying degrees of height. Just the way I like par 3s to look; ie you can see the pins/ball go in if you 'hole in one'!

The greens are generally very large and undulating. While putting lines were generally OK to read I struggled with their pace; some were very fast whilst others were the opposite. I three putted on six occasions, of which one was a good birdie opportunity and two were birdie longshots!

This is a course which is either particularly suited to players who are predominantly straight off the tee or the other type of hitter who simply bombs the ball over the potential trouble! The Brian Scott's of the golfing world would take the course apart unless playing off the back tees.

The pro shop staff were very helpful/welcoming.

We had a late morning tee time so were unable to sample the club catering. Arrived too late for a breakfast/lunch and the kitchen closed whilst we were still out on the course.

The bar appeared to be limited in size/narrow but they do have some high backed arm chairs in front of a an open wood fire.

The course is about a 90 minute drive from South West London via the M3. OK in daylight but not so pleasant returning in the dark! Come back summer!

I was a members guest and paid the £30 guest rate. Perhaps a little more than a simple pensioner would want to pay but OK for the workers!

I had an enjoyable day on the course among very good company, ie Brian, John and Brigitte. I look forward to another opportunity to play it but in the summertime when its at its best.

Finally I think the club website, at least the phone version, was not very informative, eg no background history, no scorecard details and no hole flyovers.

Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, is located on the outskirts of Killarney Town, Co. Kerry, Ireland. It is a stay and play style golfing resort, largely targeted at the American and UK golf market.

There are two 18 hole courses and a 9 hole course. The Mahony's Point course is the 'junior' of the two 18 hole courses.

The Killeen Course is the 'senior' course having been a venue for the Irish Open on several occasions. It is ranked number 41 in the top 100 Irish golf courses.

The Mahony's Point course is a par 72 parkland style course, xxx yards from the ????? tees, comprising a conventional hole configuration, ie 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 4 par 5s. Mahoney's Point is ranked number 83 in the top 100 Irish courses.

The Mahony's Point course is very challenging to the club golfer, though the landing areas from the par 4/par 5 tees are more generous than they appear standing over your tee shots. The main difficulties for us visitors is that the fairways are/were not cut as tight as the London/South East England courses have been during the summer, so it was difficult on occasions firstly to clearly identity fairways from the first cut of rough, and consequently the ball either didn't run on after landing or ran through into the rough. I doubt if I found the fairways more than half a dozen times out of 14 drives! Also it was a bright/cold windy day following heavy overnight rain so the carry on the ball was much less. A rapid adjustment to ones club selection/playing strategy was required and I didn't adjust my game well enough. A good lesson in anticipation of the next time!

The greens, whilst generally large, undulating and tricky, were not at their best following verti-draining/light sanding within the previous 10 days or so, so the judgement of lines and pace was challenging.

The Mahony's Point course is surrounded by wonderful vistas of the famous MacGillicuddy Reeks mountains , and while most of the course is inland parkland, the 16th, 17th and 18th holes meander around the Killarney Lake back towards the clubhouse.

There is a lovely halfway house located at a point where the Killeen and Mahony's Point courses meet, at the 10th tee boxes.

I played in early October during the first week of their off-season rates. The Mahoney's Point green fees were 55 Euro reduced from about 80 Euro. whilst the Killeen Course green fee was 80 Euro reduced from about 120 Euro. I played the Mahony's Point course in preference due to the fact that there were more available tee times due to a couple of stay and play societies booked to play the Killeen course.

The course is generally in very good playing condition, and whilst challenging is not too onerous!

A negative factor is the complete absence of any 'on tee' diagramatic 'hole maps' though course planners were available to purchase.

Catering options were excellent, good quality and reasonably priced. I particularly enjoyed their fish chowder and brown soda bread.

While the course had operated one of the larger proshops in Ireland, it was in the process of being dismantled due to the 'long serving' club professional leaving over operational differences between him and the club management. Apparently he actually owned all of the internal shop fittings and all of the non-club branded golf clothing and equipment and was taking them with him! Hopefully a new club shop will appear again soon!

I clearly want to play the Killeen Course next time I'm in Co. Kerry but I would also love to play this again. An excellent society venue!

Killorglin GC is a par 71 parkland style outside Killorglin town, Co. Kerry, Ireland. It's about 30 minutes drive southwest of Killarney Town.

The course is 6,411 metres from the white tees, and comprises 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 4 par 5s.

The clubhouse sits high above the course with wonderful vistas over the Kerry Mountains and sea inlet. The fairways are lush and are kept longer than is good for ones best performance; given that drives don't carry as much in the fresher air conditions and there is little or no forward momentum upon landing. The course plays significantly longer in practice than the course/card yardages! I played the course on a windy day and this exacerbated the difficulty on what is already a challenging course layout.

Such bunkers that existed were mainly only reachable by the longer hitters! However the greens were generally well covered by awkwardly placed bunkers.

Fairways are moderately treelined. It was difficult to find the fairways off the tees plus I had a day where about a quarter of my tee shots pulled left into trouble.

The greens are mainly raised; are undulating and tricky to read; first time of asking. Pace and movement was difficult!

I played the course in dry windy conditions following on from persistent overnight rain. The course was in very good condition considering but I consider that even so the fairways should be cut shorter and should be more defined even at this time of year!

Course usage was very low on the day I played!

The pro shop was fairly minimal for a members golf club but the staff were helpful. I also had a post game full Irish breakfast for only 10 Euro, ie 2 of everything; toast, fried eggs, sausages, rashers, tomatoes, has browns, black 7 white puddings; and a pot of tea. Excellent quality and vfm.

