Elstree Golf and Country Club

The course is in a very bad way the fairways have been soaking for the last 3 months and if you miss a fairway its like a sunday morning football pitch!! The greens on the front nine are almost unplayable.(and should be on temps)2 are.. The back nine there is a slight improvment. The course looks very tired. The outside of the clubhouse repersents the course very dirty and thank god its being knocked down!no excuse not to clean it tho as the new clubhouse is still away off!

rubbish

Having joined as an '8 times a month' member, Ive played the course quite a lot in past few months. First 3 holes are all decent length and straight, nice to get your shoulders going. Holes 6 and 7 are shorter and tighter, have to start thinking about placing tee shots now, 8 is a good hole, over 400yards and a ditch about 50 short of the green, so if you havent hit a good drive you have a decision to make. 2 consecutive par 3s around the turn are a bit of a nuisance. From here the holes are probably easier but you have to know how to play them right: holes 13 and 14 are both good, 13 requires a decent enough drive over water and then hole turns 90 degrees to the left, never had less than a 6 iron second shot, then 14 is not long but you really have to place the drive on RHS of fairway (risking OB and trees) because if in middle or left of fairway a big tree gets in your way. Next hole is weird par 5, water 50 yards short of green so for me no matter what I do with my drive I always lay up. Long hitters can go for green on par 4 16th (not me!). As for the quality, it was pretty boggy in February (cant really blame them) and it has improved a lot since then, however, the one massive gripe are the greens. They are extremely shoddy, almost every putt will jerk around and I soon began hardly looking at the line because they were so bad it was a bit of a lottery. Hopefully this will improve in the coming months, but its already April so I'm not holding my breath. A big shame.

A very pleasant course all round. The front nine holes were pretty standard but a nice challenge. The second nine holes were more interesting with elevated tees, drives over trees, and water. I am a 20 handicapper and found it a reasonable challenge. A long hitter would find this course quite easy though as the fairways can be generous. Quite often there was a risk and reward element to the holes where a decision had to be made whether to lay up or not. When I played (mid Sept) the fairways and greens were in very good condition. The rough is well kept and if you did stray off the fairway I found the ball easily - but you were still punished as trees line most fairways. A definite negative when I played was the fact that no one on the course seemed to repair the pitch marks on the green. I appreciate this is not the fault of the groundsman there (as I said earlier the greens are well kept) but better eductaion of the people who play there would be helpful. It did spoil my round a little. There is no course guide available there but there was a starter who couldn't have been more help and he seemed to ensure that everyone was off on time with no delay. However that didn't stop the 2 people in front of us slowing down play and it made for a long round and ensured there was a queue behind us. I don't know if it is always that busy but that would put me off playing there too regularly (but I did play there in the only sunny weekend in September so that might have had something to do with it!) I don't understand why some of the reviews below state they paid £48 - they were done! I paid £24 which is the standard weekend rate and that was a bargain. There was a nice friendly welcome in the club house and I had a good day out. Overall, though I have undoubtebly played better courses in the area, I have not played a better course for the price. Definitely recommended!

played elstree today become some what confused over the gree fees they promote a 241 but not the way you and i would think so £48 to play elstree not worth it even with the 241 the first 9 non eventfull last 9 some what more interesting i was not imprest with the course. will i go back ......no

Having read some of the earlier comments I am a bit puzzled at the negatives. Elstree is enjoyable and well laid out, and has bargain visitors' fees - which can be checked on their website. There is a driving range where you can warm up. The course starts fairly gently, though many of the first 9 holes require long driving, especially the double dogleg par-5 5th. The 6th is a difficult hole, dog leg left with tall trees in the corner of the dog-leg - playing safe with an iron can block you out, a driver risks being in the trees to the right or at the back of the drive, a 5-wood is a good bet, if you can hit it straight. The back 9 are all tricky and require accurate placement. The 15th is a challenge if played as a par-4 from the yellows. Enjoy the drive on the 18th, take it on full-bloodedly, as it will go further than you think. Members and bar staff are friendly, and the play is not too slow. It is not a tough course, but it's a good day out. They have a winter meal deal - lunch and golf for £19, and a 2-4-1 off peak deal. Great value for money. The only downsides are 1) that the course gets muddy after rain, which kills the run on the ball, 2) the leaf fall from the birch trees (which is not allowed to accumulate too much) provides great hiding places for drives sent even to the light rough. I have been visiting the club for 2 years and keep coming back. All my playing partners like the course, except after several days' rain, when it's muddy everywhere.

