Batchwood Golf and Tennis Centre

I’ve played Batchwood twice in the last month and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. Better players might find it on the easy side; there’s no water, few dramatic changes of elevation and the dog legs are fairly gentle but there are plenty of bunkers, lots of mature trees and shrubs and punishing rough so it’s enough of a challenge for a weekend hacker like me. It’s generally well kept, the tees and greens aren’t quite as finely as manicured as they are at some private courses I’ve played but they aren’t a problem and the fairways are in decent nick as well. One criticism I'd make is signposting is somewhat lacking, at one point I had to ask directions the first time I played. Both rounds were at weekends in glorious late summer weather but the course was not crowded on either occasion which surprised me especially with the very reasonable £22 green fees. I’ve not used the bar or changing rooms so I can’t really comment but as this is a Local Authority facility I’d expect them to be functional rather than luxurious.

This is a great Municipal pay & play course well worth the £9.40 we paid for a mid week round at seniors’ rate. We teed off around 1.15 and hardly saw a soul. If you haven't played here before, a tip, ask for details on the order you play the holes on the course. This is because the score card and the tee markers do not correspond, apparently the order of play was changed over a year ago, and whilst the cards are correct (and good) the tee markers are still very out of date. Thus you start on the 13th and work your way round from there, confused; we were, and lost after the first hole. Luckily we met a member who joined our three ball and saved us a lot of time and frustration. The lay out is great, a real parkland course with good fairways and punishing rough, stay out of it or be prepared to loose a few balls. The greens have subtle undulations that can easily lead to three putts, but they would benefit from either having two holes per green (they are bigger enough) or moving them more frequently as several were “crowned”. The only other criticism is the lack of 150/200 stakes along side the fairways, there are discs on the fairway, but only useful if stay on line, not always possible when playing for the first time, and being a pay & play anything that keeps play moving is a good thing. We didn’t try the bar or clubhouse facilities due to time constraints, but for under £10.00 this a true gem, very accessible from the M1-A6/A5 we will return again.

A quite impressive and relaxed arrival despite the building works going on. Easily checked in for Tee-Time and staff were helpful and polite. On entry to the first Tee I thought it could have been a little better signposted and this goes really to the whole of the course although after Tee 1 it wasn't that difficult to work out where to go. On playing the course on a Saturday morning I was quite surprised and happy that there was only a short ammount of waiting times at the tees. On the whole I found the course to be in very good condition for a pay and play course. The greens were not in the best condition but I have played on much worse and paid much more than the £19.40 that this round of golf cost me. The fairways and rough were well cut and maintained. I wouldn't say that it is the hardest course in the world to play but there are a few longish par 4's. With the addition of more bunkers and the odd bit of water here and there this would make the course much more interesting. On the whole I would say that I was more than satisfied had a great few hours and will return in the very near future.

Good value for money,tricky greens,could do with with easier to see 150 yard markers, 19th hole needs improvement.

This is one of the best municipal courses in the country, and perhaps has the best 4 opening holes in the county of Herts. However, this is a municipal course, and therefore the greens are a bit slow, although incredibly tricky, and the course is packed with some of the less elegant swingers of a golf club. Despite this the course remains fantastic value, and I would urge anyone to play it, ahead of its more expensive, less impressive neighbouring courses. You will leave the course wondering why on earth this is not a presteigious private members course.

Great round of golf. went round with two oap members witch made the round all the more enjoyable. Makes a change to play a course with some nice members for a change. The course is in good shape with some nice mature tree lined fairways. Only one small problem with the course, There seems to be lots of fairway bunkers in the wrong place i.e easy to miss or hit over. GOOD COURSE GOOD PRICE.

Considering the mini drought we have been through the course was in excellent condition. The greens were fast, true & recepetive. This course is very good value for money. It is parkland course that has good shape to it. Many of the greens are either elevated or the opposite of elevated. The greens also have many contours which makes putting difficult but challenging. Well worth a visit.

This is one of the best public courses close to London (30 mins from West End) and at the same time so cheap. It is surprisingly well maintained with excellent greens. I will definately be a frequent player at this course.

For a non-members course it is surprisingly well maintained, with currently excellent greens. Nicely mature with plenty of trees and fairly heavy rough. Watch out for alot of slow play and bad etiquette from 'weekend golfers'.

Played Batchwood yesterday (09.01.00). A well-designed and attractively located course spoiled slightly by the large number of winter greens in use (at least 12, from memory). This at least gave me something to blame my absurdly high score on.

A good course although due to the hot weather the greens weren't in the best of condition. Nice shape to a lot of the holes, although, identifying which direction the green was from a couple of the tee's wasn't always easy.