The club is a local community based members club, with green fees significantly below their more prestigous county neighbouring clubs; eg Waterville, Hogs Head, Dooks, Killarney, Tralee; Ring of Kerry etc. I payed only 25 Euro at Killorglin. A reasonable rate.

I struggled with the playing conditions on the day and felt that the club's course maintenance policy doesn't operate in favour of the players requirements, however, I nevertheless thought the course was a good challenge and I enjoyed it very much. I would like to play it again on another occasion, perhaps during an extended visit; but certainly as a fallback option if other courses were not available.

Croham Hurst GC is a members club located a couple of miles from central Croydon; Surrey. There are wonderful views of the Croydon skyscraper skyline from numerous parts of the course.

The club was formeed in 1911 and the current 18 holes opened in 1913. The course was designed and built by James Braid and Frederick Hawtree.

It is a par 71 parkland style course; built on chalk the course is stated to drain well and offer year round golf.

There are 5 par 3s, 9 par 4s and 4 par 5s. The course is 6,094 yards off the yellow (visitors) tees. The SSS of 69 indicates that you are expected to score 2 shots lower than par plus your handicap, to be 'playing to handicap'.

The 1st hole plays directly away from the clubhouse; returns back to the 10th green; then loops away up from the 11th tee and returns via the downhill par 5 18th.

The opening two par 4s were demanding, at least I found them to be so; more due to their steady uphill nature which makes them play much longer than simple yardage suggests.

The par 3s are a mixture of short, medium and long tee shots; the 175 yards 11th and the 205 yards downhill 16th, being perhaps the two most challenging.

The par 4s and par 5s were broad mixture of 'easier' and difficult challenges. Fairway bunkers were awkwardly placed for us medium long hitters off the tee.

The greens were generally very large and well guarded by deep and numerous greenside bunkers. That said the sand in the bunkers was good to get out from! The greens were in good condition but hadn't recovered fully from a recent spiking/sanding.

Costs
Summer weekday visitor green fees are £50 before noon and £35 after 12 noon; or £20 twilight rate after 4pm. The members guest rate is £25 and the weekday County Card rate is £30.

In terms of fees paid, I manager to win a 4 ball voucher via a post event TSG charity auction process that was below the twilight rate per person. In those terms than tremendous vfm. However, while among our 4 ball group there was an opinion that £50/£35 were not unreasonable to pay for this quality of course; whilst I would love to play the course again very soon; and as a retired person; I wouldn't be prepared to pay more than the County Card rate.

The club professional was very helpful; the catering was good, though service seemed a bit haphazard.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable course to play. On the negative side the quality of green to next tee signage is not good; such signs that do exist are very small and difficult to read because they are too far away from the point where a rerouting is required.

This is a course that should be on your list of courses to play. There are however, two further downsides to the club; (1) they only have 4 buggies for hire at what is a moderately undulating course, and (2) car parking space is limited.

Faversham GC is a par 70 parkland style course located in Belmont Park, a few miles outside Faversham, Kent.

Access to the course is via a couple of narrow largely single track lanes with limited passing lay-by's. Be ready for a possible standoff or two!

The club was founded in 1902 as a 9 holer, and was relocated to its present location in 1911. The course was extended to 18 holes in the 1920s.

The course comprises 4 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 2 par 5s.

The course is a real challenge to the club golfer. There are tricky slopes, large undulating greens, blind approaches, well placed fairway bunkers, and green-side bunkers, including several greens totally surrounded by bunkers. Whilst the course was generally in very good condition given the hot summer and recent rains; unfortunately the greens are not at their best not having recovered from recent spiking/sanding.

The par 4 6th (Punchbowl) and par 3 16th (Porter's Folly) were particularly tricky blind/semi blind approaches to relatively small greens.

The clubhouse is relatively modern being built in 1997. The clubhouse was opened by their club member and Tour Professional, Roger Chapman; of US Seniors Open fame. Former Curtis Cup player Micky Walker, is also associated with the club.

I wouldn't describe this as a 'hidden gem' course but nevertheless it is a little out of the way vis a vis South West London, but it is a a course I feel fellow TSGers would not be disappointed with!

There is a lovely 'half way' house adjacent to the 7th tees and 12th green.

Visitor green fees are £ 38 or £30 with a County Card. Weekday/weekend member guest rates are £25/£29 respectively.

I had the honour to represent Cherry Lodge GC Vet's in the Kent Vet's League Club Pairs betterball competition with Dennis Shipp (9 handicapper). We scored 39 points. The winning score was 42 points, achieved by the Faversham GC 'home' pair on countback. Local knowledge obviously helps! Only 7 of the 48 club pairs scored better than Dennis and I.

This was a truly vfm game as the competition entry fee of £20 per player, for the pre-match coffee/bacon bap, 18 holes and two course meal, is refundable by our CLGC Vet's!

Apart from the condition of the greens, the unavailability of a course planner/shotsaver was a big disappointment, which was compounded by the absence 'hole diagrams' on any of the tee boxes.

Sandy lodge GC is a par 71 heathland/inland links style course in Northwood, Hertfordshire; close to its famous neighbour Moor Park.

The club was formed in 1911, designed by the renowned course designer/champion Harry Vardon.

There are 6 par 3s, 7 par 4s and 5 par 5s. The course is 6,297 yards off the white members/championship tees.

The course is links style with numerous deep fairway and greenside bunkers. Some of the tallest bunkers are lined by railway sleepers and are visually intimidating.

This is regarded as one of the prestigious courses in the county.

The practice greens and chipping areas in front of the clubhouse are probably the biggest and best quality you will encounter!

There is an excellent halfway house located adjacent to the 11th green / 12th tee box.

