C & L Country Club - Middlesex

We were told that the course had just undergone some major changes last year so maybe it has not recovered just yet. The fairways are more like the sort of ground you would expect to play football on at the local park and the greens were just a shorter grass version of the fairways, the tees however were at least raised slightly so some effort had been put in there. We found the middle of the fairway on a few holes and had to actually hunt for the ball!

Burnham Beeches Golf Club - Burnham, Buckinghamshire

One of the oldest in the region, Burnham Beeches is set in a wonderful location where the beeches of the surrounding wood give the club it's name.

Temple Golf Club - Maidenhead, Berkshire

Temple has some nice touches to start with, a bag of grass seed and dirt at the 1st tee for you to carry round with you to repair your own divots and coloured flags on the greens to indicate where the pin is cut. The greens here are very good and produce smooth fast rolling putts but the fairways let the course down slightly as they have a lot of moss and clovers on them instead of just grass.

Bearwood Lakes - Sindlesham, Berkshire

Serving up some great views along with well a maintained golf course, Bearwood Lakes was a joy to play. All of the people we met, from the staff in the clubhouse to the members on the course were very welcoming, we caught a couple of four balls up after nine holes but they didn't seem to affect our speed of play as we easily completed our round within a respectable four hours.

This parkland layout is one of the best new courses around, with no two holes feeling the same, the water comes in to play on a number of holes but I think the back nine are the best ones. The feeling of standing on the thirteenth tee looking at the  lake in front, awaiting your duffed tee shot, also knowing that if you do smash it straight down the middle you could end up in the ditch cutting across the fairway, makes this particular hole a very tricky one.

Bowood Golf Club - Wiltshire

From the moment you drive through the gates at the entrance you just know you are going to enjoy the experience of playing here. The staff were very helpful & the hospitality of the whole place makes you feel like a member. The clubhouse is superb with nice changing rooms plus a number of rooms for societies to rejoice after their rounds. The facilities too are great especially the 3 hole Academy course where you can warm up before taking on the real challenge.

Mill Ride Golf Club - Ascot, Berkshire

Mill Ride is a quite a nice new course, the greens are very good and the fairways are looking great, a little more work could be done on the tees though. The clubhouse looks good and the staff were very helpful & friendly. The course marshals even gave us a little advice about certain holes while we were waiting at the 1st.

 The course has quite a bit of variation, it seems fairly tight on the front nine and opens up a little on the back nine but well placed bunkers and water on many of the holes keep you in check. The staff at Mill Ride have done well with the course and it is looking very nice, if the improvements keep coming then this course could become a favourite in the Berkshire area.

Denham Golf Club - Middlesex

Denham was a joy to play, the staff were very helpful & the course condition was superb. Fairways, tees & greens were all brilliant and the setting was great, you would never have guessed you were playing just a few miles from Heathrow with two major motorways right next door.

Wentworth Golf Club - Surrey

We only played the East course as we were never going to review all three courses in one visit so we will have to go back for a review of the West & Edinburgh courses.

The first thing we noticed were the staff at Wentworth, 'Can I help you Gentleman', 'Sir', 'Mr Wilton', all these phrases and more were spoken by the staff who made us feel very welcome and were very helpful.

Stoke Park Club - Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire

I must admit that Stoke Park is not your average pay and play course but if you do want to treat yourself once a year to a great golf experience then this course is just right for that treat. Everything about the course says quality, from the magnificent clubhouse to the wonderful manicured greens.

Sherfield Oaks Golf Club - Hampshire

I have yet to play the Wellington but some of it's holes are ones from the original course, that I have played before they added the additional 18.

You get a great chance to start with a par or birdie as the only danger on the 1st is the rough on the left, keep clear of that and you could reach the green in two.

