Hinksey Heights Golf Course

Played it on a sunny and windy day. The course layout is good, with a windswept 'Linksy' feel to it. Found the greens a bit slow, but true. There are some great holes, in particular 4, 5, and 14, with the majority of the others still decent. Unfortunately the course is badly let down by one hole, the third, terribly designed and awfully maintained... GUR everywhere, and hardly any fairway to aim for off the tee... this hole is totally out of character with the rest of the course. If they could sort out the third hole, then this could be a very decent course and good value for money.. Despite the 3rd I would return again for another round.

Hinksey got bad reviews at first but now (2014) it is getting better and better The greens have been treated well and lots of other improvements have been made It still has things that could be better but it is a very good course for the money Friendly too.

I recently joined Hinksey Heights golf club , just outside Oxford. The course was harder than l am used to playing- especially the greens which like Augusta are a tough challenge esp. If you finish up on the wrong part of the green. The course is hilly too, with a windy disposition.So a real challenge for all golfers. Overall condition of the course is really good and recent expenditure on new green keeping equipment and a new sprinkler system means that it will get better and better. The staff are friendly and will help anyone enjoy a game with adequate food and drink. I would recommend this course to you- and great value for money too!! Visit us soon and be impressed.

Having not played here for over a year - cannot believe the transformation of the standard of the course from abysmal to glorious! - fair play to the greenskeepers. The club has always had stunning views but now the course is playing and looking as good as ive ever know. Fantastically warm friendly and enthusiastic welcome by all from reception to bar to the greens men who all stopped to chat - definitely be back here soon and would definitely highly recommend a challenging yet forgiving stunning course

Wow! What a difference a few years makes. I have played here for a few years. The last time I was here it looked seriously neglected. The friendly staff told me that the members took over last year and by the looks of the course they are obviously showing it the love that the beautiful setting deserves. It's fairly obvious that there is still work going on but the difference from my last visit was awesome. Highly recommended for the course and the fantastic views over Oxford and the staff seemed friendly and helpful too.

Played Hinksey Heights for the first time yesterday as a quick getaway for an afternoon. The clubhouse was very quiet but the welcome was friendly enough. Straight on (no warm up, obviously) and the first was a gentle introduction. Straight up a slope with OOB down the left. Easy peas. The second seemed quite straightforwards too. By the time I'd reached the third, I was a little underwhelmed although the stunning views over Oxford helped. From then on, the course got better and better. The layout is very good although the course was VERY firm as I drove a couple over 300yds with some favourable bounce and roll. The wide fairways bordered by forgiving rough meant I could really let rip. The greens were quick and true (but I didn't have enough zip to get anything to stop). I bet this course plays completely differently the rest of the year and they could set it up to be a hugely challenging course if they wanted it to. I could recommend this to most golfers although some of my more fussy friends might complain as the signage, the pathways and some of the teeing areas were quite scruffy. Didn't bother me though. Good golf course.

I recently returned to this course for a game after last playing it more than ten years ago. The course has some very good things going for it not least of which is the stunning views over Oxford where hole number 3 really frames the city well in the view along the valley. It also benefits from wide forgiving fairways which is a bonus. It isn't without its faults though as many of the bunkers appear poorly maintained and have weeds or stones in them. The worst part by far is the condition of the greens which are in need of a lot of care. There were patches of bare earth on some, others seemed to have been scoured by a machine of some kind while many had a surface that made the ball bobble and bounce rather than roll across it. Because of this putting was more down to luck than any skill as the ball would get knocked off course a lot of the time. It has been a hot dry summer but other courses have maintained some good greens in this time. I will return to Hinksey Heights in the future but for an exploratory round to see if the greens and bunkers have improved. However I will not be adding it to my list of regular courses until this happens which is a shame as it is a course with great potential.

I've been a member at Hinksey Heights for the last 4 years and I've seen major changes at the club. The course has absolutely stunning views of the dreaming spires of Oxford and is fantastically laid out. It's a real challenge for golfers especially when the wind gets up, which it normally does. Our signature hole, the 3rd, is a stunning par 4 and coming so early in the round it frequently ruins my medal card. Having been a member at seveal clubs, I can't think of a friendlier club and with the new status of members club I know that the members will be working to make it even better. I couldn't recommend this place more highly.