Fairways were generally generous but severe trouble awaited the wayward tee shots. OOB was in play on at least six of the holes.

The course is a very comfortable walk. Only one steep uphill walk from the tee to the par 3 18th green.

The greens were very large and undulating and in excellent condition though playing a little slower in pace than my home course Cherry Lodge. I managed 8 single putts during my round!

All of the par 3s were visually and technically challenging!

The bunkers, whilst being very wet on the day, were in excellent condition and I managed to extricate myself first time from the four greenside bunkers I put myself in!

This is a quality course which I'll endeavour to play again and can recommend it to fellow TSGers. However, unless a good deal is available; there are better priced options for courses of equal quality.

Visitor green fees are £65 (Mondays to Thursdays) and there is a £50 County Card rate. Members guest rates are £35 Mondays to Thursdays and £40 Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

I played the course by entering their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition. The entry fee of £45 included coffee, 18 holes, a two course carvery meal, coffee and prizes. A great vfm way to play the course!

The club members and officials and professional staff were excellent hosts. The catering service and meal was excellent also.

The only thing to spoil our day was the persistent rain throughout our round as it affected the ground conditions for distance and ball striking.

Epsom GC is a par 70 downland course located on Epsom Downs in Surrey, adjacent to it's famous race course.

The course crosses busy local roads in several places. The 15th hole adjoins a busy roundabout.

Played off the yellow tees the course is 5,490 yards, comprising 4 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 2 par 5s.

The club was founded in 1889.

A feature of the course is the absence bunkers until the 18th. The approach to the 18th green was the most intimidating from whatever angle.

The 3rd and 12th are long par 3s.

The course is a course of gentle undulations; and was in excellent condition. Greens are generally enormous with tricky undulations and borrows.

Visitor weekday green fees are £29 or £35 weekends; or £20 as a members guest.
The club also offers a Monday morning special rate after 11.00 am. Reasonable vfm.

However I have entered the club's Seniors Open Stableford Competiation and the club kindly sent me a practice round voucher enabling a 4 ball play for £15 each. Truly excellent vfm.

The pre competition practice round was an eye opener and should be of great help facing my upcoming competition.

The staff were very welcoming and helpful.

A downside is that the bar and catering services are not available until 11.00 so a prematch breakfast is out of the question. However the post game food was excellent.

Although living only about 30 minutes from this course I had not found a way to play it for whatever reason. This has been a pleasure idiotically foregone. I look forward to playing it again very soon.

Rowlands Castle, in idyllic Hampshire, not far from the hustle and bustle of Portsmouth and the A27/M27.

This is a par 72 parkland style course. There are 3 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 3 par 5s. Played off the yellow tees the course is 6,398 yards.

The course was formed in 1902 and designed by Harry Colt.

Visitor green fees are £45 weekday and £55 on Sundays/bank holidays. No mention of County Card rates on their website!

I got to play the course for the first time by entering their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition. The £38 entry fee included coffee, 18 holes, a two course meal/cogffee and prizes. A great vfm way to play the course.

As at July 2018, the fairways were hard and fast moving, especially those with severe slopes. Trouble awaiting 'wild' or over-clubbed shots. There were challenging doglegs and ditches or OOB hazards. The greens by contrast were lush green though not as fast a pace as I would have liked.

The three par 3s were good without being unreasonably difficult. By chance I won the two nearest the pin challenges on the 2nd and 14th holes for two bottles of Pimms, but no birdies.

The par 4 4th and the par 5 17th were the most difficult holes because of ditches and OOB hazards. The lateral ditches were narrow and deep and unplayable out of!

This was a round of highs and lows; the lows being three offline drives all resulting in penalties. However, all in all this was a very enjoyable course to play and I would be very happy to play it again, possibly in next years competition. However, I wouldn't pay their 'full' visitor rates. However, I would say that of most golf courses.

The club hospitality, organisers, members/marshals etc was excellent and the food/catering also excellent.

Their website could be a lot more customer friendly for visitors!

Reading GC is a parkland course close to the city centre; Reading Berkshire.

The course was designed by James Braid in 1910 and later enhancements were made by Harry Colt in the aftermath of WW1 and a further redesign by Philip Mackenzie Ross in the 1930s; in order to reduce its severity.

The course is a par 70;ie 4 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 2 par 5s. It is 6,094 yards from the yellow tees.

The round starts gently with 4 straight par 4s however the course terrain changes dramatically at the par 4 5th; sweeping down from high left to right to a bunkered fairway way below. This is followed by a short but steep blind uphill tee shot to the par 3 6th.

The course then meanders up / down / round a scenic valley until it resurfaces via a blind uphill tee shot on the par 4 16th hole; bringing the course up to a level for the 16th green and the final two holes. ( make sure you don't hit the line of sight marker pole! )

In this hot summer the fairways were dry; firm and long running. In contrast the greens /aprons were well watered.

The greens were excellent but I couldn't muster a single 1 putt; making 17 2 putts. In contrast my playing partners Anna Guss and Lee Benson found holing putts very easy!

Most of the fairways are tree lined; some with severe slopes; but landing areas are generous. Unfortunately a few of my drives ended up in trouble. I put this down to tiredness after playing 5 days in a row.

There was a challenge with the 10th tee shot over a high hedgerow.

The 4 par 3s were very challenging although of only short to medium length. Landing in a greenside bunker was not necessarily a bad result.

The hospitality was good. However I was unable to enjoy any hot food because of our afternoon tee time.

A £21 green fee was excellent vfm for a Saturday afternoon.

All in all this was a really enjoyable course to play.

The only negative about the course was that the club car park wasn't very big.

