London Golf by train?

[Below Par]

Those who were at the first Swinley Day out will have met John Lyons, a young golf mad American studying in London until mid May. So residing in Central London how can he get his regular fix?

I'll start the ball rolling and it would be great if others can suggest courses that are easy to access and try and give a brief reason why he should or should not play them. I'll suggest grouping them as follows


Classics
Sunningdale
Walton Heath plus taxi
Addington plus taxi


Well worth seeing (if potentially pricey)
Denham
Sandy Lodge
Moor Park
Fulwell good history and close to a train stop.


Good  Value
Thames Ditton and Esher old 9 holer.
Hainault plus bus.
Sunningdale Ladies



Avoid

Wentworth - if you can afford it get a limo from central London
Fairlop  bound to be sloppy as well as flat and uninteresting.

Thoughts?

[Stu-Pid]

Well I'll give a few options in North London that are all either in walking distance or 5 minute taxi rides from
stations on the Northern Line.  Certainly none of them would fall into the 'Classics' category, but a few are very nice and very interesting courses, and a couple are very good value, especially for midweek golf.

Probably the best of the bunch is The Shire, which is a 5 min taxi ride from High Barnet station.  This is a new course designed by Seve which includes a lot of water, a 6-6-6 hole formation, and is a real challenge from any tees, but especially from the 7,000 yard + back tees.  I've been lucky enough to play this course a lot over the last couple of years as Jesus (the MSG member, not the son of God) is a member, and I never get tired of playing there. 

Right opposite The Shire is Old Fold Manor, which is a course that I've never actually played but is a regional Open qualifying course and is famed for it's greens in the summers.

Slightly cheaper options with a bit of designer pedigree are the (originally) Colt designed Hendon GC and (originally) Braid designed Finchley GC.  Neither hold up well in the winter, but both are good layouts that play very well in the summer, with Hendon being the pick of the two IMO, although both have some very nice holes.  Both are also a 5 minute walk from Mill Hill East tube station.

Two budget options are North Middlesex and Mill Hill, which are both very cheap midweek options and accept 2-fore-1 vouchers.  In fact the last time we played North Middlesex we teed off at 5pm, played 18 holes and ony paid £12 each, which included a free pint in the clubhouse!  Mill Hill also has the honour of being the place where our very own Roland spent his formative years as a junior golfer.  North Middlesex is a 5 min cab ride from Woodside Park tube, and Mill Hill is 5 mins by cab from either Mill Hill Broadway overground or Mill Hill East tube.

There is also Crews Hill, South Herts, Highgate and Hampstead which are all close by to stations on the Northern Line.

[Chris]

Avoid
Royal Mid Surrey overpriced and uniteresting

Ouch. Granted it is overpriced on general visitors fees, but given the location it needs to be else it would be packed out all the time. £30 for guests though which IMO is very good value and at that price the course certainly doesn't class as uniteresting. It's not in the Sunningdale league that's for sure, but in full summer bloom it's a very pretty and challenging park land course. If I get over the damming cast statement above I might be persuaded to sign him in... you'll find few courses closes to a train and tube station.


The 3 W's are pretty accessible from train also, either from Brookwood station or via a cab from Woking. West Byfleet also from... er. west byfleet. Finally, Hampton Court Palace from Hampton Court.

[Chip_Unsure]

When are you hosting Chris? - i'd love a game at yours!

[Stanster]

http://www.timeout.com/london/sport/features/183/London-s_public_golf_courses.html

And

http://www.londonnet.co.uk/listings/eventsattractions/golfcourses/

[Tin Pot]

When are you hosting Chris? - i'd love a game at yours!

Oi, there's a queue don't you know?

[Chris]

Oi, there's a queue don't you know?

I'm sure something can be arranged - course is a bit of a mix at the moment as half of the 'championship' course will be closed to June. So you can either come for the before and after... or wait til the weather warms up!

Could potentially do 3 ball this Sat but there is a medal on which may rule it out (certainly means no 4 balls allowed). If there's interest I will look into it...

[Chip_Unsure]

I'm sure something can be arranged - course is a bit of a mix at the moment as half of the 'championship' course will be closed to June. So you can either come for the before and after... or wait til the weather warms up!

Could potentially do 3 ball this Sat but there is a medal on which may rule it out (certainly means no 4 balls allowed). If there's interest I will look into it...

The next 2 weeks are out for me, but after that anytime works for me!

[Stu-Pid]

Could potentially do 3 ball this Sat but there is a medal on which may rule it out (certainly means no 4 balls allowed). If there's interest I will look into it...

Yep, I'd definitely be interested at some point, but am happy to wait until it's not quite so 

[Tin Pot]

Baking hot this afternoon, the golf course was calling but a shitload of paperwork was more appealing 

[freded]

Verulam is also very near St Albans on the Thameslink/FCC line.  25 mins from St Pancreas

[ohmslaw]

My track..

West Herts Golf Club..
http://www.westhertsgolfclub.co.uk/

Tube links that run not too far from the course, Only a few minutes taxi or a 15 min walk..
Bit biased but I think you'll find it a damn fine test of golf, food is damn decent too!

Ohms

[earlofjon]

Nothing in the Addington's class but there is plenty of good stuff in Croydon including Addington Palace, Shirley Park, Purley Downs and Croham Hurst (more than willing to host).

Tandridge is only 30-odd minutes from London (30 mins on the train to Oxted and a short cab ride) and is well worth a visit.

[Below Par]

Ouch. Granted it is overpriced on general visitors fees, but given the location it needs to be else it would be packed out all the time. £30 for guests though which IMO is very good value and at that price the course certainly doesn't class as uniteresting. It's not in the Sunningdale league that's for sure, but in full summer bloom it's a very pretty and challenging park land course. If I get over the damming cast statement above I might be persuaded to sign him in... you'll find few courses closes to a train and tube station.


The 3 W's are pretty accessible from train also, either from Brookwood station or via a cab from Woking. West Byfleet also from... er. west byfleet. Finally, Hampton Court Palace from Hampton Court.

I have edited my first statement because, unlike the others, I will confess I haven't played it, just passing on someone else's opinion. I will therefore defer to someone who knows what they are talking about  .

 It's certainly
a) historically important- Taylor's 'chocolate drops' were widely admired/discussed as a feature to add to a flat site
b) close enough to a train line.


PS the hampton court clubhouse is a bus plus a good walk from the station. I have played that one.

Any others for young John to consider?

[Tin Pot]

Classics
Sunningdale
...
Thoughts?

I thought Sunningdale was strictly by invite only?