Willow Valley Golf and Country Club

Interesting views on Willow Valley albeit from some time ago and i would like to redress the balance a little bit with a more updated experience.
I played with my society group on the Willow Valley course in October last year and we were all really pleased with the welcome, the course, the greens etc etc...even the warm up on the driving range was well taken care of by the guys in the shop.
Playing the course for the first time is an experience it has to be said. There are certain long par fours and even a par five that anything more than a 6/7 iron from the tee is asking for trouble..strange but true and an unusual element not normally seen on any other golf courses i have played.
That said, there are some real quality holes especially over water that will live long in the memory afterwards. The greens although recently tined, were high quality and in the main gave a straight and true roll.
The only real downside from our team was that the course itself is tough walking from green to the next tee and i would recommend hiring a buggy if at all possible. The course is not overly hilly or taxing on the fitness but some of the distances from green to the next tee are probably too long to be fair.
The green fee/catering was pretty reasonable i thought and our group has booked again for this year so i guess that paints as good a picture as possible as we try to have a policy of not playing the same course one year after the next but the guys were pretty adamanant that Willow Valley found its way onto our 2010 fixture list again and so it has.

hi sorry but its true !!!!!
This golf course is amazingly poor as is the welcome you get in the club house, My friend and i played here and was amazed by the poor condition the coures was in,And yes we played the 18 and not the 9 when we had finished our round we went to complain well we might as well of just gone home a waste of good money and if thats how modern golf courese are run i think ill pack it all in

A friend told me about this course about 6 years ago. He said I must give it a go and take a sack full of old balls with me. As there is a lot of water and an Island green.
Driving up to the club the course looked good with plenty of water. Paid the winter green fee £20, which I thought was quite dear this time of year.
So we set off to the first hole which is quite a walk from the club house. The second hole was totally off limits as the green keeping staff were spiking it and running a tractor over it. I would like to add there was no temporary green or mention of this when I paid my £20 at the clubhouse.
The green keeping staff game across quite rude and did not acknowledge we were trying to play the hole. This happened on more than one occasion. The front 9 were OK but nothing really special to be honest. There is some water but it does not come into play too much. The first 12 holes were played in woods and then course opened up and the water hazards played a bigger part on the course.
I only lost 3 balls. 2 in the water and 1 under all the leaves on the 8th fairway.
There are some good holes but as far as I am concerned it was not as good as expected. The people working there all seemed grumpy. There were too many leaves on the fairways. It just did not have the magic for me. It just felt like it was trying to be something it never could be. It was too near to the motorway. The walks between holes were too long. It looked like scrub land in places. Not well manicured. I have come to expect more for £20. Disappointing. It has potential but not were it’s located and needs more investment.

I played the Pine valley course just under two years ago and highlighted how poor it was on this website. (See 31/10/05) I went back on 10 July 2007 to see if the course had improved like I was told it would do and also to check out the new nine holes. What a joke!!!!! The fairways were as bare as I have seen anywhere. It wasn't even as if it was good quality and had been used a lot. There were still stones everywhere on the fairways, hitting off mud nearly every shot. This ruined my enjoyment of the round, but not as much as the price. We decided to tee off at 6.30pm. I asked if there was a twighlight rate. The answer was no so I asked how much it was. I was told £14.50 each!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I paid thinking that it must have improved a lot. A total disgrace of a course, especially when yopu compare to somewhere like Roundhay in Leeds, which is £7.50 for a twighlight session, also it is nearly 1000yards longer and plays like a masters course compared with this. I will never be ripped off here again!!!!!

PLayed the pine valley course on the 9th july, i know we have had a lot of rain but thought the fairways where shocking the greens where good but not very long or challenging

End of March, Saturday afternoon and £99 for a fourball and 2 buggies on the Willows course excellent value for money. Me thinks there must be a catch, a rubbish course maybe. Well to my surprise none of it. Excellent layout which is a tough test of golf. Yes a bit wet still in places and the greens were lacking a bit of grass but they had just been hollowed so give it a month or 2 and it will be in good nick.
Am looking forward to going back now I know where all the trouble - and there is lots of it is.

we played willow valley a couple of years ago and we were impressed,we decided to make a return this year,we were told of the new course pine valley and we were recomended that so we tried it on saturday 15 july.what a let down it was.the fairways were clay,prefered lies-you had to place your ball on a sod as there was no grass.the course is more like a pitch
&putt,with no challenge at all.as per the price we were offered a £5 per person reduction because of the condition of the course,which was no where near enough.and to finish off,the greens must have been used as a temp car park

I played the Willow Valley course during a recent holiday in the UK and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The course was in excellent condition and the greens very challenging. We were made very welcome and the staff were extremely pleasant. The offer they had on at the time was for a 4 ball and 2 buggies for 100 Pounds, I doubt the value could be beaten anywhere. As I originally lived nearby in Bradley it was great to se this level of golf being offered in the area. Well Done.

