Hurst Golf Club - Reading, Berkshire

I was forced to play off the mats at Hurst, with temporary greens on every hole, but the tee areas and greens did look quite well kept. If you are wayward off the tee there is plenty of space to recover from but I would only suggest a visit for a quick practice round if you are in the area, there are virtually no clubhouse facilities, just a small bar to refreshment.

Uxbridge Golf Club - Middlesex

Uxbridge is a municipal parkland course with tree-lined fairway's, not much water but quite undulating, a word of warning if you do not like slow play then this course may not be for you.

The sixth hole on this course has to be one of the toughest par 4's we have ever played 466 yards all uphill. If you get a 5 here you have played it well. On some of the holes the greens are quicker than they look so some of the putts you get are tricky. The back nine are slightly easier and if you have held your round together up to the eleventh you could get back in the clubhouse with a very good score.

Dartmouth Golf Club - Totnes, Devon

Dartmouth is an absolute joy to play, tees, greens, fairways the whole course is up to championship standards, the clubhouse has great facilities with very friendly staff, a special thank you to Tamzin (hope it's spelt right) who looked after us at dinner.

Bird Hills Golf Club - Maidenhead, Berkshire

Bird Hills Golf Club is a gently undulating open course with a couple of water hazards, not too demanding if you do not hit the ball straight down the fairway as the only densely wooded area on the course is the course boundary. Ditches run across the fairway's of 7 of the holes which can make you think about which club to take off the tee.

I found the back nine a lot more interesting than the front, the has hidden dangers, it is a slight dogleg and there are three little pot bunkers hidden in the rough on the left to stop you cutting the corner, if the rough is left to grow a little these bunkers are not visible from the tee.

The 13th is a par 5 that really does play like a par 5. If you really smash your tee shot then you may get a chance to go for the green otherwise lay up as the green is very well protected. The 17th has a great view from the tee, a slight dogleg to the left with bunkers on both sides of the fairway at driving distance and a tree smack bang in the middle of the fairway just before the green.

Quite an enjoyable trip back to the clubhouse.

Badgemore Park Golf Club - Oxfordshire

Badgemore Park is a well maintained scenic course where the tees, fairway's and greens are all in top condition. The course starts with two fairly easy holes, the 1st has lots of room on the left if you are wayward with your drive and if you hit it right you will be on the 10th fairway with the green still reachable but a blind shot over trees.

The 2nd is a par 5 that if the wind is right can easily be reached in 2, so you could be standing on the 3rd under Par! which is a good thing because you may just take 7 or 8 on the next hole.

The 3rd is a dogleg which curves at almost 90° to the left and at 460 yards is very difficult to reach in 2. You could hit quite a good tee shot to the middle of the fairway and still not be able to see the green.

The next few holes have bail out areas for the wayward golfer but there are long rough & wooded areas to stay clear of. The 10th, 12th, 15th & 16th will make you think about what club to hit off the tee as a driver/3wood is probably not the best club to take on these holes.

The round was a little slow, but I think there was a society in front so maybe it was a one off, although I think the shared tees on the 2nd/11th and the two holes where the fairway's cross over each other do slow the round down a little.

Tylney Park Golf Club - Hampshire

Tylney Park is a superb looking course set in an undulating tree lined area just outside Rotherwick. The fairways and tees were in great shape and the greens, well you certainly can't say that they are a bit flat, humps, bumps, slopes and tiers on nearly all of them.

Bishopswood Golf Club - Hampshire

Bishopswood is a well maintained 9 hole course, the greens were great to putt on and ran very true, the fairways were in good condition, trees line most of them making a straight shot a necessity and the rough will definitely hold you up on your approach to the green.

The only bad point was the number of GUR areas around the course.

Witney Lakes Golf Club - Oxfordshire

Witney Lakes is a good golf course in a nice resort, kind of reminded me of Wokefield Park. The course is still a bit young so not many trees around to hinder your play and the fairways are quite open although you do have to wary of the lakes around this course. Tees and fairways were in great condition while the greens were looking great, a few of the holes are quite picturesque and I am sure that when matured the course will look great to the eye.

Chiltern Forest Golf Club - Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Chiltern Forest is one of my favourite courses, having visited every year since first playing it in 1999, I can certainly recommend a visit here. When I first played the here I asked the secretary what the course was like, the reply I got was "There are some ups and some downs but not many flat bits", which was quite a good description.

Magnolia Park Golf Club - Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Magnolia Park, set in the outstanding Buckinghamshire countryside, is very pleasing on the eye, the fairway's and greens are immaculate and the water features on a few of the holes add more beauty to the course, one complaint would be that the tee areas could have been a bit more like the rest of the course, but being a new course I'm sure they will sort them out.

Overall this course was a pleasure to play and once your round is finished you have the great facilities in the clubhouse to enjoy.

Haste Hill Golf Club - Middlesex

Haste Hill is a public pay & play course that in the summer is quite a pleasant place to play. The greens and fairway's are normally in good condition and some of the holes are quite picturesque. The downside is in the winter the course does degrade quite a lot with nearly all the greens becoming temporary and the fairway's like farmers fields.

Blue Mountain Golf Club - Binfield, Berkshire

Blue Mountain is a pleasant municipal course, though the uphill 15th was a bit tough for the average golfer, the course is blessed with nice fairway's, tees and huge greens that really are difficult to miss.Unfortunately there is a lot of water about as well so if you do find your game becomes a bit wayward your ball is going to get wet.

My playing partner certainly like the 5th hole here, he topped his drive from the tee which left over 200 yards to go, took out his 4 iron, swung it well and watched in delight as the ball flew straight into the hole without touching the green for an eagle two.