Benton Hall GC is a par 71 parkland course in Witham, near Chelmsford, Essex. There are 4 par 4s, 11 par 4s, and 3 par 5s.

There are many elevation changes; with many having severe slopes from right to left or vice versa. There are many blind shots. The punishment for any 'marginally' offline tee shot or approach shot can be very severe. The layout of the fairways/general topography of the course can be very unfair to the general club golfer; however many of the holes are enjoyable. the par 3s are a real challenge.

I played the course as an Epping Bandits society game, at £25, including prize monies. The usual visitor green fee seems to be £25. Very reasonable for this quality of course.

Sheringham GC is a par 70 clifftop course on the North Norfolk Coast. The course was originally founded in 1891 as a 9 holer and later extended in 1889 to 18 holes.Tom Dunn is the credited designer of the original 9 holes but the extension doesn't seem to have been accredited to a specific designer.

The course is 6,251 yards from the white (competition) tees. There are 4 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 2 par 5s. Many of the front 9 holes stretch along the clifftop away from the clubhouse and there is a turn about for the return holes back parallel towards the clubhouse. The last 4 holes are bounded by the North Norfolk Railway; a combination of 2 coach diesel trains and a steam train heritage service. A nice distraction so long as you remember that out of bounds is a real danger to your tee shots for the sliced drive!

The fairways are links style in appearance and behaviour. They are beset with many deep pot bunkers and many of the holes are bounded by heavy gorse style bushes. There is a huge crater on the right hand side of the par 5 second hole; definately within reach for the bigger hitters!

The greens were generally large, well watered and with plenty of borrow and medium to fast pace. The long putts were hard to lag close to the pins and the medium length putts were tricky to read. I personally had 4 birdie putts of between 10 and 20 feet; including a nearest the pin winner, and didn't get a birdie.

My achilles heel however was the difficulties of the pot bunkers. I put 4 approach shots into green side bunkers and ended up with 4 blobs. The sand was either very hard under the ball or their was too much sand piled up. My other blob resulted from a tee shot down the left rolling about 50 yards into a pot bunkers from the left side of the fairway to the right had side.

The difficulties of the course is not just illustrated by my travails! One of my playing partners, a 17 handicapper; opended his round with 4 straight pars scoring 12 points; only to finish on a total of only 17 points; ie 5 points covering the remaining 14 holes.

The course involves numberous changes in elevation but none were too severe; though there are a small number of blind shots

The winning score, by a 16 handicapper was 38 points; a creditable achievement. Seconjd and 3rd were 37 and 36 points respectively.

This is a wonderful golfing challenge/experience. I'm sure that my new found local course knowledge should lead me to shave about 10 shots off my gross score on a future occasion; but you never know with this type of course!

I got to play the course by entering their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition. The competition entry fee included coffee, 18 holes, half way house refreshments, a two course post match meal, coffee and prizes. Excellent vfm. By comparison their visitor green fees are £85 per day and £65 after 1.30pm, between May and September. Much overpriced on that basis!

The welcome from staff and members was excellent. Food was also of excellent quality.

The only negative about the day was that the pace of play for us afternoon starters was very slow to begin with. Even with a 10 minute interval for a three ball starts; there were serious waits. I put this down to the fact that many of the holes had down slopes and many of the longer hitting golfers waited for greens to clear before making their approach shots; even when they were unlikely to reach.

The Nicklaus course at the St Mellion golf resort; Saltash, Cornwall; is the signature course having been designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus himself.

The course opened in 1988. Jack Nicklaus & Tom Watson played Nick Faldo & Sandy Lyle in the inaugural match.

For the six years 1990-1995 the course staged the B & H International Open ; with Olazabal, Langer and Ballesteros among the winners.

The course is a par 72, 6,284 yards off the yellow tees. There are 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 4 par 5s.

The course was constructed through some very severe terrain; with many changes in elevation; tight driving lines; severe overhangs and heavy rough to avoid.

The Nicklaus substantially encircles the Kernow course except for the 17th and 18th holes which approach up to the clubhouse through the middle of the Kernow course.

This is a truly iconic scenic layout of extreme difficulty and great enjoyment. However it is a challenging walk especially up from greens to high tees even with the use of a buggy.

Playing the Nicklaus course following on from the Kernow course was not the most sensible way to maximise performance potential.

Given the course difficulty I was pleased that my gross score was only +5 shots above my club handicap.

A couple of bad shots proved to be my undoing. Unfortunately I let my ego get the better of me on the par 4 5th hole using a 3w instead of driver and failing to carry the water hazard. Stick to ones normal reliable game!

This is one of the best courses I'm ever likely to play.

Thurlestone GC is a clifftop course located along the Bigbury Bay coastline; South Hams; Devon.

The course dates back to 1897 and was designed by JH Taylor and Harry S Colt.

The course is generally exposed but has some links style features; gorse bushes; pot bunkers etc.

An intimidating risk/reward 'reachable ' opening par 4 hole gets the round going.

The par 3s are very tough especially in windy conditions; 2 are long and 2 two are surrounded by pot bunkers (8 & 9 respectively).

While the fairways are generally large the rough is penal.

Unfortunately 4 holes proved extremely troublesome to mar what could; and should have been a respectable first round at the course.

The course is either a par 71 or par 70; depending on which tee box was used on the 18th hole. We played the 5,981 yards par 70; SSS 69.

There are 5 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 3 par 5s. All the par 5s are on the back 9.

The club was extremely hospitable; complimentary coffee on arrival. The prematch breakfast/lunch was good quality and value.

This was the first game of four on the SES mini bank holiday tour. An excellent venue choice.

