The Hayling Golf Club

Grew up here, started playing again recently and had to revisit my old stomping ground. I know I am hugely biased but what a joy.
Having read numerous reviews both here and on other sites it's interesting to note tha the more accomplished a player sounds the more enjoyment he or she seems to take from the course. This I totally understand; if you're a high handicapper and play Hayling for the first time you could well leave wondering what all the fuss is about. But then how often is that said of the Old Course at St. Andrews? No offence, but you have to get golf to get Hayling. It's no suprise that in days gone by when courses for major championships could get away with being below 7,000 yards Hayling's only drawback for hosting the Open was considered to be the lack of room for spectactors.
A lot of people who love the course still feel the opening two holes are a bit weak. Speaking from my biased position again I've always thought a 180 yard par three with well positioned bunkers followed by a not too taxing par five, again, with well placed sand, is an excellent way to get going. From there the course meanders further and further into the dunes and between the fifth and the thirteenth it's almost impossible to pick a favourite hole. From fourteen to home the course becomes a little less robust and is probably a blessed relief for those that haven't really understood and/or enjoyed the previous holes. For me, whilst still being very good and tough, this final stretch to the clubhouse is the least exciting part of the course.
Once in the clubhouse, believe it or not, the atmosphere is slightly more accommodating than in years gone by....slightly. I'm sure there remain a few older faces about that I can well imagine wouldn't dream of showing manners to a junior golfer (as I obviously once was) and allowing he or she to play through!

played here 31st june 2010, a nice course, in good condition and fast greens,parts of course in desparate need off water ,ball was running for miles,dont really understand last comments about the gorse on the back 9 cos to me it just made it more intresting and made you focus more on the shot the fairways are plenty wide enough,theres a fair few blind shots were the marker posts could be better placed, i think its a course you gotta play couple times to really get the feel for it and no were to put the ball i scored pretty well but also had a few blobs in me score aswell,all the par 3s were of a good standard, plenty of slopes on greens, defo would play again if in area, club house views are awesome as is the club house and 1st floor blaconey

I found this to be a good course in good condition. Was fortunate enough to play on a calm day (i imagine the wind can cause trouble). Got it alot cheaper than standard green fees, as i played with 2 pros and the shop staff were more than willing to give this to us.
good food, good welcoming staff, good day all round

Played here March 09
So so links .
I found this to be a long walk round & on the back 9 i started to find it a bit tedious .The main problem was the actual holes themselves .It all felt a bit hemmed in due to the amount of gorse .
Allowing for the fact that it's a links ,quite a few holes felt too tight & restrictive off the tee .Partial views of the fairway with narrowish landing areas mean you don't see your ball landing . Quite often you don't see the green from the tee either .
It's a demanding course as on the short par 4 10th ,for example ,you don't need to push your tee shot much to end up in a gorse bush allied to the fact that there's only a small landing area.
Positives were that there's a great clubhouse with a 1st floor terrace & above that a viewing gallery which both give great views of the coast ,the pro shop was very welcoming & these were the fastest greens i've putted on so far this year .

Favourite hole was the quirky par 4 13th .
Overall i found this to be a hard work as opposed to fun course & i don't think the standard £49 green fee represents value .
So ,for me ,a course to tick off as opposed to play again .
Kevin B.

Played this is mid october and this really is a lovely course. Driving up to the course i thought it looked like some old beach cafe..was i wrong. The club house is probably the nicest i have been too. The bar has beautiful views over the beach and the course.
As for the course, i wasn't impressed by the first few holes and so many people had told me how amazing the course was that i felt dissapointed, but gradually the course got better and better and better. The condition was absolutly lovely.

A spectacular venue.
The course is challenging and the pot bunkers will trap the best bunker players. Each hole has its own challenge. The 7th in particular ("Death or Glory") lives up to its name.
The club house facilities are superb. If you love golf and want a day to remember its worth the money.

