Latest reviews posted on UKGolfguide.com

played both courses recently and have to say we loved them both,
the two courses were in fantastic condition especially the fairways and greens, hats off to the green keeping staff.lots of variety of holes on both courses.plenty of nice par 3's and and reachable par 5's.
The food in bar was also excellent and we were made very welcome.
We will be returning next year hopefully for another outing.

Birstall Golf Course is simply sublime and I believe it provides a fair and challenging test for even the best golfers. Visually, Birstall is an absolute treat to play with beautiful views over Charnwood and the surrounding area and stream trains rolling in and out of the station adjacent to the opening hole. The clubhouse is quite fantastic with big, spacious changing facilities and an exquisite dining area to enjoy the divine food that the club has to serve. Birstall is most certainly one of the best courses in Leicestershire and it is a golf course which I would advise any golfer to play in order take in the wonderful experience.

A very pleasant round of golf. The back nine really is quite a challenge to score well and the first three holes give you a false sense of security as it gets harder thereafter.

The course is in excellent condition with great greens although not always easy to read and was great value for money. The only gripe was the rough that was too thick and lush to use anything more than a 7 iron for the average golfer although I was told they grew it for a Pro-am event so hopefully it will be cut back to more manageable levels for the average player.

The staff at the Pros Shop and the members all seemed very friendly.

I will certainly play there again as it is one of the best courses in the area.

We played this yesterday as the final venue of our golfing break. Just what we needed, a course that was not too penal but it would be if you used too much of the 'big' furniture. Lovely, well designed and sculptured holes, pleasant views and a course that's very easy on the eye in a very nice setting. Pro and staff most helpful too.

12 of us played here last Saturday, we got thoroughly soaked by 'horizontal' rain - just what you want in July ! but the course stood up to the conditions better than I did. Very tough in the wind but a pleasant and interesting course, well worth a go. Members and staff all very helpful.

12 of us played Penrith last Friday as part of our annual trip to the Lakes. Very pleasant course with interesting , challenging but not brutal holes. Nice clubhouse and food very reasonable priced. Lovely views of the mountains too. definitely worth a play.

A short but challenging 9 hole course. It's like an inland links course. Siuts the accurate player rather than the long hitter. Some greens not in a good state, difficult to find your way around the course if you are new to it as there is very poor signage. Also lots of crossing holes and people walking dogs so need to be vigilant at all times. Staff were friendly. When I played I got the sense that the members hadn't seen a woman at the club for a very long time! Friendly but slightly patronising. No women's tees either on any holes. Clubhouse was basic. Pro shop was small. I didn't see any practice areas but perhaps I missed it? I won't return again to play here as I found the course a little unimaginative relaying too much on the very long rough to add challenging to each hole.

Played at Tilsworth in an Inter-club match and had a lovely day. The course was playing well and was a fair test of golf.

The course is quite short and has a few blind tee shots as well as a couple of holes one up a steep slope followed by one coming down the same slope and this wil test your fitness!

The lack of signage between holes can be an issue of you are new to the course as there are some treks between a few holes.

The clubhouse is fine, the food and drinks very good and the staff very friendly and efficient.

What a fantastic experience staying at the Gower Golf Club for the weekend. Lovely accommodation, friendly staff and a magnificent golf course. The views are stunning, the manicured course a delight and the greens are the best I have seen. A challenging course with a wonderful variety of holes. A most enjoyable country walk, with the option of a buggy if needed. A great venue for a society. For me, the signature hole is the par 5 8th, from an elevated tee, a downhill fairway, with an approach to a sloping green over a water hazard, amazing.

We played the 18 hole Old course. A very pleasant parkland, tree-lined course. On a par with The Mendip or Cumberwell Park, better (in my opinion) than Orchardleigh or Rushmore. After a level 1st the 2nd, 3rd and 4th take you uphill. Not too many bunkers on the course, the good 14th would be even better if they reinstated the bunker short left of the green. The long downhill par3 15th is a challenging, good hole. Lots of trees give protection against the wind on the hilltop – very good views – the 11th is the straightest par 5 you will ever see, between an avenue of trees, but the willows before the 16th green are now crowding the playing line too much. Quirky uphill dogleg 17th. Course in good condition (July 2016) but curiously some greens were slightly bare in places, although they putted at medium pace well enough. Our twoball got round in 3 hrs 10 mins thanks to the members’ 3-ball and 4-ball who both promptly let us through - much appreciated. Large newish clubhouse and very large proshop. Well worth a visit and good value on the County Card scheme.