Kings Lynn GC is a scenic parkland course on the outskirts of Kings Lynn, Norfolk.

The original course was established in 1923 designed by James Braid. However in 1975 the club relocated to its present site. The current course was designed by the Peter Alliss / Dave Thomas partnership; their first design!

The course is a par 72, 6,609 yards of the white championship tees. There are 3 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 3 par 5s.

The course was in magnificent condition but due to the recent weather conditions was still operating winter rules.

The course involves many elevation changes; many downhill; doglegs, pot bunkers etc. The tee shots off the par 4s /5s were much more intimidating than off the yellow tees. The CSS on the day was 75; ie +3 over par; which reflects the course difficulty. The winning score was 38 points.

Visitor green fees for May to October are £65 / £75 respectively for midweek / Sunday. I entered the club's annual Seniors Open Competition in order to get the opportunity to play the course. The entry fee was £40 including coffee, 18 holes, a two course meal, coffee and prizes. Great vfm!


All in all a great venue for golf.

The club officials and staff were very welcoming. Good food also!

Bramshaw GC is located in Brook; in the New Forest, Hampshire. There are two courses here; (1) the Manor and (2) the Forest. This review relates to the Forest course which was played on Saturday 5th May.

The Forest is a par 69 (SSS 67), heathland style course, 5,554 yards off the yellow tees. It is the oldest course in Hampshire; built in 1865 and becoming Bramshaw GC in 1880.

The course and a car park are located about a minutes drive away from the main clubhouse and car park.

As the Forest course is located within the New Forest National Park the club are only permitted to maintain the course tee boxes and greens. Ponies, cattle and deer roam and graze on the fairways and rough. They are completely unfazed by the presence of golfers.

A feature on the course is that several of the greens are surrounded by a ring of vertical posts supported by horizontal wiring in order to prevent the grazing animals from damaging the greens. Some of the smaller animals are nevertheless able to breach the defences. A local rule covers what happens if you hit the poles with your approach shots; eg replay the shot or play it as it lies.

However the reason for my retinence about this course is because there is very wet conditions on a number of the holes; most notably the 1st, 3rd and 4th; where the conditions underfoot because of the animal hoofprints; were unplayable.

From about the 5th hole the condition of the course was much improved though fairways were a little soft significantly affecting distances off the tee.

There are some challenging holes to negotiate; with blind greens approached over water.

Although the SSS suggests otherwise it is a challenging course. The playability of the course is too much weather dependent and also too much subject to the luck; or not so lucky; bounce of the ball. For the medium handicap player the nature of the course obliges a defensive /negative approach in order to avoid the perils around the greens. Not an approach I like to take as a rule!

Having now played the course for a second time about two weeks after the first time the course was in better condition and playability because of the improved weather situation. However the early holes are still wet / soft underfoot in places. The course could do with a bit of a rolling to smooth out the dried out hoof marks!

In conclusion I consider the Forest course to be the least enjoyable of the two Bramshaw courses and I'd rather play the Manor course twice instead of playing each; though my retinence would not preclude me from playing it again in an appropriate situation.

However there has been a course modification which has much improved the course layout; ie the 4th has been reduced to a par 3 (from a par 4) while the 15th (ex par 3) has been rerouted to a new green as a par 4. No overall change to the total par for the course. No material change of opinion about the course either!

West Surrey is a 6,482 yards (whites ) par 71 parkland course near Godalming, Surrey. The SSS is 72. The course was designed by Herbert Fowler in 1910. He is also the creator of the more famous Walton Heath.

The course comprises 4 par 3s, 11 par 4s and 3 par 5s. The par 3s were visually exciting and all greens were guarded by deep pot bunkers. There are 3 very long par 4s, indexes 1, 3 & 5, on the front 9.

The course vistas are stunning on many of the holes. There is plenty of room off most of the tees but wayward shots end in trouble. Fairways are in wonderful condition. Tee boxes are immense and perfectly manicured.

The USGA spec greens were in excellent condition; are generally large and much deeper than appears. Many were multilevelled and were seriously undulating. Tricky!

The course has recently been renovated on 4 holes; ie the 1st; 2nd, 12th and 18th, with more improvements to come. If you haven't played the course before; (which I hadn't); you wouldn't have been able to spot the changes. If only Cherry Lodge had such resources!

Nev and Paul were spot on!

Midweek/weekend visitor green fees are £ 70 / £85 respectively or £50 with a County Card (prebooked). I played the course at a total cost of £45, including coffee, 18 holes and a 2 course carvery lunch, by entering their Seniors Open Competition. Great vfm way to get to play such a great course. Play it if you can!

Having played, and enjoyed, the Warley course previously a few years ago (holes 1 - 18); the TSG Masters was played in April 2018; this time over the Childerditch 9 holes plus the Warley holes 1-9 .

While the club hosted our event wonderfully I was very disappointed to find that we were allocated the Childerditch course among our 18 holes given the very poor state of the course fairways and rough. The greens were however in a very acceptable condition.

While understanding that the very wet conditions of recent weeks makes on course maintenance difficult; it seemed to me that the club had made no effort to mow the fairways or rough areas to an expected condition during the recent week or so of good dry weather. The effect being to turn what is otherwise a good/fair challenging course into an unedifying unnecessary slog over the hilliest part of the course. Many times I found myself pushing my electric trolley through the many uphill areas because the trolley motor couldn't cope with the extra drag caused by the long wet clinging grass.

Clearly some of our group played and scored well despite the above. All credit to those. Unfortunately on the day I allowed my disappointment in the course conditions to adversely affect my performance.