dear sir after visiting the club today 8th August 2010 with a 30 something strong society i was disgusted with the state of your golf course the bunkers or should i say stone wells on the fairways have ruined a couple of my clubs, after i must admit an irate rant at the club pro, which i must apologise for, i was offered a regrinding of my broken clubs and received a full refund, this was and is not acceptable as i have two callaway rescue clubs that now have to be replaced. regards mr c taylor

dear sir after visiting the club today 8th August 2010 with a 30 something strong society i was disgusted with the state of your golf course the bunkers or should i say stone wells on the fairways have ruined a couple of my clubs, after i must admit an irate rant at the club pro, which i must apologise for, i was offered a regrinding of my broken clubs and received a full refund, this was and is not acceptable as i have two callaway rescue clubs that now have to be replaced. regards mr c taylor

I have only been playing golf for a couple of years, having been given a present of lessons by my wife as a Christmas present (not sure if she's regretting it now?!) I learnt to play at the Tee2Green Academy at Hinksey Heights and subsequently have played most of my golf there. As a high handicapper I find that the course has a lot to offer, also it is very reasonably priced and well maintained. The staff are friendly and efficient and have certainly made me very welcome. I have played a few other courses around the country in the last year or so and in terms of an overall package (price, difficulty, scenery, maintainence, service etc) I have found little to match it. There are obviously more beautiful courses, more difficult courses, more expensive courses, more exclusive courses and so on but Hinksey Heights feels like a very good mix of positives.

Played here midweek September 06 ( £10 using a 2 FORE 1 voucher). Not my idea of an enjoyable golf course. Very undulating ,open & exposed .It has defined mounding along the fairways . The good points are that it has good views due to it's elevation , that it's quite peaceful & the presentation was decent. That's it. The bad points are where do i begin. It's a very hard walking & tiring layout.(near the end you go from one side of the course to the furthest part of the course away from the clubhouse & then back again).As it's so exposed the constant wind also adds to the overall feel that it's a slog. There are only 3 par 3's all of them long & the last of which is the 10th hole. A course like this needs several short par 3's to ease the 'slog' aspect & also to add to the overall lack of variety in the holes. There was a slightly shabby overall feel(e.g. grass growing in some bunkers). Due to the undulating nature of the course the greens need to be large & fairly level but instead they're small & upturned saucerish. This resulted in some silly pin positions which after a while became comical. Surprisingly for a new course you could hit over some of the fairway bunkers from the tee & some further strange design positioning on the par 3 10th resulted in 3 bunkers halfway between the tee & green ? Also, on the par 4 17th instead of aiming at the very tight dogleg fairway it was easier to hit straight at the flag across some rough & moundings .Not the way i'm sure the hole was intended to be played. After the front 9 it was tempting to call it a day & it was hard trying to muster up any enthusiasm to battle on. Kevin B.

As I left the busy A34 Oxford By-Pass on a Saturday morning and turned into the narrow, steeply climbing lane leading to Hinksey Heights it became immediately obvious where the ‘heights’ in the clubs name comes from. After leaving our cars and heading for the proshop we were greeted by what appeared to be a well-organised and efficient organisation. The process of paying green fees was swift and efficient if a little impersonal. Once fully paid-up we headed for the first tee, past the Caddy Shack bar and restaurant and into the huge green expanse that is the courses, practice area and driving range. Finding the first tee was a little challenging as the signage left a little to be desired and with the help of the course guide we got there. The courses were busy but not packed and the tees times appeared to allow enough time to ‘do your thing’ without being hassled (always a pleasant experience). The first flag could just be seen at the top of a hill that was the first fairway. A big drive from both of us landed a disappointing 3rd of the way towards the flag – or so it looked, this course was going to be no pushover, no bad thing at all. The second maintained the challenge with the option to be safe or adventurous, a theme repeated on many later holes. Then came the third, proudly described by the club as their signature hole and quite rightly so. A well-elevated tee looks down on what could easily be described as a ‘ravine’ with a wide fairway nestling in the middle with bushes to the left and water (and geese) to the right, the green being carefully tucked away on a dog-leg to the right. A superb hole and nothing like as easy as it might look. Hinksey Heights has a good mixture of holes that will test all standards of golfer, is well maintained and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Good use has been made of the natural terrain without gimmicks or ‘sillies’ and in places it is reminiscent of a links course. There are pleasant views across Oxford from a number of spots on the course however I would say for me, the views were not as ‘spectacular’ as I was led to believe – bit I was there for the golf, not the views anyway. The club has an air of being a fairly ‘young’ club with the majority of players when we played (Saturday afternoon) being quite young, something that is good to see. Whilst the course was slightly too hilly for me in places due to suffering with my back it was nevertheless a great days golf and comes highly recommended. I would be tempted (against my better judgement) to consider the use of an electric trolley next time (or even a buggy???) but one thing is for sure there WILL be a next time. At £23 for a round on Saturday it is good value too compared to other courses in the area. Overall a great little find that comes highly recommended.

