The Hayling Golf Club

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.

Played in late October 2015. Loved it. Some great links holes. Fast fairways downwind, fast and very true greens with subtle run offs to ensure your short game needs to be precise. Drive it straight and you've a good chance to score well. If you're driving well there is plenty of space to avoid the gorse. Only downside, and this a personal opinion, is that five par 3s, all rather similar, is too many. Hole 14A is a par 3 (hence five of them) and was replacing the 18th (though not sure why as no work was being carried out on 18). The clubhouse on the inside is a lovely place with friendly and helpful staff and a good choice of food and beverage. One thing to make the experiece even better would be if the course guide were to include some dialogue to assist in choosing the line and distance on those several holes that have landing areas that are unseen from the tee. That said a thoroughly enjoyable day out and I look forward to returning.

I'm rather inclined to agree with the last two posters about the curious state Hayling is in these days. Until this month I hadn't played the course for probably 5 or 6 years but it has certainly changed and sadly not for the better. It used to have a lot of big and wide proper links holes. These all seem to have gone now and as the last poster said although you know you are playing on a links it looks oddly American. Still a good course but as it is at the moment it is definitely not worth the greenfee. It isn't cheap and it just isn't being looked after like courses in Surrey or even Stoneham down the road in Southampton. A pleasant but disappointing day.

An outstanding course, although the previous reviewer has a point about the strange fairways which weren't about the last time I played the course two years ago. It all looks rather out of place and like an American parkland course. Ignoring that, it's an exceptional true links course with extremely fast fairways and greens. Probably not a good course for a beginner to try out as there are lots of carries to make but a very enjoyable time for experienced players. Me and my society will be back again.

Our society played here, enjoying a good lunch in the deal, and found it all very nice. Overall a very good course but a bit tight for a links course in places which made it feel less like a links. I guess we're a hard bunch to please as we've played many of the top Scots and English links courses on previous trips. My favourite hole was the par 5 7th. It has a wicked green and lots of natural, fast rolling slopes all around it which makes finding your target a real challenge. And the 8th was also the sort of hole you don't see everyday. Not sure we'll be coming back but a good day anyway. Samuel Wright-Smith Farley Green, Surrey 09/06/14

I was extremely impressed with the Hayling Golf Club. Having taken the bus to the the Hayling Island Ferry from Portsmouth it was a short scenic walk to the Club House. I was greeted by the Pro, hooked up to rental clubs and was on my way. A absolutely stunning true links golf course in the tradition of The "Old Course" at St. Andrews. The people were so nice there. The Hayling Golf Club is one the best kept secrets on the planet. It is ranked No. 2 in the County of Hampshire. John D. Crocker Waterford CT USA )8/26/2013

I played here in sun-scorched July 2013 on a Sunday evening twilight rate of 35 pounds. Overall I thought this is a fantastic place/course, with excellent greens and a pleasingly traditional feel. To be ultra-critical, there could be slightly better signage off some of the greens: e.g. after (I think) the 14th (?) I accidentally played from the wrong tee (it turns out there's a 'mystery' hole 14a that presumably only swings into action when another hole is being repaired). Due to the gorse it's a tough course: my handicap is 11 and I carded a 92 due to 4 (!) lost balls (3 lost due to gorse and 1 lost due to Hayling's famous 'blind' shots: I had no real idea where 1 shot had ended up).

I played on 24th May for £25 (twilight rate after 4pm). This is a great links course with superb greens (fast true and with subtle borrows). A strong wind and the very dry spell made the course awkward and on several occasions my ball was on the green but then not. Par 3's very tricky with crosswinds (12&16 the best). Among 7 400 yd plus par 4's 6,12 & 15 were my favourites. A complaint in an earlier review that there are blind shots and you can't always see your tee shot lands just shows ignorance of the challenge of links golf. The views from the clubhouse are fantastic and as I happened to meet the chairman I discovered the reason for some of the hole names though not wny the 10th is called Pan-Ko-Chai. Once the Hindhead tunnel on the A3 opens in July the journey from London will be much quicker but whatever the travel time play here if you can

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!

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.