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Golf’s Winter Wonderlands Oct 24, 2007, 16:54
Bramley Golf Club
Some golf courses are blessed with fame, others with history, but Bramley Golf Club just outside Guildford is primarily blessed by a foundation of rare Bargate Stone that has seen the course stay open continuously throughout last winter and the tumultuous summer. A rare virtue made all the better by the spectacular and recently renovated clubhouse bar and restaurant that is sure to transform Bramley into a virtual Mecca for winter golfers.
01483 892696;
Buckinghamshire Golf Club
The greens alone are worth noting at the Buckinghamshire, which offers golfers a playable winter course that takes in woodlands, lakes and rivers. Built to USGA specifications from high quality ‘Pennlinks’ grass, there are few places that can rival Buckinghamshire Golf Club’s greens, and fewer still that can do and compete elsewhere throughout the layout. The club also offers an excellent winter package including breakfast, 18 holes of superb golf and a three course meal for £65 – just over half the standard price for the same package.
01895 835777;
www.buckinghamshire-golfclub.co.uk
Darenth Valley Golf Club
While the word ‘valley’ might strike fear in to the hearts of most golfers looking for the ideal place to embark on a round amid torrential rain and freezing temperatures, Darenth Valley was constructed on a chalk base that ensures it would take little short of a tsunami for the club to whip out the temporary greens. Situated in one of the most beautiful corners of Kent near Sevenoaks, Darenth Valley offers a range of winter society packages around the £20-30 mark, making it top value for money.
01959 522944;
Dummer Golf Club
For many golfers, the mark of a good day’s golf is not necessarily to be challenged or even to play your best golf, but to have an enjoyable and memorable experience. Dummer excels because of its warm and inviting atmosphere, which is definitely not to say that it lacks anything in the department of quality. Like many of the best winter golf courses, Dummer is built on chalk downland, and offers a society package of a light snack, full meal and round of golf for just £25.
01256 397888;
Five Lakes Golf & Country Club
Offers two of the best golf courses in Essex – the Lakes Course and the Links Course – with the less heralded latter of the two particularly exceeding expectations in the winter. Five Lakes is built on high ground and its namesake water hazards are manmade, making it one of the best options around for golf in the winter. Two great golf courses, top notch facilities and discounted winter rates between £30-35 for a round and food basically chooses Five Lakes for itself.
01727 864477;
www.sopwellhouse.co.uk/fivelakes
Goodwood
Many golf clubs tout a unique experience, but golf at Goodwood is just about as unique as the game can get. The sheer scale of what has been achieved at Goodwood is breathtaking, and the recently remodelled downland course is frankly just the icing on the cake. What makes a day out at Goodwood so special, timeless and indeed seasonless is the clubhouse, originally the Kennel Lodge for the Duke of Richmond’s hounds. Goodwood submerges you in to the very heart of its and England’s rich sporting heritage, and is the perfect place to seek refuge from the rain and cold.
01243 755171;
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
The thought of winter golf conjures images of tackling the south east’s great links courses, and there is no doubt that the Deal club is among the greatest. Laid out on a narrow stretch of land extending to Sandwich Bay, an abundance of sand dunes helps to establish the undulating character of the course whose contours and curves unusually also run through the fairways, making a flat lie all but an impossability. To tackle Royal Cinque Ports in the winter is to challenge nature itself, battling against the winds on one of golf’s greatest stages, while the club also offer winter packages.
01304 374007;
Royal St George’s Golf Club
Royal St George’s is another in the line of the Kent coastline’s finest, host of 13 Open Championships and due to hold golf’s oldest Major again in 2011. Among the trademarks awaiting the golfer eager to test their mettle on a course that has witnessed champions including Greg Norman, Sandy Lyle and Sir Walter Hagen, are the testing links and championship golf’s deepest bunker. Royal St George’s offers some incredible winter rates, with £65 buying players 18 holes on one of the crown jewels of world golf.
01304 613090;
Tandridge Golf Club
One of the few woodland courses likely to make any list of top winter courses, Tandridge’s sandy soil allows golfers to enjoy its tranquil natural setting all year round, with special winter rates of £52.50 for coffee, a round of golf and four course carvery. If the rain is likely to keep the Surrey club’s extensive bird population under cover, it shouldn’t quell the enjoyment to be taken from the array of tree varieties and the spectacular views over the Surrey North Downs and the Kent and Sussex countryside.
01883 712274;
Woburn Golf Club
To describe Woburn as England’s premier 54 hole golf complex is to do the golf club an injustice. Woburn is a stunning golfing destination just outside Milton Keynes with three of the best courses in the south east, each of which is carefully maintained by an unrivalled staff to ensure that they play at their best all year round. The biggest question is which course to tackle, The Marquess’, The Duke’s or The Duchess’ – or indeed all three? Reduced winter rates mean that the chilly season is often the best time visit this premier golfing destination.
01908 370756;
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