Annually I organise a trip to Bournemouth to play golf for 16 golfers. This was our second time at Dudsbury and I have already booked for next year increasing our number to 20 due to the success. Dudsbury offers great facilities and a challenging and a well kept course. All of my group had a great day and have requested a return visit. Thanks to Andy Rideout and his staff for the ease of booking. We had a mix of handicaps from 11 to 28 all of which enjoyed it immensely. The Hotel and Spa facilities look inviting so I may well think of using for another trip maybe with partners.

Thanks again.
Excellent course.

Classic links course with some fabulous routeing through a mixture of flat ground and duneland. Course was in excellent condition. Bunkers were immaculate, and the greens, despite having been recently micro-spiked, ran true at 9.5 on the stimp. Rough was thick due to the recent wet weather.

The first five holes on predominately flat terrain ease you into the course, although as four of them are into the prevailing wind they are certainly no pushover.

The SI1 6th hole is a very tough hole with a marshy brook in front of the green which, unless you have hit a perfect drive, forces you to lay up. The 7th is a superb dog leg par 5 with a risk and reward short route over mounds and bunkers.

But it is from the 8th to the 14th holes that Hayling really shows it strength and quirkiness. Each hole is a cracker, although the short 11th is probably my favourite hole on the course.

The final four holes return to the flatter land, and are good holes but inevitably they suffer in comparison to those in the middle of the course.

The full green fee is probably overpriced for a non-championship links, but the county card fee or twilight fee of £45 is great value. I rate the course right up there with Seacroft, Goswick, Wallasey, and Royal Cinque Ports.

I had driven past this course on my occasional visits to the area and luckily found myself with my clubs and a free Tuesday evening so thought I would try a round. First of all I found the pro, the members and the course we're very welcoming but unlike the pro and members the course wasn't always welcoming !
It was in superb condition and very varied but boy did it have some slopes ! As a relatively fit 68 year old (10 hand) I was very tired by the end without my electric trolley. It has a really varied and interesting set up and made you plot your way rather than hit your way, although length on some of the longer par 4s would be a much missed advantage.
It's a beautiful walk with lovely views and a very reasonably priced golf course . Enjoy !

We held our annual Charity Golf Day at Dudsbury Golf Club. Our golfers had a fantastic day with over 70% of them saying they would prefer to play at Dudsbury over other local clubs for our 2017 golf day. The course and weather were fantastic. The support we got from Andy, the Course Marshals and Professionals made all the difference to the smooth running of our day. Andy supported us months in advance catering to every need we required even allowing us to use an external caterer who offered to sponsor our charity golf day. We look forward to returning.

Played here June ,2016 .(£11.50 using 2 fore 1)

Fairly short but enjoyable course .Turned out to be better than i was expecting .

Easy walking .Nice condition , particularly the greens .

Slight shortcomings were that the fairways went straight into primary rough with no first cut & the bunkers were in average condition ,some with weeds in them .Basically ,all the bunkers need to be raked a few times to get them back up to spec.I understand they had greenstaff shortages in the recent past so this would probably explain this & i'm sure ,in due course ,that these issues will get resolved .

A couple of the par 3's are very short & would be better if they were a bit longer but this probably can't be helped as there isn't the space to expand them .

The holes have been nicely designed to go into what is a fairly limited space & moundings & long grasses alongside the fairways make most holes feel like they have their own identity .There are also some water features & this adds to the pleasant & attractive feel of it all.

Excellent value on the above rate for what you get .

Kevin B.

This is a good course, with the greens, fairways, tee boxes, and bunkers being maintained to a high standard. The course layout is good, never getting the feeling that two consecutive holes are the same. The par 3s are all pretty short but defended by deep faced bunkers. There's a nice mixture of long and short par 4s. The par 5s are not overly long and should be a birdie change for the low handicapper and a par chance for the higher handicappers.

My only gripe would be to have better signage for where the next tee is.

The staff were all very welcoming and helpful. Would thoroughly recommend this place.

The views are second to none,but it has a public right of way for walkers and dog walkers so you will find people crossing in front of you when teeing off. some paths are very steep and covered in loose stone so walking can become hazardous.It has very few buggy paths and directions to holes can be confusing for newcomers.

The course itself is a typical mountain course where drainage is seldom and very large puddles appear in heavy rain but when dry its simple to score well and the layout of holes are simple. Two greens have holes in the center for drainage ??.Staff are very friendly as is the welcome you will get.