This is easily the best links course on the south coast - Littlehampton aspires to be a good course, and is in it's own way, but doesn't have the concistency of excellent holes that Hayling has.
The start luls you into a false sense of security. The course is very difficult, wide open fairways, lots of gourse and heather and think rough, greens small and very quick. A great test, go and play it. If you play close to your handicap you are a good player.
The clubhouse is new, and the food excellent, all in all highly recommended

Hayling wasn't in Golf World's GB & Ireland's Top 100 Courses of 2002, but I'm sure it can't have been far off.
After a friendly welcome, we found the course to be tough, yet varied and enjoyable. Obviously, your score will to a large extent be determined by the weather. Thankfully, when we played, the wind was generally lenient and forgiving – just as well, since we were off the whites (6531 yards).
If I had to be critical (which, lets face it, is partly why I'm writing this, as much as to praise), the start is arguably the weakest part of the course and in no way does justice to some of the treats that are to follow.
After two fairly unremarkable opening holes, the course gradually starts to stick it's teeth in. Three and four are two long-ish dogleg par 4s (403 and 410 yards respectively), which preface an extremely tricky par 3 (not called Narrows without good reason) and then the 434-yard SI 1 par 4 sixth – a brute of a hole that needs to be respected yet attacked.
By the time you reach the eighth, you're in the dunelands at the far end of the course, which is home to the best sequence of holes.
This includes delights such as the eighth – a short but tricky par 4 with the green hidden behind dunes; the excellent par 3 eleventh, with it's daunting array of pot bunkers; the long, narrow and demanding par 4 twelfth (444 yards); the quirky short par 4 thirteenth (best to lay up with an iron); and the 534 yard-long par 5 fourteenth. I was interested to read below that the latter has been recognised as the best par 5 on the south coast – play it and it's not difficult to see why.
The finish isn't any easier, with some ferociously testing par 4s at 15 (430 yards) and 17 (432 yards), plus an examining par 3 at 17, which weighs in at 183 yards. Maybe the 18th isn't the most dramatic climax given what's gone before but, then again, maybe the designer decided to give the golfer a tiny bit of respite?
I don't think I had even heard of Hayling before my playing partner took me. There may be better links courses in England - but not many more than half a dozen or so.
9/10
'Young P'

Played Hayling last Summer, simply stunning.
Great traditional links golf and fabulous views of the Isle of Wight / Portsmouth.
Every hole is memorable though if you are a high handicapper I would suggest you play with a member, some of the carries are simply unachievable for twenty-something handicappers even on a calm day. (The locals tell me this doesn't happen often !)
They're in the process of building a new clubhouse which will make Hayling an even more attractive proposition.
Pay them a visit - highly recommended

Hayling Island is an excellent links golf course, with some beautiful holes, including some tricky blind shots. The greens are in fantastic condition, being very true, and quite fast.
However, our pleasure was ruined as the pro shop did not have any yardage charts. This made it very difficult to determine some of the hole layouts from the tee, and impossible to judge the distances to the corner of the doglegs or to the hazards in the middle of the fairway (eg: the 6th, where by luck we didn't hit drivers or we would have lost our balls in the water hazard that bisected the fairway!).
Please, please please get some yardage charts for this course, so the visitor can get the same enjoyment as the members. I envy Mr Ainge who played with some members - I wish we had known some! Unfortunately, we left the course feeling very disappointed.

Took advantage of the opportunity to play Hayling twice during a holiday on the south coast. I was looking forward to my first turn on a traditional seaside links course and Hayling did not disappoint. If fact, it exceeded my expectations. Course was in wonderful condition - greens were firm and smooth, although they were much slower than the North American greens that I'm accustomed to; fairways too, were firm and cut tightly. Layout was interesting/challenging. Most holes are memorable - the best being number 6, a 434 yard par four bisected by a water hazard that runs along the north end of the course and number 12, a 444 yard par four tucked in the sand dunes on the west end of the layout. Number 11 is a 157 yard par three that could require a wood or long iron into the prevailing breeze. Lastly, number 14, at 534 yards has been recognized as "the best par five on the south coast of England." Played with a couple of members, who were rightly proud of the course and it's history - definately a highlight of my trip to the UK.

This is the only links course along the south coast west of Sussex. It is a long time since I last played it and I can't remeber any of the holes in detail apart from the first which is a long par 3 into the wind. Nice start !! This course is rated in the top 100 in the UK and thoroughly deserves to be there. If you enjoy links, this is a must.