Course recommendation for London - April 2018

[PhilMickFan]

Greetings guys. Taking a business/pleasure trip to England/Scotland next month. We are already playing twice while we are in Scotland (Kingsbarns & Jubilee St. Andrews). We also want to schedule one round while we are in London. We are staying right next to the Victoria Station if that matters. Just need recommendation for one course. Cost is not really a concern. :)

 

Thank you for any/all comments. :golfer:

[Chanceman]

If cost is not a concern, give Sunningdale a call and book their 36 hole special - one round on the Old and one on the New. Both are fabulous heathland courses and you will remember the day for many years. Have their excelllent clubhouse breakfast and then sit under the old Oak Tree after the round. This is the course where Bobby Jones is said to have played the greatest ever round of golf.

[sabram]

If Cost is not a factor, +1 for Sunningdale both the Old and the New are great choices.

 

If that doesn't work for you, in order, I'd suggest the following:

 

Walton Heath (36 Holes)

The Berkshire (36 holes)

St Georges Hill

Woking

Worplesdon

New Zealand

Hankley Common

[imakaveli]

Check out London Gold Club, a great track! Beside the ones cited above, if you fancy some links golf the Sandwich area is reachable with Royal St. George's, Prince's and Royal Cinque Ports.

[troublelove]

If you have any contacts then Queens Wood, if not, Sunningdale.

[MarkFromTheUK]

Got to be St George’s Hill. AWESOME track.

[chasm]

Most of what has been said here is spot on and will be a great day out. Surprised no one has mentioned Wentworth, although it is as much about the experience and the 'brand' as the course. For what its worth, I agree that Sunningdale is the best of the classic heathland courses (and I actually prefer the New to the Old). Then I would rate the Berkshire (I'm biased) and Walton Heath ahead of St George's Hill - and if you are on for 36 holes in the day you can play two 'proper' 18s, rather than St George's Hill's 3rd 9 in combination with half of the main course.

 

As others have pointed out, Royal St George's is also well worth a day trip. Queenwood is an astonishing experience. Depending on when you play there you are likely to run in to someone famous (at least to us Brits) and/or a famous golfer. The course condition is like nowhere else.

 

For an experience of the best of English golf, my vote is for Sunningdale. Make sure you have a sausage sandwich at the halfway house.

[MarkFromTheUK]

Controversial opinion alert... I think the redesign of Wentworth over the last 5 years has ruined it. Els (and the fool who employed him) has got a lot to answer for.

 

Walton Heath is very nice, but I wouldn’t bother playing it in the winter. I like courses that start with a par 3, and one of the courses at WH starts with a MONSTER. It’s around 250y from the back tee if I remember correctly.

[chasm]

I meant to add that, if you are on a late flight out of Heathrow, then all the Surrey/Berkshire heathland courses which Sabram mentions above, are within half an hour of the airport (Walton Heath only if you get lucky with traffic!). Time for 36 and then the plane ride home to unwind

[chasm]

I think you're absolutely right about Wentworth but still one to consider if playing famous/tour courses floats your boat

[Smithj36]

Any thoughts on renting/verse bringing clubs? I am going to London in June and playing Walton Heath (Old). Pro shop was very helpful and said they could have rental set available but being LH worried about the quality/brand of set. It looks like UBER is available in England so I am not that worried about getting suitcase and clubs from train station to Hotel. I am thinking thought that it might be a real pain is trek clubs on the Tube and then onto a train down to WH. Anyone have experience with bringing clubs on tube and train?

 

Thanks,

[MarkFromTheUK]

Any thoughts on renting/verse bringing clubs? I am going to London in June and playing Walton Heath (Old). Pro shop was very helpful and said they could have rental set available but being LH worried about the quality/brand of set. It looks like UBER is available in England so I am not that worried about getting suitcase and clubs from train station to Hotel. I am thinking thought that it might be a real pain is trek clubs on the Tube and then onto a train down to WH. Anyone have experience with bringing clubs on tube and train?

 

Thanks,

 

Probably best to call ahead and find out the options. When I went there I was a bit underwhelmed by the pro shop, and in my experience, that doesn’t bode well for hire sets. Being a leftie makes matters even worse.

 

Uber isn’t available everywhere in the UK. It’s available in central london, but outside can be a bit patchy. I’d recommend you pre book a taxi just in case. Addison Lee are ok.

 

Depending on the time of day, and the line you’re travelling on, the tube and train can either be a breeze, or absolutely hideous. If you’re travelling at rush hour the tube will be like a sardine can, and best avoided.

[Smithj36]

thanks for the info. I would be playing on a Sunday. So leaving on TUBE around 10 am. Yes, I will definitely verify with pro shop the brand available, shaft stiffness, etc.

[MarkFromTheUK]

thanks for the info. I would be playing on a Sunday. So leaving on TUBE around 10 am. Yes, I will definitely verify with pro shop the brand available, shaft stiffness, etc.

 

Sunday shouldn’t be too bad in terms of crowds (unless there is a football match on). What you’ll need to watch out for though is track closures. They do engineering works on Sundays, so worth checking out whether the line you will be using is affected.

[Smithj36]

great info, thanks.

[Walter]

I played Worplesdon last year in April and was a great course with nice welcome! ( course with a nice history as well next to quality golf).

[Chanceman]

I played at Sunningdale with my own sticks and caught the tube from hotel to Waterloo and train from there. Not a problem as it was quite early in the morning, like 630am. Coming back at 5pm was not so much fun lugging the bag up and down escalators and platforms and crowded trains. Still, I managed and it was worth it. It's quite good to use your own familiar clubs on a new course.