"Marky" Mark Crane

If you ever go to Scotland on a golfing holiday, please put Royal Musselburgh on the list. It is the 6th oldest golf course in the world and full of tradition & history, without being stand-offish. All the staff, from the pro shop to the bar and restaurant were so welcoming and couldn't do enough for you.

The course itself is a parkland layout but some of the fairways have a linksy feel, as they should do in Scotland, with all the different bumps and hollows; the height of the bounce from the drive was amazing too, probably adding 10 to 20 yards and, if you did fall into a bunker, they were all immaculately cut and full of sand; the greens also played true and not too fast, which suited my game totally.

Once back, we all had lovely food and drink, all served with a proper Scottish welcome.

Don't miss this course, it's a gem, I would go back in a heartbeat.

I've just played South Essex Golf Course, (Vixen & Heron), with our great leader.

Found the course in overall good condition, with some dry patches in places, nothing that a little rain wouldn't put right.

The greens are in lovely order with no patches of disease and I found them to be running true.

Thinking about making the trip there before The 2020 TSG Open, I think you'll find it won't be a wasted journey.

Marky Mark

I haven't been to Weald of Kent for several years, but writing this, I remember why, TOO MANY DITCHES !!! Nearly every hole has some form of water hazard, with most of them being ditches right across the fairway. Needless to say, unless you are a big driver of the ball, you will venture into a few of them. The course itself is ok but the greens need a little TLC after the poor winter as there were a few small bare spots which would hinder your putting. Also, the semi rough was brutal, IF you found your ball in it, it was difficult to get a good contact on your next shot. The clubhouse itself is lovely, very modern with food being served up to 9pm.

Played here today and the course was in great condition, although the greens were a little on the slow side. Tree lined fairways and well marked routes to the tees. Not the longest track but interesting, all the same. Would definitely play here again !!

I visited Mill Green GC yesterday, on a lovely sunny afternoon, for the first time and found it to be quite interesting in places, although quite a few of the front nine holes were either doglegs or blind holes and fairly open. Once you cross the road, the back nine became a lot more interesting and challenging with water and tree lined fairways. The uphill par 3 15th was a very nice hole surrounded by trees, it gave that nice echo when the ball came off the club. The course was fairly flat, which made a nice change, not having to struggle up hills in the wintry weather. Clubhouse was fresh and clean and the service came with a smile throughout. Well worth a visit, especially with discounted rates for TSG Members as it's a Crown course !!

I booked my round at Kings Hill through Teeofftimes.co.uk and got it for £24 on their "Hot Deals", so glad I did. Even though the night before was raining, the course was in superb condition. It's true what they say that it's a good draining course, there wasn't any standing water at all, not even in the bunkers. No temporary tees or greens and along with the fairways, they were all in excellent order. All staff were very helpful and friendly and to top it all off, the hot chocolate, after the game, was the best I've ever had, worth going there for that alone !! I will definitely be back in the Summer :-)

We stayed here for a two night golf break, on a Sunday & Monday night in June and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The rooms were clean and comfortable and well stocked, the buffet breakfast, plentiful and the inclusive 3 course dinner was varied and very tasty. The golf course itself was in top condition, even though it rained, on & off, the whole time we were there. All the staff were very pleasant and accommodating even to the point where they opened up the clubhouse upstairs, after hours, so we could have a few games of pool. The health club was also superb, gym, pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, ice shower and as many treatments, at extra cost, as you could throw a stick at. The only one down side was that the drinks were a bit pricey, two pints of lager, a pint of bitter and a large diet coke came to £17.95, but that didn't spoil our enjoyment of a great golf break !!

On a lovely sunny afternoon, this course was a pleasure to play. Well looked after tee boxes, lush fairways and superb greens. The lady in the halfway hut was great fun, plenty of banter with us golfers. The beautiful stately clubhouse was also superb. I had wanted to play this course for such a long time, why did I leave it so long. I definitely will be back !!

I like a golf course to have some interesting holes on it, you know, you turn the corner and you're greeted by this wonderful view of a great hole. Unfortunately, this didn't have any of those. Most of the holes were straight up and down and not very interesting. On another bad point, with the fairways being quite tight in places, landing in the semi rough was a regular occurrence and the quality of it was very poor, so many bald patches and thick tufts made it really tough to play. Greens were very good and very tricky but didn't make up for the lack of quality in other places. Clubhouse and staff were all friendly and the Full English was delicious, also, the practice facilities were very good. I don't think there's enough here to bring me back, but at least I can say I've tried it.

We drove down the long drive to the clubhouse on a warm, sunny Sunday morning in Mid October to what looked like a beautifully, well maintained course, we weren't disappointed. Every hole was superbly manicured, tee boxes, fairways & greens were all in fantastic condition. A lot of the holes are quite tight, especially as you get nearer to the greens, as they are well guarded by overhanging trees, well placed bunkers and the occasional drop of water, anything wayward on your approach will see you in one of these hazards. I didn't do the course justice, but I will definitely be back to have another go, especially at the member's guest rate of £22. There's a well stocked pro shop and the clubhouse is clean & fresh with a television for all those sports fanatics out there. The bacon rolls are also good quality if you're looking for a spot of breakfast before your game. Overall, don't miss playing this gem of a course in Surrey, but make sure your "A" Game is ready to take it on.