In response to the comments regarding the New Pine Valley Course I would have to add the following.
As a new course with only the 1st 9 holes open, the condition is explained to all visitors prior to booking and a leaflet is given out regarding preferred lies and general rules covering the growing on period.
The course itself is placed inbetween our two existing courses for dificulty and will be I believe an interesting, fair and fun test of golf when fully open and grown in. The greenfees are very good value and it should take around 3hours to play. This area has been crying out for a pay and play course of this type for the last 1o years.

I recently played the new pine valley course at the club. I have to say that after the high standards set by the PGA course this course was a huge dissapointment. I payed £14.50 for 18 holes (winter green fees)and I felt that £9 would have been a fairer price. The fairways were serverly lacking in grass and there was standing water on many of them. This course has obivously been completed on the cheap side as there were still many stones in the fairway, the bunkers were made up of what looked like building sand and we had to pick up our ball and place it on nearly every fairway shot to ensure that we were hitting off grass and not mud!! Another thing that lets the course down is its size. After most drives you tend to have a sand wedge in your hand at most. In summary I feel that this course has been rushed and done on the cheap side. A huge dissapointment from an otherwise good golf club!

This course should never be taken likely, the amount of lakes will help to keep the local lake ball industry in business but they to go to make it one of the most picturesque in the region. The course is very challening but not to the point that you just want to give up. I was impressed that the summer tees and greens are in use during the winter and their condition for the time of the year (January) was good. The only thing that I felt angry with was that drainage on the 15th and 16th holes, after what I thought was my best drive of the day was sadly spoilt by the ball plugging nicely into the fairway, and the same happened to my friend on the 16th just at the fringe. This can be forgiven as seasonal misfortune and these can be quickly forgotten in the very well stocked club house, the Timothy Taylor and Black Sheep beer should not be missed.

what can i say...AMAZING!!!!!! by far the closest to my dream course i have played. Each and every hole is different, and each and every 1 brings a smile on my face. The tees werent brilliant but who cares. The facilities were also tip-top, i spent an hour before teeing off on the crazy golf.
Its a course everyone must play. Quite cheap too.

I played this course on Saturday as part of a weekend away in the Leeds area and was very impressed. Firstly, you have to buy a course guide when you play this course. If you don't, you're score will suffer! The first is a fairly gentle opening hole, but a narrow landing area for your tee shot and loads of hidden bukers make it interesting. The 2nd is SI 1, and even with a good 250+ drive, you've still left with an 8 iron in, hitting on a down-slope to a green with water on three sides. The 3rd is no easier - a par five where you can't take more than a 5 iron from the tee and the hole winds in the 3 different directions. A couple of 'easier' holes follow this, and then there's an amazing par 3 (approx. 170 yds, slighlty up hill, with a lake and rocks between you and the green, and a huge Oak tree covering the left side of the green). The next is a mammoth par 5 where there is absolutely no chance of reaching in two. There's a lake splitting the fairway at 275 yds (which I cam up only just short of from the tee) and to carry it, your drive needs to carry at least 320 in the air. The second is still a full 300 to the green.
The back nine is litterd with water and bunkers. The 12th fairway winds narrowly between two lakes and has a green that slopes away to water on the right. The 14th has an island green and the 18th has water on the right hand side of the fairway and in front of the green. On all the other holes, bunkers are well placed, which forces you to hit fairways and greens.
The course was in great condition, although the greens were slower than I expected. If you're a high handicapper, stay away from this course because it will break your heart, but if you like a challenge and want to see how good you really are, get up to Brighouse and play this course! I play off 12 found this course a real test but great fun (and the food in the Clubhouse was cracking too!).

played course mon 3 may as our usual 4 ball, after being thrown the gauntlet by my usual 3 playing partners who said i would enjoy the coure but be aware!!!! good layout,and the fairways were tight were my first thoughts and no buggie today,my choice with it being at £16 a slight overprice, greens were large and varied although a little bare,in places,you definately have to think your away around this course,with some great views, and very attractive attacking holes,not so many birdie chances to be had, you do have to be really accurate still,won front 9, back 9, overhall,and my fav," bunkers" last person not in takes the pot at 25p a bunker this soon mounts up if your not careful isnt it terry!!! a great island green on the 14th where i wasnt reminded of the bunker guarding the green,10 for terry here,as it was for ian on the7th,no relief here in the trees,6th is a great hole with a well guarded pin,take your chance and you mighgt get a birdie, well done craig!!i liked the 17th hole too easiest on the course,where you get punished for hitting out of bounds left(craig)haha,and a great big pylon comes into play if you are not careful,be cautious not to go to far right here as balls can be lost here too,(ian)again consider the options THINK if you need to LAY UP take out your obstacles,18th a good finishing hole with water in play probably on 2 of your shots, overhall i really enjoyed it had some great approach shots to take out the bunkers and give myself a par putt, but i only hit 1 par 3 green,so the par 3 are a very good test i would recomend this course to all standards, just have your THINKING HEAD ON, some holes do allow for a poor tee shot, ie the 11th, will be taking another visit,before we all depart to spain in october,hope this course appears in the 2 for one next season,THANKS FOR THE GAME IAN CRAIG TERRY and good luck next time

after hearing so much about willow valley l just had to play it.
scenic, greens guarded by the most awkward bunkers, and lakes, or both.well it certainly lived up to expectations.Three 17 handicappers, and a 16. we all had our own little nightmare holes, mine being the wonderful 14th.Overall it was a wonderful experiance, a fantastic course,staff was really helpful,greens and fairways were in great shape.And at £100 for the four of us, with two buggies thrown in. we will certainly be back.

