Macdonald Botley Park Hotel, Golf and Country Club

Hmmm, very formulaic but well maintained hilly field with 18 tees and 18 greens, bunkers exactly where you would expect, perfectly trimmed hedges and pretty water fountains. Take your driver out of your bag, attempt to hit the fairway, repeat. For shorter, narrower holes, replace driver with three wood. Try to enjoy yourselves. If that's your sort of course then all well and good but not one for the purist.

I took 20 ladies away for 2 nights and 3 rounds of golf at Botley Park and we had a really good time, even the weather behaved itself! The hotel was very comfortable, the staff were friendly and the food was good...what more can you ask for on a golf break? The golf course was fantastic and it suited our group perfectly. The condition of the course was great and there was a collection of very interesting holes which were challenging but not too difficult. The golf break package we bought from Your Golf Travel was great value for money and we were impressed by the fantastic level of service. We even had an awkward last minute change of tee times and the problem was dealt with quickly and professionally. I would reccommend Botley Park to most golfers but perhaps low handicappers would find it too easy?

Just returned from a two night stay at Botley Park, very enjoyable! Very warm welcome, nice little pro shop, excellent facilities from changing rooms to driving range to course. Greens very presentable for time of year. Lots of work going on which you expect to find out of season and needed to keep clubs one step ahead. Some great work going on 17th with extensive bunkers being added, only complaint being no warning of this except for a small notice on changing room wall, found after round. A flag had been stuck in ground at top of hill which I took as a practice flag as it had no mowed area to represent a temporary green, only a workmen appearing from the trees prevented me from scattering the workmen out of sight in bunker area! Hotel is a bit pricey but superb quality, pay for what you get, which was of a high standard. Very quiet on the course generally (played Thursday/Friday). Very few pitch marks on greens which was pleasing but other course uses were very reluctant to repair divots which were in abundance and spoilt what were excellent fairways to play from. Achieving a par on the long 8th was highlight along with chipping in from 70 yards to gain a rare birdieon the 12th (SI 2), funny ol game golf, was a long way off best but achieve best scores on the hardest holes. I generally thought course was a very reasonable challenge till the wind blowed on the last afternoon and the course showed it's teeth and my scorecard showed immense damage! Thank you Botley Park, I shall return!

MACDONALD BOTLEY PARK HOTEL 22/23 APRIL 2007 First impressions : Fairly typical low-rise modern hotel in generous grounds. Very neat and well looked-after. Spacious reception area. The Welcome : Very friendly and helpful reception staff. The Room : Spacious, nicely decorated room with huge bed. Luxurious bathroom. Nice touches like fresh milk and ice delivered to room. Leisure and Spa : The leisure facilities are good, with a better than average gym, but the pool is too small and of the wrong design for exercise swimming. The steam room was not functioning during our visit. The Beauty Salon was attractive and comfortable, the staff were attentive and the treatment chosen – a back, neck and shoulder massage, was competently done. Dining : The dining room was decorated in mock Scottish baronial style and was dark and rather overbearing. It was very formally laid out which did not encourage a relaxed atmosphere. However, the food was of a very high standard. Breakfast was excellent - all with a Scottish theme and was a great set-up for the golf. The Golf : The arrangement of reception, locker rooms, pro’s shop and first tee is as convenient as I’ve seen anywhere. They are a very short walk from main reception or the hotel rooms and are all clustered together. The course is a very pretty parkland tract in the rolling Hampshire countryside. Very few buildings are visible and the undulations make for an interesting and varied layout. There are many mature trees which give an established appearance (and add dificulty to shot making on many occasions). On some holes like the uphill 12th, they make for a very attractive golf hole. Whilst the course is not long, there is plenty of challenge. The course guide was out of print when we visited and the golf course did not easily yield up its various secrets. The 18th in particular was a complete mystery from the tee, especially as it was the only hole which didn’t have a hole map on the tee. (Tip: whack it straight over the marker post and take heed of the notice saying how far it is to the lake!) The rough added to the difficulty. It was not particularly long, but it was dense and the ball nestled down making it hard to find and, when found, hard to play. There are many good holes. The shot from the elevated 3rd tee is an early treat. There are 5 par threes. The signature 11th to a semi island green presents a challenging shot. The long, downhill 13th demands a long high shot to drop it on the green or careful judgement to land short and roll on. The lovely little 15th has real teeth if you go left. At the other end of the scale, the stroke index one, 8th is a long hard slog. 474 yards off the whites! The course was in very nice condition. Teeing grounds and fairways were really well presented and the greens were good despite the lack of rain. There was even some hold, which is currently completely missing from our own, very dry, East Anglian course. Conclusion : We had a great little break at Botley Park. Comfortable and well looked after, we ate very well and had a delightful round of golf. Go back? Most certainly, especially to play some of those holes with the benefit of previous experience.

Six of us recently played here on the excellent 2 fore 1 scheme. Owned by the McDonald Hotel chain, the whole place is mainly hotel/conference/leisure club based and with food and bar prices to match!. The course is a newish undulating parkland type with the inevitable "Americanisation" in the form of some water hazards, but thankfully not in abundance. There is a wide variation of holes and challanges, up,down,left and right with a few blind drives thrown in for good measure, not least of which is the 18th where you are well advised to walk up to the brow after coming off the 17th green to see what lies in store. Overall, a very playable course, nothing special, but worth a visit, certainly on a two for one basis, but I would question the value for the normal midweek £30 green fee, oh and those catering prices, they are best left well alone !