Strawberry Hill Golf Club - Middlesex

Strawberry Hill is not a very long nine hole course in total but does have some long par 3's. You start with a par 5 that bends slightly left to right, this gives you an opportunity to get off to a good start, then comes the three in a row Par 3's all over 200 yards!

The first of the par 3's is probably the best looking from the tee with trees obscuring the view of the green. The par 4's on this course really do give you a birdie opportunity as they are not very long, but they still require an accurate approach, the 7th in particular has a well guarded green.

It is not a long par 4 and quite straight too but I liked the approach shot, you have a bunker with a large face in front of the green daring you not to come up short and the houses behind make you think twice about being long.

Overall the course was in good condition, the greens in particular were very well kept and well guarded with humps & bumps all around them.

Grims Dyke Golf Club - Middlesex

Grims Dyke is a pleasant and enjoyable round of golf can be had at this course, the tees and fairways were in great condition for October, the fairways in particular have wonderfully undulations on them which make you think about where to place your tee or approach shot. Then we come to the greens, if you think you have a straight putt on a green then have another look, everything rolls down the slopes. We could not believe the breaks some putts made and how fast the downhill putts were.

Thorney Park Golf Club - Iver, Buckinghamshire

Thorney Park is by no means a long course but it looks like a well kept one, tees, greens and fairways are all in very good condition but the later can get a little wet at times.

Sandford Springs Golf Club - Hampshire

When I visited Sandford Springs I played the Wood and the Lakes courses so cannot comment on the Park course although I am sure the three courses are to the same standard.

First of all the I have to mention what good condition the course was in, the tees were perfect the fairways were great and the greens, well the greens were a delight to putt on.

Hartley Wintney Golf Club - Hampshire

This is a nice looking course set in the Hampshire countryside, the condition of the course was superb, the fairways, tees and especially the greens were all in great condition. We have to give a special mention to the greens as they ran well and true, putting on them was a pleasure.

The 1st is quite short and if played sensibly can get you off to a good start. You really do not want to go through the green at the 3rd and I think this is true for most of the holes.

The 5th needs an accurate drive between the trees you could be in water if you miss the fairway on either side. The 6th hole is the first hole to test your length as a bad tee shot could leave you with a very long approach.

The 8th hole is a nice dogleg par 5, the tee shot is uphill to the fairway that then bends round to the right, you really need to stay on the left for your approach to miss the sand trap on the right.

The 9th hole is a good looking one, a par 3 all downhill to a green that slopes away from you slightly so it will require a well hit shot to stop the ball on the green. With trees slightly obscuring the view of the green and five bunkers surrounding it this hole is a tough one.

The 12th hole had us wondering what side of the tree to aim for, on the 13th & 14th the water hazards certainly come into play and you will need a yardage chart to negotiate the 16th.

The course was a pleasure to play even though we struggled on the back nine, the staff were friendly and the clubhouse facilities were of a high standard.

Wycombe Heights - High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Wycombe Heights sits on the edge of the Chilterns so as you can imagine it is anything but flat, many of the holes offer really great views of the surrounding area but walking the course can get a little tiring for some.

Southwood Golf Club - Hampshire

Southwood is a council owned public pay and play course that is very well maintained, the fairways, tees and greens were all in good condition, one complaint was the position of the yellow tees, they were nearly all up with the red tees.

Southfield Golf Club - Oxfordshire

Southfield is a parkland course with lots of undulations on the fairways, many mature trees and some terrific views of Oxford.

The first couple of holes are pretty straight forward but the 3rd will cause you to make a choice, what club to choose from the tee to lay up to that ditch, not only do you need to lay up but you need to be on the right hand side for an approach to the green.

Greys Green Golf Club - Oxfordshire

I have now played Greys Green twice, the first time I played the short nine hole course, the next time I managed to get round the full course.

There are no bunkers, no water features, no clubhouse facilities & no irrigation.

The Lanes Golf Club - Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire

The Lanes is a small nine hole council run course for the average golfer to have a good practice round on. Although a couple of the holes are well laid out, most of them are pretty simply, there is a good bit of variation through the holes for the novice golfer but the experienced ones will only need half a set of clubs around here.

Lime Trees Park Golf Club - Middlesex

Lime trees is a good little nine hole course that has another set of tees for variation on the back nine, the course was going to be redeveloped soon so this may become out of date quite quickly.

The course looks as though it can get quite wet, the greens were very soft when we played it but still playable, some of the fairways had not been cut and we had to play off mats. All this is quite understandable during the winter months and I'm sure the course looks great during the summer.

They said the course was going to change quite a bit, well I hope they don't change all of the holes because, apart from the 1st, there are some well designed holes on this course.

The 2nd is a good dogleg hole with a raised green at the end, the 4th is a mid-long iron par 3 over a pond where you just can't afford to be short, if your not in the pond you will be in the bunker. The tee shot from the 5th has a great view down the fairway and the 6th is a decision making par 5.

I liked the 6th because it is full of choices, do you take a driver off the tee, bringing the ditch into play or go for the safe option and lay up short. Do you then go for the green if you think you can reach and risk a wayward shot into the pond on the right, even if you decide to lay up that pond is going to be on your mind. Don't overshoot the green as you will run out of golf course and anything coming up short may just end up in the bunker.

Some nine hole courses end up just being practice rounds for most golfers but I think you could get more than just a practice out of this course.

Perivale Park Golf Club - Middlesex

Perivale is a parkland public pay and play course in good condition for the time of year that we played it with a good variety of holes for a small course. The tree-lined fairway's on some holes make sure this course is not too open and the undulating greens make putting a positive exercise.

You have to be careful on the 1st not to overshoot the green, as the river Brent runs behind it, this river also comes into play on the 4th & 6th holes. The par 3's on the course are all good yardages, not too short to be just a pitch & a putt and not too long for the average golfer to reach in one. On the two occasions we have played here the wind was against us on the 9th, making it a rather long Par 5 with not much chance of getting on in two.

The 6th hole stands out amongst the rest, it is a very slight dogleg to the right where two good shots are needed to get to the green. The perfect line is over the trees just in front of the tee, otherwise a slight fade is required. Even with a good tee shot you will still be left with a long iron to the green, the fairway is narrow and the river Brent runs the whole length of the hole on the left with a ditch & a pond on the right.

The clubhouse is nothing to write home about and with not many other facilities you wouldn't want to host a society day here. They do get the odd beginner golfer going round with just a couple of balls and half a bag of clubs but we enjoyed the course, so for a practice or a round in the winter this course is just the ticket.

Chesham & Ley Hill Golf Club - Buckinghamshire

Chesham and Ley Hill is a nice little nine hole woodland course, the tee plates were being altered when we played this course, (something to do with the indexes being changed), so not knowing which hole was the first I played the course in the wrong order.

Even though I played this course in the winter, the greens, fairways and tee areas were all well kept, the greens in particular had some very interesting undulations on them. The clubhouse staff were very friendly and so were the few members I bumped into on the way round, overall I had a very pleasant days golf, apart from getting lost on the course that is.

Iver Golf Club - Buckinghamshire

Visited Iver after being told it was going to be increased to an eighteen hole course, this has since been cancelled and they now have nine holes with a nine hole par 3 course. It is parkland pay and play, with quite a few hazards for such a little course, parts of the course are quite open and the wind can really be a factor here.