Finally the biggest bugbear for me. Petty perhaps but why can't they use separate scorecards for each of the three course combinations? Much easier for recording scoring. Having 27 holes on the card is unnecessarily finicky. Also why don't they name each of the 9 holes more sensibly; eg Blue, Red, Yellow ( a la Farleigh GC ).

Despite the above gripes it was an enjoyable day among great company both within our 4 ball and of the whole TSG fraternity.
Cheers
Michael

Eastbourne Downs is a course I was not aware of before getting to play it. It was played instead of Seaford GC. Our original game, organised by the Pine Tree Society and posted on the TSG site by their organiser Roger Ackerman, had to be switched at very short notice because Seaford became carry only after heavy overnight rain. Although Eastbourne Downs had four temporary greens in use the general condition of the course was good and the greens in use were firm but bumpy. There were many temporary tee boxes in use. The mats here were not in good condition [I and one of my playing partners lost our footing a couple of times] and were a little on the small side. Hard to be over critical here as many courses will be using temporary tee boxes in this weather including my own Cherry Lodge, but knowing that they may be required at times they ought to have been in better condition, and should be larger.

The course is a par 72 downland course located high above Eastbourne with spectacular views of the town and English Channel below; though the mind should be focused on the course not the views. There are 3 par 3s, 12 par 4s and 3 par 5s. The SSS is 70.

The challenge of the course is a good one but can obviously be affected by the 'winds of the day' situation. After all of the overnight rains, we had a bright, dry and moderately windy day. Perfectly playable only spoilt by the four temporary greens. Many of the greens, as with many seaside courses, were raised and protected by raised banking surrounds.

Although high above the town the course itself is a relatively easy waking course, no serious uphill climbs and many downhill holes.

The green fee paid was £20 including prize fund monies, (golf only was probably about £15), very good VFM.

The club and pro-shop staff were very hospitable and welcoming, especially given our change of venue situation. However, as with my club Cherry Lodge, the winter kitchen closure time for hot food was at 3pm, so I was unable to sample their hot food, though I understand from Mr Attard, that breakfast was very good. However their cake was excellent!

I enjoyed the day very much and look forward to playing it again with all tee boxes and greens in use.

Mardyke Valley GC is a par 70 parkland course in South Ockendon, Essex.

From the visitors yellow tees the SSS is 3 shots less than par at 66 whereas is was SSS70 from the white tees, about a 500 yards difference.

The pluses for the course are that there is a wonderful array of challenging holes, the greens and bunkers were in excellent condition. The 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 12th, and 18th are challenging holes and the 15th, 16th and 17th especially so.

A negative about the course is that that some of the hole indexes are not relating to difficulty. A criticism I also hold about my home club Cherry Lodge.

The most disappointing thing about the course is that the fairways had not been cut to the point that at times it was impossible to differentiate between fairways and the light rough. This must be policy as there were an adequate number of maintenance staff out on the course doing anything but mowing duties.

I've played it several times but not when its been in its best condition.

The golf only green fee was £15, excellent vfm.

Catering was good in terms of quality and vfm.

Mitcham GC is a par 69, 5,931 yards parkland proprietary club in Mitcham Surrey. The course was founded in 1891 and designed by the legendary Tom Morris. The SSS for the course is only 67.

The course is located adjacent to the Mitcham Junction tram and main rail stations. The course is bounded by two unfenced main roads, ie Croydon Road and Beddington Lane, necessitating extreme caution of the 4th and 13th tees in particular.

The course is divided by the Croydon Tramlink rail line where holes 6-9 are formed of a four hole loop of quirky composition and where the 9th tee shot is adjacent to the rail track .

The fairways are generally firm but are very undulating and given to awkward bounces turning seemingly good tee shots into nightmares. Trees, ditches, and long grass abound.

The course is a very level walk with no serious changes in course elevation though many of the greens are raised. The course lacks a WOW element but that said the 2nd, 5th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th and 17th are very challenging holes.

I first played the course about 30 years ago and the greens were excellent then and are still in excellent condition now. Some adhoc animal hoof marks on most of the greens were an unavoidable factor.

The quirkiness of the course comes from the fact that some of the tee shots criss-cross over fairways of other holes but also the four hole loop and the close proximity of tees to greens have a safety impact on pace of play priority etc.

The clubhouse is enjoyable and catering is OK.

Given a choice on nearby pay and pay proprietary courses I would much prefer to play Oaks Parks, Richmond Park, Hampton Court Palace or Surrey Downs ahead of Mitcham but it is a good fall back option for a society or for a once a year venue.

The South East Swing group paid a £30 green fee. Reasonable for a weekend but midweek should be much cheaper/better vfm.

This is a classic case of a course which could do with a layout redesign for safety reasons but the resources will probably never be available to the club for such an enterprise.

Play it and judge for yourself.

Burnham Beeches is a members club in the village of the same name, near Slough, Buckinghamshire. The club claim it to be the best in the county. Woburn may dispute this! It was established in 1891 and designed by the legendary J H Taylor. Many illustrious golfers have played the course.

The course is a par 70 parkland style course, intensely tree lined and well bunkered. However, while there are numerous blind and dogleg tee shots the fairway landing areas are generally generous and only very wayward tee shots should end in trouble.

Played in September 2017, their par 3 6th green is being rebuilt at vast expense and a temporary card is in place with a temporary short par 3 9th hole taking its place, whilst holes 7, 8 & 9 move down one respectively. The temporary 9th hole is still a bonafide challenge but the course will be all the better when the 6th hole is reinstated.

The par 3 10th hole is a visually intimidating carry over a wide and deep cross bunker in front of the green with vertical railway sleepers propping up the bunker. Avoid! The index 3 par 4 14th is also pretty challenging.

