The Grove Golf Course

Driving through the gates on a sunny april morning, first thoughts were how open the course was (looked more like a muni!), arrived at clubhouse and greeted with excellent american style valet service including putting our bags on buggies. Had a decent, if expensive breakfast and chatted with the friendly scottish pro who explained that the greens were quickest in England. After a warm up on the grass practice range, we went onto the course.
Gentle dog leg first with pleny of fairway to aim for unless you go for the vijay option off the tee and go for the green.
Pro was right about the greens very quick and subtele breaks but true and takes a couple of holes to adjust unless you play in states or spain every week.
The whole course is pretty open, so you can use driver on most holes. Its a very enjoyable course to play anfd the fairways immaculate. With the pace of greens and testing approach shots you need to play very well to play to handicap although Par 3 are not to testing from grove tees, as 3 of them are less than 150 yards.
value for money?
There are many more courses higher rated in the top 100 for less. I think most people would think its not good value in comparison, but its suitable for all handicaps without a hint of stuffiness and a nice treat to play where the pros have played.

Played 30th December and paid £100. Must say initial impressions of club house were very good. Met by extremely friendly and helpful staff - the full valet experience (ok, so maybe one expects that for a oner, but they were very courteous). Given a lot of overnight rain the course was in very good condition: tees solid, greens although slightly spider'd in places were excellent and ran true. 3rd sticks in the mind and the par 3s are an excellent mix with none of this silly 200+ yards length (from the Grove tees anyway!). Some good 400 + par 4s too which played long but that's what you expect, and want, on a course that hosted WGC. Good for mid to high handicapper as well as plenty of room, although the rough was wet and muddy in places which made it tough to advance further. Drinks were vastly overpriced (over £4 for a coke!) but facilities otherwise excellent - showers/lockers etc. All in all a great day and I think at £100 it's ok - I wouldn't want to pay anymore.

This course is a real test and although parkland (carved out of the old British Waterways land) it plays more like a links. The greens are like glass but as true as you like. However, before you can accept the challenge of the greens you have to get it on there.
Hitting fairways is an absolute must. Forsake distance for accuracy and if necessary hope to chip and putt.
I have just played it and carded a 76. Handicap stuff really but I have walked off feeling like it was a 68. I think I have played really well with only 26 puts.
They are preparing it for the Amex. The fairways are narrow and the rough is penal. Although I enjoyed the day for the most part there are some aspects that they could improve.
I cannot in all honesty justify the green fee. At £180 it is just too expensive, but they are obviously catering for corporates. I can understand that but if exclusivity is what they want why in God's name let absolute hackers on the course in jeans! Shame.
G S Ashworth

Sorry but this place is not all it is cracked up to be.Granted the greens are as good as anywhere in the world,the range is pretty good,but at 15.00 a bucket it is entitled to be.
The course itself is simply not worth 180.00 per round excluding a buggy at about 35.00,most of the holes are good but not one is drop dead brilliant and I honestly think the Pros will be dissapointed.It maybe unfair to draw a comparison but I played a Jack Nickalus layout in Hilton Head a week ago for 30.00 and that included the buggy and in my opinion knocked spots off of this place,the fodd was far better and a quarter of the price.
Play this track if you are invited and someone else is paying

I played here last October and I must say I was very, very , very impressed.
I was playing as part of a company tournament type thing so the day was layed on in style.
The place appears to be run by a laod of superb South African guys who are very yes sir no sir but never the less do a fantastic job.
The have valet parking for your car and will ensure your clube find there way to the corrct carts.
The range was superb. I have always wanted to play with a pyramid of balls piled next to each bay !! top draw.
the corse is jaw dropping with every conceivable type of hole. would take too long to list!!
The green are virtually impossable though. They say they have some special american tyoe grass (A4 or something) but it is literally like puting on glass. it is so easy to go 10ft past from 3 foot away !! i am not the nest putter in the world but this was impossable.
A superb course and venue but if i had to actually cough up myself for the green fee it may have been a different story!!
I recommend making (a very expensive) weekend of it at the hotel.
The best way to some up the whole place is 6 star.

This is the best golf course ever played - if you can't afford the fee's don't bother playing then. What pointless feedback! If you don't mind paying for quality you'll love this place,I much prefered to the West Course, Wentworth. The greens are smashing. They roll forever and the place is so well looked after the pro's will be raving about this place when it holds the WGC next summer. £85 after 1st October is a result. Pheasant with redcurrent sausages at the halfway house says it all. This is heaven on earth.

Challenging course with high rough and tricky greens. US style welcome with staff everywhere loading clubs, parking cars etc. Problem is that club caters excessively for corporate groups, we should have realised there would be a problem when advised there was no dress code. There were 2 corporate groups including many weak players. Result was a round over 5 hours. Marshall appeared regularly to tell us that slow group refused to move up a hole. Buggies also taken but groups and needed due to steep walks bewteen holes. For this price a very disappointing visit, not to be repeated.