Caversham Heath Golf Club - Reading, Berkshire

Caversham Heath has well defined curving fairways, bunkers with lovely soft sand and greens that are alright but could be improved. Serving up wonderful views of the surrounding countryside the plus 7000 yard course

This course has some wonderful views and is quite a challenge at over 7000 yards from the championship provides a good variety of holes, a few have open areas where you can get away with the odd wayward shot but others have plenty of long rough and gorse bushes where accuracy is sure to be a key factor.

Springs Hotel Golf Club - Oxfordshire

The course has good tee areas, great sculpted bunkers, not just round holes in the ground and good greens. The fairways were alright but the grass was a little long, maybe it was just the time of year.

The course is for the most part very open and with not that many mature trees you can get away with the odd wayward shot, as long as it's not anywhere near the water hazards that scatter the course.

I think that the course has a good variety of holes but seems a little flat, bunkers were very strategically placed on many holes which meant that club choice was a big factor, the 17th being a good example.

There are a couple of holes on the back nine that are not quite as open as the front and you will be punished for wayward shots here. I found the par 3's great on this course with water and bunkers well placed to protect the greens, the par 5's are good opportunities for birdies or easy pars and some of the longer par 4's require solid shots to get to the green in two.

The 18th is a good finishing hole with trees that look like they are in the middle of the fairway, a good drive and you could probably clear them but the suggested route is down the left.

The staff at the club were very friendly and helpful it was just a shame I couldn't freshen up afterwards as the showers were being refurbished. The members I met during my round were very friendly and I was allowed to play through two groups, overall a very enjoyable experience.

Windlesham Golf Club - Surrey

Excellent course and facilities, it can be a testing one for golfers who like to take a chance but will be fair to you if you are careful.

The greens, fairways and tees are all in great condition and we must mention the size of the greens, they are huge, which means they are slightly easier to hit but can also leave massive putts.

The course is littered with ditches and there is a good quantity of water around too, making club selection vital. Our only gripe with this course is that they say they accept the 2 fore 1 (GreenFree) vouchers, well they do, but they charge you for a days golf when they take the voucher instead of the 18 hole green fee, so we made a massive saving of £2.50 each when we used the vouchers to play here, hardly worth it really.

Sunbury Golf Club - Middlesex

Because of the time of year and amount of light about we only played the 9 hole course so I will have to visit again to play the full 18 holes.

The fairways and greens on the 9 hole course were in quite good condition the overall length is a little on the short side so the well established golfer is not going to use all the clubs in the bag, more like a drive and then a 9 iron or wedge.

The rest of the facilities at the course are very good although the putting green was closed when I visited, the changing rooms are adequate though from the look of the rest of the facilities you would expect more. The staff were very welcoming and very helpful going out of their way to find out who the Architect of the course was when questioned, not a bad course overall and we look forward to playing the full 18.

Blackwater Valley Golf Club - Surrey

Blackwater Valley is a small nine hole course with one decent par 5 and a few tricky par 3's, the par 4's however are a little dissappointing and could do with being a little longer.

The fairways and tees looked alright but not quite normal standard and the greens need some attention. Some of the holes are very nice to play, the 5th is a very testing par 3, the 7th's approach shot into a green by the lake looks great and the 8th is all about hitting the right club straight as there is no room for error on either side.

There is a driving range which is a nice extra for a small 9 hole course and a very small practice putting green, the changing rooms were on the small side with only one shower but at least it is not a push button one.

The girl in the Pro Shop was very welcoming and provided us with the information we were after, the only down point to the clubhouse and the staff there was that the bar was not open as they did not have enough visitors that day to justify opening it.

Bearwood Golf Club - Sindlesham, Berkshire

Enjoyed our visit to Bearwood Golf Club, not to be confused with the nearby Bearwood Lakes, good fairaways but the greens could do with some work as could the bunkers.

The 175 yard par 3 sixth hole was our favourite, teeing off near the shelter next to the tee against the wind coming off the lake that sits just behind the green, makes judging the yardage quite difficult and the bunker, front left, makes any back placement of the flag difficult to.