The Club at Mapledurham

A bit of an update from Garaint Jones review of a couple of years ago. The club has made a big effort in the last couple of years. A number of bunkers have been rebuilt and new sand added. Recent hot weather has lead to hard fairways (Mapledurham is not unique with this) but the greens are in very good condition. As for the course, it is a pleasant easy walking course which rewards acuracy. A fine track for mid to high handicappers.

It's a SHOCKER.. please avoid at all costs... Played it this evening and this is what I found.... Fairways like concrete, stones in all of the bunkers, and more bobbles on the greens than a mountain of bobble-hats! And this for £22 a round! i won't be coming back here in a hurry. It felt like I was playing a municapal course that had been left to it's own devices due to lack of finances... not a private club.
There are plenty of other courses in the area that offer much more for the same price.

The course is set out in two distinct styles, the front nine is an open links style course, whilst the inward nine is a more tree lined, narrow affair. The course may seem a relatively simple stroll at a par of 69 with a reachable par four, however this course does have a sting in it’s tail for those who are not controlled from the tee, internal out of bounds await those strive for distance over accuracy. Good course management is essential; the course is at it's most challenging around the months of June, July and August when the rough is allowed to grow to 3 feet tall, missing a fairway will lead to three off the tee, it should be played in those months to get real value for money. The greens and fairway are superbly maintained and the clubhouse is superb.

A pleasant course, the front nine is open, but more challenging. The back nine runs through woods and is very picturesque, especially with all the bluebells in bloom at this time of year. The course was in very good condition.

Quite a good course for beginners as it is quite short, particularly around 10,11 and 12 and not especially challenging. They have recently changed the par 4 17th, which was one of the more difficult holes, into a fairly short par 5, with a crossing fairway with the par 3 14th. I don't see it as an improvement, as the only purpose seems to be to get a par 5 on the back nine card. Course condition and greens are reasonable, but there always seems to be a lot of stones in the bunkers and some bunkers lack sand at all. The "club" is also a leisure centre and the facilities seem more geared around the leisure centre rather than golf; the pro shop is little more than a closet and you pay the receptionist. Bar area is fairly spacious and bar food is fine. A pleasant place for a cheap 18 holes on a 241 voucher.

Fairly Easy short beginners Course. Newish Parkland front 9 with more interesting mature back 9. Few stones still around from course construction. Very nice clubhouse, Friendly staff, Good food. Many discounts and offers available