the 1st hole is a great starter for the day a par 4 349 yards as you finish a quite simple par 4 2nd you come to quite a tricky 3rd par 4 un less you have a nice t-off you will have trouble finding the green with a bunker guarding the front left ussually 10 yards infront of the pin. as you move on to the first par 3 u will find if you go a bit to left you will find some woods and if you go right there is a ten foot hill that you dont want to be behind. as you come on to the 5th a very tricky dog leg right par five, you want to keep your drive down the fairway other wise you have a group of trees to the left and on the right you will be out of bounds, you will ussually have to lay up to this hole other wise you could end up in the green side bunkers protecting the front and right of this tricky up hill green. on the par4 6th u can go for the green if you want in the summer where you will have to drive over quite a few trees or lay up on the fairway but if you want you can drive the ball to the 7th fairway and have a 50 yard pitch to the green. the seventh is my favourite hole as it is a short par 4 which is driveable but be carefull for the green side bunkers guarding the whole green and also the trees left and right of the fairway. the eight is the hardest hole on the course un less you hit the fair way there is not much chance in getting to the green in 2.on the left of the fairway there are quite a few trees you dont want to get caught up in and the right of the fairway is a big hill of rough which is tricky to hit a clean shot out of, but if you do hit the fairway it doesnt matter where go for the green just be carefull of the ditch just in front of it. 9 is a very nice short dogleg left par5 whatever you do do not go to far left or to far right or you will be out of bounds if you get to the green in 2 well done as the green is quite a simple one. i cant be bothered to write a bout the back nine right now so i will do that tomorow. the course is great by the way and sorry for my sloppy punctuation im only sixteen and a member at elstree

Played this course - 5/6/04. I agree with many past comments, the front 9 is extremely mundane while the back 9 is an improvement - it is not worth the green fee. We played on the 241 deal (now £45 on a Sat afternoon) and although the course is well kept I am not sure how they can justify charging this much, especially as our round was hampered by what can be politely termed as 'hackers'. I have never seen so much sportswear on a golf course, they say they have a dress code but they don't seem to adhere to it. Initially we were encouraged by the presence of a marshal, doing the rounds in his cart. However he didn't seem to enforce his authority as we repeatedly witnessed fellow 'golfers' kicking their ball down the fairway and walking across fairways with no care for those actually playing that hole. I appreciate everybody needs to learn to play, but they need to also learn etiquette as well, and I do not appreciate having to pay so much for the privilege of a 5 hour round. My advice; if your looking for a good course that offers value for money, avoid Elstree.

played in june 2003, sunday afternoon. what a course of two halves! first nine all pretty featureless, back nine a very different story, some really interesting holes requiring a lot of thought. How can a 240 yard par four be so difficult!!! Played on the 2 for 1 deal, making it quite good value, but i'd have been disappointed if i'd paid the full 35.00, its just not good enough. Some tee boxes were pretty rough, as were some of the greens, i would have thought they would be a lot better, especially for 35.00. The worst part of the whole deal was the time it took, almost 5 hours. OK, its almost a public course so i don't expect to fly round, but five hours is too much. There really should have been someone out on the course managing times better, but maybe sunday afternoons they don't bother. Overall, not worth 35.00 but if you get the 2 for 1 deal you can start to forgive the condition of some of the greens and tees. If you don't get stuck behind some very slow players you will find the course, back nine in particular, a good test of your golf and an interesting change from other local courses.