We played at the end of August and the condition of the course was fantastic. The greens are without doubt the best any of us have encountered in the UK (and we've been around a bit!), and the tees and fairways were also immaculate. The tees better than a lot of club greens! We played from the black tees, which measure 7150 yards. It is a very fair test of golf with no hidden tricks. What you see is what you get. Hitting fairways is a must, as many of the par 4's are over 440 yards and many of the greens are elevated and very well protected. It is hard to think of a signature hole as each one is a genuine test. The 244yd down hill 12th is pretty special. The facility is wondeful, even better than the greenfee would demand. It will be very interesting to see the Amex next year. The feeeling amongst us was that they are going to have to reduce the fairways significantly in order to guard against very low scoring. It is not a difficult course, it's defense is that so few visitors are prepared for the speed and severity of the greens that they find them extremely hard to putt on. There is a lot of difference between 12 on the stimp meter and normal club greens around 8. It is in as good a condition as Valderamma and I didn't think I'd ever say that about a course in Watford!

It has been a lovely July day, and I have played a super golf course. The greens were really great, pretty slick (around 12 on the stimp meter allegedly, according to the guys on the course) but were totally true and no bobbles or anything.
The organisation was truly first class, mind you at £130 it should have been. The locker room was fine, as were the practise areas. Everyting is geared up to making your day really good. In some ways it could be oppressive if you aren't used to having your clubs cleaned for you, even on the driving range.
There was a refreshment buggy making its way round on a regular basis, and the half way house was a pleasant little stop after finishing the first nine.
There is quite a lot of walking between some of the holes, and I was glad to have had a powakaddy, but even so it was a long way. Possibly worth investing in a buggy. There are cart paths all the way around the course.
Finally, we followed one Gary Player around the course, if it's good enough for him (and he has been really complimentary) it is good enough for me. Found plenty of sand, but didn't lose a single ball.
Can't wait to go back

Just back from an enjoyable, if somewhat windy, Winter Warmer day at The Grove (£95). Overall a very American experience, club bag drop etc as mentioned by others, though not quite as smooth as you would hope. I waited a while before parking up for myself and bringing in my bag, only to be told I should have waited a little longer.
Great condition on the course, especially given it is early January, I must admit the practice putting green was the finest surface I have ever putted on. Part of the playing challenge is that there is hardly a flat lie to be had on the fairways due to constant mounds and hollows, and very few straight puts for the same reason. The length off the Grove tees was 6300 yards, though due to the firm nature of the fairways it does not seem this long as there was plenty of roll to be had. Agree that buggies are not needed for the vaguely healthy, the course is undulating though not mountainous, and are not exactly a bargain.
Overall, an enjoyable day and worth the "discounted" winter rate as a special treat, not sure that I'd be up to paying full summer rate though.

We played this course in ideal October weather. and very impressed with all the facilities, from the greeting by staff, the free practise balls and stroke saver booklet. A quick stop over at the half way house on the way to the 10 th for a great snack and the clubs were cleaned for the second time! We felt this course is up with some of the best we have played, and that includes, The Belfry, Celtic Manor, The Oxfordshire and indeed St Melion.
The layout and general condition were excellent. Be advised, don’t take a buggy at this time of year they were restricted to the paths, and the four ball in front of us must have walked further than they drove, and at £40.00 they are not needed, it’s a good walk but not a punishing one. Who ever wrote the comments in the stoke saver booklet deservers a “Turner Prize” they read like a chef’s description of his favourite dishes.
Criticisms, it’s difficult to find any, ok the pro shop and changing rooms are a little small and at £60.00 to £100.00 for golf shirts way over priced, but the overall ambience is excellent. For the average golfer this is a “special occasion” course to visit and enjoy at luxury prices, but, hell it’s worth it.

The course was excellent--challenging holes, meticulously conditioned, with great views. Overall, this is what I've come to expect from Troon North golf courses, the same as the ones I have played in Arizona. The clubhouse was plush, and the bar and restaurant near the first and tenth tee served every need of the golfer. It is expensive, however, and so we opted for the twilight fee of GBP70. We were disappointed to be charged an additional GBP15 to use the practice facility. Similarly, we were we not offered Strokesaver booklets, which I would highly recommend using when playing the course the first time, as there were several blind drives. Overall, a great experience, but could have been perfect, hd the proprietors been less chintzy.

Before playing the course I used the driving range at £15 for 204 balls. I thought this was expensive until I saw the facility. There was not a ball on it. I was the only person there and it was immaculate. The course itself was fantastic. Wide welcoming fairways gather your ball as you make your way to perfect greens. Each green played exactly like the last in terms of roll and consistency. That plus the devilish contours had you thinking all day. You don't play the course you experience the facility. The starter, parking your car, having your clubs cleaned at the end all added to a great day. Green fees are high but well worth every penny. The best way to describe it would be great golf meets footballers wives (Pat Jennings and Vialli both spotted on the course)

Lucky enough to have played just prior to official opening, so the course was in perfect condition. An outstanding course, where there are a variety of hazards and a surprising amount of elevation changes. Wind plays its part too and some of the features are distinctly links-like. Green fees are steep but worth it.