Played late November. Inital entrance is not for those expecting the five star set up - more like a chicken farm. Very easy to get to off the A34 and clearly maturing. A warm welcome and reasonable rate £18. Booked on line, but this was not as smooth as it could have been. Changing and range facilities very basic and spartan. Out on the course was very pleasurable. Off winter tees, but course not reduced as a result. Agree with the comment on the third - it must need a mammoth strike from the regular tees. Course was undulating but not excessively. Greens were very quick and difficult to read - lots of tiers and tricky slopes. Bunkers fairly easy and nicely maintained. They are clearly investing and remodeling some of the holes - to clear up the confusion at the rear of the course where there is a lot of cross over - signage is good. A new nine hole course is also on the cards. Overall a very good value pay and play, and one which I would like to return to over the summer when the views of the city would be spectacular. Only blight was the second nine when a group of four in buggies didn't appear to understand the etiquet of calling through a single player who took half as many strokes as them - why are there theses sorts of people playing?

Played the Course on 15th October 2005 with an early tee-off time (before 8am) on a Saturday morning. Weather dull but dry with little wind. The first nine although the shorter of the two proved to be the more difficult despite being slightly shorter. The highlight was Hole 3 the Stroke Index 1 - what a hole !!. Playing 430 yards off the yellow tees it requires two hefty strikes to reach the green in two but because of the lay of the land it is unlikely that all bar the very good golfers will be in position after the tee shot to go for the green in two. None of out group managed to par this spectacular hole which is quite clearly the signature hole of the Course. Many of the par 4 holes were doglegs or blind tee shots which added to the difficulty and interest of the Course and the three par 3's were quite tricky. The second 9 seemed easier though I had taken so many shots on the front 9 that I was probably warmed up by then. Again some very nice holes with the 18th being an excellent finishing hole. Managed to play the second 9 in 6 over par off 20 Handicap which isn't too bad. Generally the Course was in excellent condition with the greens running fast and full of very tricky undulations and difficult to read correctly. The Course is a very good challenge for both low and high handicap golfers and I would imagine very very difficult if the wind is blowing. The Clubhouse, though not grand in any way, has friendly staff and provided us with a good Golfers Meal after the Round. Will definitely visit Hinksey Heights again in the near future and I am even considering taking up their unusual but excellent "Points for Golf" Membership offer. Regards John Brown

Regarding earlier commnents. There are in fact 3 tees , yellow, white, blue and it is only blue that is 7000 yds. True the course is undulating but it is not hilly and is relativel easy to play for a higher handicapper. There is no long rough making it easier to play a shot even if you stray off fairway. The greens are very very good and very fast. Holes are largely similar apart fom 3rd . The 17th has a huge tree to block a perfect tee shot. THe par 3s are all long. Good course for higher handicappers and I enjoyed the day out.

Friendly club and helpful pro-shop making visitors feel welcome. Challenging undulating course with some fantastic views of Oxford and its surroundings. Apart from off the tee and on the green, one spends a lot of time playing from slopes and difficult lies. The Par 4 third hole (S.I. 1)is simply breathtaking with what must have been a 60 to 70 feet drop between the elevated tee and the lowest point of the fairway leading to an elevated green protected by water hazards and large bunkers. It's quite a long course (over 7000 yards) and we were glad that we hired a buggy as the walking distance between each hole must have added an extra 1000 yards and some of the inclines are very steep. Great fun!

Played this course on a Sunday, and the place was deserted. We were not held up at all. This seemed very strange, because the Club is very good value and very challenging, a pleasure to play. Being on top of a hill the wind was a major factor. The course was in good nick and the greens are particularly testing. Top notch.

Played on 23/6/01. Greens in excellent condition all round. Some very interesting holes, not only, and not least, the third. However, at times felt like being on a prairie - surely some scope for more water hazards etc. No problems with being held up, either. Overall, well worth a crack ! Paddy68W

As a very inexperienced player I found this course to be very challenging. Due to its exposed location wind is a very large factor here. It is also very undulating so can be quite tiring. Very good overall.

Having read Mr Larkin's remarks I note that he does not say when he played Hinksey Heights. It is true that, until we opened our Permanent greens on April 1st 1999, the course was not finished and some golfers formed adverse views such as his. We now have a finished course which is constantly improving at a remarkable rate. We invite Mr Larkin to book a time to return to Hinksey Heights in year 2000, tell our Pro who he is and take up a free round for two. We hope he will then be prepared to revise his remarks on this site. Regards, John Brimble.

This has to be one of the best new courses around. Not only is it beautiful, it is a real challenge. Highly recomended.