Love it! Play there with friends on the 241 basis. An excellent course, I play from the YELLOW tees as I am fairly new to golf and broke a 100 for the first time last weekend. Don't need a handicap certificate to play, the price is now £17.50 pp on a 241 basis. I cannot think of a better way of spending £17.50 for 4 hours of pure joy. The course is a mixed bag, short & long par holes mixed with a variance of difficulties and obstacles. Course management has to be used on the back 9 especially. Lovely place, excellent surroundings, great course and I would strongly recommend it.

Elstree is a well maintained course set in nice surroundings. The course plays long for high handicappers, but lower handicap players can get away with an iron off most tees. Greens are normally well watered to slow them down, and as such are very receptive to approach shots. The greens themeselves are USGA spec, which is good for year round play. Holes of note are - the 4th - a delightfull par 3 set back into a clearing which fro the elevated tee usualy plays a 7 iron - the 5th - an excellent par 5 where you must lay up to hit a measured approach to a well sloped green - make sure you dont go past the hole or you'll have hole it to stop it! - the 10th - a long testing par 3 which can play from between a 3 to 6 iron depending on the wind to a raised green guarded at the front by a two large bunkers creating a nice target - the 15th - a very long par 4 which requires a big drive and a brave long iron to a green guarded by water at the front - the 17th - play this hole from the elevated tee next to the range to find a good driving hole and a short approach to a large green protected by a tree and and a water hazard. all but a couple of the holes are a good test for golfers of all abilities. A round here is a very enjoyable days golf.

Played the course in July 2002. Well presented course with good practice facilities. Would recommend playing off the white tees as you get to play the 15th and 18th as short par 5's rather than long par 4's. The course is a par 73 off the whites but only a par 71 off the yellows. Playing partners had trouble with hitting over the greens due to the yardage markers being inaccurate. The 6th is a nice hole played down into a valley, with a dogleg left, and trees either side. Colourful language used by the members in the bar is more akin to what you would hear on the football terraces, so I wouldn't recocommend taking children with you when you visit. Having said that though, one of the better courses I have played on, near the central London.

Played course on 9th May. Very well kept course with smallish but receotive greens. As said before you can get the big guns out on the front 9 but need to be very tactical coming home. Played midweek and the course was nearly deserted. Takes 2 fore 1 vouchers which make it bloody good value. £3 for a cheese and tomato bap was a little excessive but I will definately be back soon as I am owed a few birdies - hit more lips than a blind dentist.

This is a nicely shaped course with some well placed traps around the greens. The holes are wide & vary quite a bit and thus you won't be bored ( get a course guide !). The course was in good condition last weekend and the greens also well maintained. At £33 at weekends after noon and £19:50 for a buggy it's a tad expensive for what you get, but they're running a 2 for 1 green fee thingy at the mo which makes it definately worth it. If you have to pay full whack I suggest you try London Hatfield (£27); probably the best course i've seen this year in ALL respects. But at £16.50 I think this is the top course under £25 in the north london / herts area. The only major issue was our buggy running out of petrol on the 13th - not 'appy about walking 3 miles with a bag without straps.

Green fee's are £27.50 weekdays for visitors, which is a bit steep! Bushey Hall is a better bet.

I disagree with albares above. I played this course in the summer and found all the par 4's to be very short (with the exception of 15). However on the front nine, this is compensated by the fact that the smallish greens are protected by well-placed front bunkers. It still takes a good shot though to put it close to the pin however short the iron you have in your hand. On the second nine, there is water on only 2 holes (in the form of 2 small ponds). The holes are trickier and a few call for an iron off the tee to avoid trouble (12, 14 and 17). Overall impressions - you can be a wild driver on the front nine as you can 'borrow' fairways on most of the holes. Second nine has different characteristics and less forgiving. Greens in very good condition compared to many courses and rough is user-friendly.

This is a quite demanding course. Long, with wide fairways, but don't let that fool you. There are trees all around waiting for your ball! and the bunkers won't forgive you if you leave the ball short of the green. That's the front 9. The back 9 are shorter, but there is water everywhere. So play long for a while and then start using your brain to avoid trouble. You should enjoy it. I did... most of the time.