I played on a lovely Sunday late afternoon for 15 quid and had the course to myself.
Echo all of the positive comments in previous reviews. Interesting, varied holes in great condition accompanied by fantastic views.
Accuracy is essential, particularly on approach shots as greens are tight.
As it says on the tin, this is on the North Downs, so there are some serious up and downs; not least, one hole which some wag has called, 'Cardiac Hill'.
The few members I did encounter were friendly and informative re the course.
I didn't make use of the clubhouse so can't comment.
All in all, a very pleasant experience.

firstly, I'm a member at Troon Wellbeck, meaning our regular track alternates between Troon Darley and Troon Lochgreen.

Darley, is a challenging course, tight driving holes with gorse/heather left and right are the norm, and the prevailing wind normally blows enough to make it a tough challenge to play near your handicap level.
We've had a couple of weeks worth of nice warm/dry weather recently which has started to make for firm fairways, and firm greens, making finding a fairway hard, and holding greens even harder. It is links golf in summertime, after all.

the course, and in particular the greens, are playable almost all year round, and I'd echo the comments from the South Ayrshire golf website, the greens in winter in particular are as good as you will find anywhere.

There are a couple of points you should remember, public have access, and you may be held up a couple of times by the odd dog walker, but that should not distract from the course.

The clubhouse is also undergoing a massive refurbishment, (little bit of foresight into the planning would have recommended this be completed BEFORE the golfing world's eyes are on Troon, but evidently this was overlooked) that aside, the temporary accommodation is serviceable, and caters for most of your needs, until the new clubhouse can be opened.

For what your charged, you are getting a really good course, anytime of the year.

Played here January ,2016 .( £20 on twilight rate).

First time back here for 25 years & better than i remembered.Very flat links .Mainly duney along the coastline but not so much inland. Drains superbly .Near the turn there are 2 holes in a different section but they are decent holes .Has 3 excellent par 3's while the other 2 are a bit mundane .
Clubhouse is just o.k & for the course maybe something grander would have been more fitting .

Overall this is a good quality links ,enjoyable ,definitely worth playing & superb value on the above rate for what you get .

Kevin B.

Fantastic value for money. Only £15 for a weekday visitor (£10 on Thursday). It seems all the money is spent on maintaining the course. With well trimmed fairways, soft light sand in the bunkers and excellent greens. A challenging course for a amateur, but managed to get round with a respectable score.

Clubhouse is basic but still has a bar and seating area. There are pro training facilities but no shop. Also cash only - I wanted to pay on card but was advised by the Lady behind the bar (where you also pay for a round) that I had to go into the local town (2 miles away) to go to the cash point.

First impressions of Baildon (finished the round 3 hours ago and cream crackered). Played very long of whites, I think 50% of them were blues in all honesty, Early June 2016 and greens were excellent if a little slow which takes a while to get used to. Fairways were very natural and a low trajectory is best for distance unless you hit it long. You have to drive well here or your dead. Some really excellent holes and the position of the course is very nice. Clubhouse and pro excellent and friendly. God only knows what the course plays like in bad or windy or very hot weather, for anyone used to flat tree lined holes your gonna be tired. Would go back without hesitation. Proper golf in a natural setting.

We played Harleyford last week and really enjoyed it. We found the course quite challenging but let me mention the Folley at the 14th green & 15th tee....beautiful! After our round we had lunch and a few glasses of Prosecco and we really enjoyed our day at Harleyford. The staff was very friendly and both the food was great so was the Prosecco:-) We are definitely coming back:-)

First played at Gatton Manor in the early 1980's and had not visited for about 20 years. Booked for a one night stay and 3 rounds. Course on the whole was in good condition, greens were 'patchy' and 'bobbly' in places but otherwise okay.
Looked after very well by the staff.
This course always was, and still is, tough and tight. Heavily wooded and lots of 'in play' water hazards. This is a tough test for average hackers but is obviously popular with them due to good deals offered by the club. So the rounds were very slow.
The course would really benefit from a 2 Tee start. Separating 2 balls from 3&4 balls. 1st and 10th tees are next to clubhouse, so surprised they haven't implemented. It would cut 5 to 51/2 hour rounds by at least an hour. Our 2-ball had a mixture of 2, 3 and 4 balls in front of varying standards who alternated between yellow and white tees whenever they felt like it. So course needs marshaling just to help keep the pace of play moving.
I liked the course and it's a great test of your game but probably won't return unless speed and etiquette improves.

Played here in a Society event and if you get the chance to play hare then it would be foolish not to. A delightful course although not too long but never the less tricky with natural hazards as well as fine sandy bunkers and greens which were quick and true not a pitchmark to be seen. The staff, from the pro shop to the clubhouse were friendly and pleasantly welcoming, also the members we encountered have to be commended. We will definitely return, a must play!