The course was generally in good condition but after a night of intense overnight rain, 'clean and place' on the fairways was in operation. There were parts of the course walking to and to the side of the fairways `that were squelchy which doesn't bode well for the condition of the course throughout the winter.

The greens were generally large, undulating and well guarded by deep bunkers front and side. The pace of the greens were moderate causing judgement of speed problems on the longer putts.

Midweek visitor green fees are £60, £25 with a member or £30 with a County Card.

I played the course by entering their annual 'visitors only' Seniors Open Stableford Cometition. The competition entry fee was £40, including a wonderful bacon roll and coffee, 18 holes, a two course carvery, coffee and prizes. A great vfm way to play the course.

The club was very welcoming and the catering was excellent. Unlike Brigitte below, the coffee vending machine gobbled up my £1.20 but didn't deliver the coffee. The human touch is so much better!

I enjoyed the course very much and look forward to getting another chance to play it in the future, especially when the par 3 6th hole has been reinstated. However, it is not a £60 green fee quality course. Play it if you can get a deal or know a member.

The one downside is its location and the traffic problems encountered en route. Coming up the A3 I had to take a detour to avoid being stuck in a traffic jam following an accident and other competitors reported severe traffic delays on the London bound M4 again because of an accident. Easier for me to travel 90 minutes down to Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex than attempt this journey.

Abridge is a beautifully scenic parkland course in the Essex countryside. Built in 1962, designed by Henry Cotton. The course has hosted major amateur golf tournaments, including the South East Regional Open Qualifier.

There are three mens tees in use, ie white, blue and yellow. We played from the yellows.

The course is a standard par 72 layout, 6,188 yards from the yellow tees.

The course is in magnificent condition, there are significant elevation changes, the course is tree lined and doglegs to be negotiated. The par 3s are a challenge. Greens were undulating and tricky as were the fairway and greenside bunkers.

Midweek visitor green fees are £35 and £25 as a members guest. I played the course in March 2017, under the Epping Bandits, as organised by David Jacobs, and a green fee of only £20 was paid. Excellent VFM for such a high quality course.

Hospitality at the clubhouse was excellent as was the welcome by members. Culturally the club and its membership historically follows the Jewish faith so their catering fare is tailored accordingly.

This is a touch challenging course which I highly recommend.

West Byfleet GC is a par 70 parkland course in West Byfleet, near Woking Surrey. It is located close to Pyrford, Twisted Stone (oka Traditions) and Hoebridge golf clubs.

It is a traditional members course establishwed in 1903.

I played the 6,197 yards white tees. The course is in magnificent condition; the green were of various sizes and slopes and were difficult to read in terms of lines and pace. All tees are close to the previous greens so there is no excessive on course walking. There are 6 par 4s in excess of 400 yards.

The midweek visitor green fees are £55 or £35 with a County Card. I played the course by entering their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition. The competition entry fee included coffee, 18 holes, a two course lunch, coffee and prizes. A truly excellent VFM way to play the course.

There is a lovely halfway house a short walk from the clubhouse.

The competition was highly organised, ie the best I have encountered this year, involved a home club member grouped with three visitors, off a shotgun start. My host member was marvelous in terms of on course advise, playing quality, and hospitality.

This is a course I've known about for years, I have clubs in the bag bought from their pro-shop, and wanted an opportunity to play. I wasn't dissappointed but was instead very pleased. I hope to play it again soon, hopefully before next years competition, and I heartily recommend that you play it if you get a VFM opportunity.

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!!!

Chislehurst GC, founded in 1894, is an 18 hole members course within about 70 acres of parkland in the heart of Chislehurst. The course layout is attributed to Harry S Colt.

The course is only 5,106 yards from the white tees, a par 66 with an SSS of 65. Because of its small acreage, the course has an abundance of par 3s, ie 8, with only 8 par 4s and 2 par 5s. There are a number of holes where fairways criss-cross and also many tees are very adjacent to greens. At busy times this adversely impacts on the speed of play, as does also the par 3s.

There are numerous elevation changes and for such a small course it is a difficult uphill walk in places.

The course is in very good condition, greens are very undulating and tricky to read line and pace, especially for an adhoc player on the course. Greens, especially the par 3s, are surrounded by deep challenging bunkers.

Individually each hole is a very good golfing challenge however collectively the overall layout of the course with the excess of par 3s, does not appeal to me. The 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes are very difficult holes especially in a match play situation!

My club Cherry Lodge play Chislehurst annually in our home/away Kent Vet's League matches. The clubhouse is a grand house, ie Camden Place, which has great historical significance for which I have no personal interest. However, fortunately there is a very good rapport between the players of Chislehurst and Cherry Lodge and the venue is an imposing location for a convivial post match lunch after a very competitive pairs match.

The nature of the course layout gives the home members a very significant home advantage; they have a near 100% winning home record in recent years. Fortunately their team results away from home are not so strong! I'm very happy to play the course occasionally against their Vet's team but won't be rushing to play it again soon.

Midweek visitor green fees are £40 of £35 with a County Card. A bit overpriced! Luckily under our reciprocal league competition arrangments we simply pay a match fee to cover the cost of our pre-game coffee and post-game two course lunch.

Team golf is the best VFM way to get to play other good courses.

North Downs GC is a short par 69 parkland course in Woldingham, Surrey. It is only 5,815 yards from the whites and 5,520 yards from the yellows. It is 800 to 850 feet above sea level. It originally opened in 1899.

The course is in generally excellent condition, though fairways were a little lush in places. The rough is extremely penal. Provisional balls are required for any wayward looking tee shots.
Greens were very varied, undulating and well guarded by bunkers or sheer banking to at least one side of the hole.

