 |
Greys Green Golf Course
by dmandrew
Greys Green golf course, about six miles west of Henley-upon-Thames in Oxfordshire, is a quite extraordinary place. On the face of it, it is poverty golf. You turn off next to a pub called The Dog and travel down a potholed, bumpy road that threatens to jigger your suspension, and then at the end of the pretty rough car park there is a ... shabby caravan type building, which you enter to pay your green fees. The reception is friendly, however, and so is your wallet as the most you can pay is £9. This allows you to play ALL DAY, and if you arrive in the twilight period (in March this was after 2:30 p.m.) then you only pay £7.
I only read up about Greys Green after I had got home after my first round, having chanced to find it by Googling for pay-and play golf in or near Berkshire. The first tee, therefore, took me by surprise, as it wasn't a teeing ground. It was just an area on short-cut grass, marked with two tee markers. At the other end of the first hole, the green also wasn't built up or constructed in any way, being simply fairway closer mown than the surrounds. Not a promising beginning, but as I progressed round the 18 holes of the Red course (5933 yards, par 71), I realized that every tee was perfectly playable, and that the greens, although a touch slow, and a little slow and bobbly, actually putted well. After my 18 on the Red, which took two hours, as it wasn't at all crowded, I played nine holes on the Blue course (2859 yards, par 35). Not bad for £9! There is also the White Course 1537 yards, par 27), which has nine par three holes, ranging from 140 to 190 yards.
The thing that is possibly unique in this country about Greys Green is that it has been made without any earth-moving at all being done. No bunkers, and no shaped tees or greens. Everything has been done with thoughtful planning and routing of the holes, and intelligent mowing and planting. The Red course in particular is shaped well. There are several memorable holes, in particular two shortish par fours that tempt you to have a go at cutting dogleg corners and some tough par fives where the second shot has to carry a belt of rough or lay up. The course has some significant trees, which are used very well, especially that on the 17th, which if you can drive over takes about 30 yards off the length of the hole. Old farm fences also play their part.
I liked it so much for my weekly game that I went back for the next two weeks (this was in February and March) and I look forward to trying it out in the summer.
Take your hat off to the owner and creator, Alex Hood, for laying out this course, and resisting the opposition that there was to this. After eighteen years, it's maturing nicely. It's a great haven for wildlife, as virtually all golf courses are, and provides an excellent golf facility at minimal green fee cost. Without fancy grass or fertilizers, it might never host big tournaments, but for genuine, natural golf, it's great.
Read the complete review |
 |
Billingbear Golf Club
by dmandrew
Billngbear Golf Club is a friendly place to get a game if you turn up on spec, but it can be quite crowded, so it's worth telephoning in advance to see what conditions are like.
There are two nine-hole courses, the Old and the New. The Old was revived about twelve years ago, having existed in the 19th century, but then ... disappearing for many decades. It's par 34, and 5858 yards long from the white tees for 18 holes. Some of the tees are different for the back nine, so that's par 35. SSS 68 from white tees, 67 from yellow.
Billingbear is kept in good condition, and I have always enjoyed playing there. The greens can be a bit squidgy to pitch to after recent rain, but they putt well. Layout is memorable, which for me is always the test.
1st - a longish par 4 with a tight drive.
2nd - a short par 4 that calls out to be birdied of your short game is at all good.
3rd - a par 5 that is reachable with two Sunday best shots, but both the driving area and green are well defended by sand.
4th - 150 yard par 3 to a slightly raised green
5th - exhilarating hole where you can thump it over threes to land on a downslope. The green has a guardian lake. 390 yards, but plays short if you get the drive right.
6th - switchback par 4 of 380 yards, plays long.
7th - 160 yards, a good, stout par 3.
8th - unforgiving long par 3 to a well guarded green. 217 yards, but becomes 151 yards, par four on the back nine.
9th - largely downhill par 4 with a lake on the right approach.
The New Course consists in nine par 3 holes, ranging from 106 to 213 yards. Two are great lake holes - a tee, a green and a lake.
The cheapest rates are payable if you play on Monday to Thursday, or before 2 p.m. on Friday:
Old Course
£16 for 18 holes
£10 for 9 holes
New Course
£12 for 18 holes
£7 for 9 holes
It's £15 if you play 9 holes on each course, which I think is the best deal as you get the most variety that way
Weekends and Bank Holidays cost about a third more than this.
You can hire bags, buggies and trollies.
Read the complete review |
 |
Golf Courses in West Midlands
by dmandrew
Church Stretton Golf Club has some of the finest views in the country. So it should do when the highest point is 1200 feet up. On a clear day, you can see the Malverns, virtually all of the Shropshire Hills - 20 and more miles away to the north, east and south, and sometimes you can spot Ysgirid, 50 miles away near ... Abergavenny.
That's good for starters. Next up is that the course hardly ever closes for bad weather, oftne being the last one still playable locally when others are flooded and there are NO WINTER GREENS.
Green fees are reasonable - £20 for all day midweek and £25 at weekends, although teeing times are a bit restricted on Sundays because of competitions. There are no starting times - you just turn up and pay the friendly pro, or over the bar, or do an honesty book.
The course is like no other that I know. It starts at 750 feet and climbs all the way to the 9th green. Not every hole is uphill, but those 450 feet have to gained somehow. The first three holes are all par 3, but very different from each other. you can't see the bottom of the pin on any of them and the 3rd is blind. The 1st hole is reckoned to be the toughest opening par three for several counties. Its 175 yards long, to a severely raised green, with perdition all around. Not an easy start to a medal round! The 4th is a classic long par 4 dogleg, with a ravine to carry for the second. A four here is a great score. After the short 5th, which has its own peninsula to site the green, holes 6 7 and 8 offer birdie chances as they are all short par fours. In the right conditions, a big hitter can get on all three of these greens, but there's plenty of trouble if you carve one. The 9th has the tightest drive, which comes a s bit of a shock, as most of the course is pretty open. It's only 340 yards on the card, but plays to about 400 because of the slope and prevailing wind.
Number 10 takes you out to the farthest point on the course, with Out of Bounds on both sides. 11 is 430 yards long and downhill, so often plays shorter than the 9th. 12 is a tricky par 3 across a slope to a small green that takes a lot of holding. 13 and 14 are parallel to each other and both about 360 yards long, though like many holes here they play a bit longer because the fairways, although lovely to play from, do not run enormously. 15 is a glorious downhill driveable par 4 at 320 yards, and 16 a switchback 270 yarder, also driveable. But both have nasty Out of Bounds for slicers! 17 is also about 320, to a sunken green, and 18 is a lovely par three where the tee is way above the green, and so you can see what happens.
It's an invigorating course to play, not least because there's usually a bit of wind. The club is very friendly, and there are usually some good offers available if you want to come back for another day. Church Stretton takes most of the usual discount schemes, like 2-fore-1 and the Golf Monthly scheme
Read the complete review |