I went to Romford Golf Club with a member today. I found the course to be in very good condition especially the greens, although most of them are quite tough to play. I also found the other members on the course pleasant to talk to but that may be down to the fact that I was with another member. The clubhouse is quite traditional with an added bonus of a mini museum dedicated to James Braid, the course designer. I would say this course is well worth a visit although it plays quite tight in places.

I've played a lot of golf courses in the last 30 years, some good, some, not so, but nothing has come close to The London Golf Club I played on Tuesday 2nd June 2015. This came about from the ill fated "SLA Golf Day" that was cancelled on the TSG Events page. I had already paid in advance so, couldn't really cancel and was really worried about the event actually taking place and hence losing my money I had paid. My fears were allayed the second I entered the gates and was met by the security guard at his hut. "SLA Golf Day" I said, "Yes, Sir, Straight to the end of the driveway and pull up at the clubhouse front doors". Now, although the weather was shockingly bad, (50mph winds and rain), and it had put me on a bit of a downer, pulling up at the clubhouse suddenly changed all that. I was greeted by several officials who took our clubs and put them ready for us on the golf buggies provided. I have to say, it's the first time I have felt like a VIP at any golf course and trust me, I'm not that by any stretch of the imagination. Once parked up, we entered reception and registered for the day and were given "Goody Bags" containing tees, pencils, stroke saver, water, bananas, choc bars and various other related items, a real bonus to me. Then, it was upstairs to the restaurant for breakfast, sausage & bacon muffins, (another first), tea & coffee; you could have as much as you fancied but I just stuck to the one, which was very unlike me. After a briefing, it was on the buggies to the practice range and a quick "WHACK" with my new clubs. The facilities here were superb, grass range with pyramids of balls to practice with, I couldn't fault it at all. A shotgun start off the 3rd tee commenced which was at the far end of the course, at this stage, I would just like to say this course is best suited for buggies with long gaps between some of the tees and a buggy path the whole way round, although we were allowed to venture on to the fairways even in the bad weather. Now, from our 1st hole to our last every tee box, fairway and green was of the highest quality, lovingly tended by the green staff and a credit to the club, no wonder it is a European Tour venue. On the times I did find the fairway, they were like playing off lush carpets, absolutely fantastic and the greens, so smooth and true, even in that wind, ( if you remember the scene from the film, "Caddy Shack", where the priest was playing the best golf of his life in a hurricane and finally gets struck down by lightning on the 18th, our game was definitely like that, although the lightning never arrived, Thank God!!) There were plenty of challenging holes with deep bunkers, lots of water and long grassy rough for the wayward shots but all in all, a great layout. After the round, we dried off and went back upstairs for the presentation and dinner, a lovely evening ensued with talks from the charities involved and from an ex welsh rugby international whose name escapes me and a wonderful 3 course meal. We left the venue at around 9pm and thought this was definitely the best course we had ever been to in Kent and, as good as The Belfry in Birmingham, which had been my No.1 for many years. To sum up, if you're looking for that special golf course and have a spare £100 or so floating about in your account, (although we only paid £67.50 for the whole golf day, I know, mad, isn't it), then go and play The London Golf Club, everything far exceeded our expectations!!!

We arrived at Gillingham Golf Club to be greeted by a miserable old bugger in the pro shop, Sundays are obviously not his best day to work. He reminded me of my old teachers at school when you were somewhere in the school grounds you shouldn't have been. Undeterred we set off for the 1st tee which wasn't very well marked up. Playing off the tee mats didn't really help their cause either, especially as it was a warm dry day. Surprisingly the course was in good shape, the greens had been worked on but were still quick and quite true, the fairways, although quite flat, tended to be a bit one up, one down and very tight, a wayward shot would often put you on the adjacent fairway as there wasn't much rough, hence why there were a few shouts of "FORE" and balls landing quite close to you. The last gripe was the fact that you have to cross the busy main road four times during the round which is a bit weird. After the round, the clubhouse bar was clean, fresh and looking good and the lady bar staff member was very friendly, although the bar shut at 6pm. But all in all, I still enjoyed the course, especially at £12 twilight rate, and would go back and try it again, preferably when the school teacher has his day off, ha ha !!

It's hard to sum up this course. It has an interesting layout for a links with its ups and downs and fairly tight fairways but what lets it down is the quality of the greens and fairways. The greens are quite diseased and, therefore, hard to putt on with all the bumps and the fairways, very thinly covered in grass, so, when you come to take your mid-iron shots, the ball has laid up on hard ground, between the grass. The clubhouse is quite new and fresh and the food is of a good standard which makes me think that the bulk of their money has been spent here. Here's hoping they can plough it into the course in future. I would go again but only for a friendly game and not really worrying about the scores; once they get the course sorted this will be a nice little golf club to visit. Here's hoping !!

I played here on a Celebrity Charity Golf Day on a very warm and sunny afternoon. The course, though still under reconstruction on a couple of holes, is a great test of golf. The greens are top notch and the clubhouse, superb. By this time next year, this will be one of the best courses in Essex and well worth the visit.

Chartham Park is well worth a visit. Nice fairways, picturesque holes, although the greens were a little bit bobbly due to work done to them over the winter. We paid £11.50 each with a 2 for 1 voucher and their winter offer, absolutely great value for money.

Considering it was raining for 17 of the 18 holes, the course was holding up very well. Greens in great condition and no temporary tees. The Clubhouse, as always, offered great food and a friendly smile to visitors.

For the money, Deangate Ridge is a well run council golf course. Pros and Clubhouse staff, very friendly. Well worth a visit!!