The greens whilst in excellent looking condition were playing slow. Many of the greens had deep trouble for misses right or left. The front 9 is the less difficult 9; in terms of ease of walking and challenge. The back 9 is a much tougher, with difficult uphill elevation changes to navigate/endure. The par 3 16th hole is a tremendously difficult tee shot to hit the green.

North Downs is a very welcoming club. They have an excellent ambience about the club with excellent bar, catering and dining facilities. Our erstwhile SES co-organiser Gary Archer was observed tucking into a large pre-match full English breakfast so all seemed well on the catering front.

Weekday visitor green fees are £25 and £20 with a County Card. However they operate a £15 'golf only' green fee on Mondays, or £24 with coffee/bacon roll and a drink from the bar. Excellent VFM.

For me this course falls into the category of being a difficult but enjoyable golfing challenge but the severity of the elevation changes make it one that I would not be rushing back to play again unless part of an organised group day.

Clandon Regis is a 6,485 yards (off the whites) par 72 parkland course in West Clandon, Surrey, not far from Guildford.

The course ids a conventionally structured par 72. The SSS is par 72 indicating the assessed difficulty of the course. The yellow tees course is over 500 yards shorter than the whites but the SSS is three shots less at 69.
I had played the course once before on a Groupon cheap two-ball voucher so I was looking forward to playing it again. On this occasion I played it by entering their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition.

The competition was played following significant overnight rain on the course, which left the rough areas as being lush and damp, the fairways and green were in excellent condition. Greens are generally large and very undulating, thus putting was somewhat tricky. Water featured on a few holes and either 'long' lush rough or heavy rough awaited wayward drives.

This is a members club. Midweek visitor green fess are £40 for 18 holes or £50 for a day ticket. County Cards are £25. In terms of general VFM I would be happy to pay the County Card rate but not £40. However, on this occasion by entering their annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition, the competition entry fee was £35, including coffee/bacon roll, 18 holes, a carvery roast lunch and sweet, coffee and prizes. This was a truly wonderfull VFM.

The club competition organisers, membership and staff hosted a wonderful golf day/event. The catering was wonderful.

I enjoyed the course very much and would happily play it again. It doesn't quite get into the 'must play' or 'play it if you can' category but I think it is an enjoyable challenge. Their website indicates that societies are welcome midweek.

Guildford GC is a par 69, SSS69, parkland/downland course. There are 5 par 3s and only 2 par 5s.

The course contains some significant uphill elevation changes, eg the 1st, 10th and 17th, which were very difficult.

I entered the club's annual Seniors Open Stableford Competition. There was a two tee start, I started on the 10th, but the 10th was nowhere near the clubhouse. My trolley conked out on the walk back tio the clubhouse from the 9th green. Not good. if I'd played the course the correct way round from the 1st I don't thing the battery problem would have arisen.

By entering the seniors open competition I paid a £40 entry fee which included coffee/bacon roll, 18 holes, a two course lunch and prizes. This was great VFM. Normal midweek visitor green fees are £40, or £30 with a County Card.

This was an enjoyable golf challenge for the most part. I would be happy to play this again but only if starting from the 1st hole. I hesitate to categorise it as a 'must play' or 'play it if you can' but I think most TSGers would enjoy it.

Hindhead Golf Club is one of England's premier heathland courses. It is ranked 36th in England and 82nd in GB & Ireland.

Founded in 1904 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in conjunction with others, in the past it has been used as a Regional Open Championship Qualifier.

The course is a par 69, ie only 6,099 with an SSS of 70. I entered the club's visitors Seniors Men's Open Stableford Competition. The CSS (Competition Scratch Score) was 71 on the day.

There is a significant difference between the terrain and difficulty of the front and back 9s. The terrain of the front 9 is the most difficult, in terms of elevation changes, particularly up from and down from tees to greens and vice versa.

It is one of the highest golf courses in Surrey. The 1st hole and the back 9 holes are on an upper plateau; whilst holes 2-9 meander through valleys. There is a lovely half way house to provide mid-round sustenance.

The fairways were in immaculate condition, fairways are extensively watered as well as the greens. Heather is prominently in play off the tee in all par 4s and par 5s.
Straight hitting, ie less aggression off the tee, pays dividends on this course. Severe trouble awaits anything offline, be it heather or the severely grassed slopes.

The fairways and greens were in immaculate condition. Greens were generally large, undulating, fast and tricky to read, especially on the first attempt. Putting heaven or hell!

The course is littered with bunkers, fairway and greenside, all within range, deep and most standing proud above the level ground of the fairways or greens. Once in one progress is simply getting out.

The course terrain gave the impression that it played significantly longer than the actual card yardage.

The weekday (Mon-Thurs) visitors green fees to play Hindhead is £89 or £61 with a County Card.
Entry to the Seniors Open Competition was £50, including coffee, 18 holes, a two-course lunch and prizes. An excellent VFM way to get to play such a wonderful course.

A pre-match scampi and chips meal was taken in Alliss's Bar. Hospitality from club members and the pro-shop and catering staff was excellent.

The one slight downside concerned the post-match meal; ie as a late finisher I ended up eating my main course whilst the competition prize giving was in progress. Not the best impression of club service or competition organisation.

Hindhead has been the only club so far that has held an afternoon start to the competition, causing the time pressure on the post-match evening meal. I guess the playing needs of the members take priority! A mere quibble in the overall context of the golfing experience.

Although I found the course a difficult walk at times, particularly the front 9 holes, this is a wonderful must play, quality course and I highly recommend this to fellow TSGers.