Found this course to be exceptional value for money. Fairways and greens were in good condition for this time of year. WV is a very challenging course with a good veriety of holes. Enjoyed every minute playing there. Definately recommend this course to anyone. I will certainly be going back to play there.

Played WV 5 months after taking up the game & took an instant dislike. Found it far too difficult to really enjoy, until the 17th when I finally ran out of balls!
Now, 10 months on & having played two more rounds, I rate WV amongst the best I've played. Cant't agree with comments regarding poor drainage, we played in the middle of a wet January off normal Ts & greens. First rate set-up all round.
Alan Moss

willow valley is a course that like it has been said is very different from most
1/ its tough very tough donot expect to shoot anywhere near your handicap unless you play to single figures
2/ its picturesque in places, with some very good par 3s to raised greens with big bunkers around
3/ its hard walking up hill/down dale and lots of walking from tee to green
4/ its a thinking mans course dont expect to get your driver out on every hole on at least 4 holes if you go past 210 yds off the tee you find trouble
5/ ignore the staff in the pro shop because they tend to ignore you but do be friendly with the green keeping staff we stopped for 10 mins to talk to these at the 1/2 way hut and they had us in stitches
6/ IF YOU LIKE TOUGH COURSES THIS IS A MUST
for all its faults and little quirks i enjoyed the golf here and im sure you will

Willow Valley is the most severe case of penal golf architecture I have ever come across and definately not my cup of tea, some however seem to enjoy it. The 1st is a short boring par 4, followed by the good, very difficult 2nd. The 3rd is shocking, a par 5 that, because of the design, leaves no alternative than to use no more than a 5 iron off the daily tees! After the drive however the hole is quite appealling. There are some very good holes here (2nd, 6th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 14th and 18th) all of which use water features well. There are indifferent holes (1st, 4th, 5th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th) which are uninspiring with a lack of definition. Finally there are 3 very poor holes, the 3rd (penal tee shot), the 8th (poor uphill par 3)and the 10th, this is one of the worst holes I have ever encountered, it's 600 yds long yet big hitters cannot take driver from the tee because of the positioning of a large lake across the entire fairway, after that it's a long slog uphill to a green with more severe bunkering than any par 3 on the course. It is a very long way round the course with unacceptable distances from green to tee. This is a course I play once a year, because it is so different from the golf most of us play all year round, though I can honestly say I have never really enjoyed the experience. Scoring can be quite good especially on the front 9, IF you keep your ball in play, it is quite easy though to run up large numbers on many of the holes. This is also a course that suffers from delusions of grandeur, the South course is now known as the TPC for goodness sake!. It's just not as good as it thinks it is and never will be. In a nutshell, overrated and overpriced - 5/10

I have found opinions of this course vary from one extreme to the other. My golfing buddy swears he will never play it again. He has had some terrible rounds there. If you aint shooting straight and long then you are in trouble. He is a 17 handicap and has carded 104 -112 and 105 on his last three rounds there.
I have been about 5 shots over my handicap but enjoyed it every time.
The course is magnificent and is holding a pga competition there next year

Played the shorter 9 hole course in glorious weather this weekend. If you are not a member of a golf club, then this is the ideal place to come if you want to play on a good quality course.
I live in Manchester, and the city has nothing to compare with this in terms of price, quality of greens and interesting (albeit shortish) holes. Thoroughly recommended for the aspiring 0-2 years' experience golfer.

I recently took a works society to Willow Valley for a very reasonable rate. Without fail all 21 players thought the course, while being wet on the fairways and very tough to play if you dont keep it straight, to be very well designed and the greens were "absolutly fantastic", even though it was November. They were fast and true with some incredible breaks to contend with.
The course has lots of water in all the right places, and in a few years when the thousands of trees grow up, if you stray off line from the fairways, will be a chip out sideways. All players will return to play in the summer time when the course should be in its full glory.

Iam a member at willow valley and have read both comments above i agree with some points raised but dont with others . the drainage is poor but greens fantstic! picturesk holes make it a joy to play and unlike some golf courses not snuty it has great facillities well worth a trip

Although the accuracy of the information from the club house left something to be desired, this course must be one of the best designed golf courses in this region.
Overall they have a problem with drainage (as the course was extreamely wet following two days rain)
Greens are large and undulating, fairways tighen for the longer hitters, bunkers and water hazards are in excellent positions off the tee.
The trees are maturing quickly (for a course that is less than 10 years old.)
I would recommed the club joins a 2-4-1 scheme to encourage more players to play it while it matures.
I am sure if you play this course in 5- 10 years (given a little more maturity) you will place it on you best course in the area list.
At the moment it is more than worth playing (although I would suggest summer !)
Our group (6-15 handicaps) truely enjoyed the course and will be back in a year or two to see its progress