South Essex Golf Centre

Visited for the first time on 22nd June 2011 on a great offer of £30 for 2 players with a buggy after 5pm. Let me assure you that unless you're a quality player and don't mind walking a few hefty slopes, you will appreciate a buggy here! From minute one, it was clear that is a testing club with everything you could ask for. The weather stopped me from taking full advantage of the extensive practice facilities but it has 3 chipping greens, a cleverly marked putting green (with lines to indicate where you could putt from, I assume to give a variety of challenges) and a good size driving range although it could do with a few more bays. The course itself is challenging and the fairways, greens and bunkers were in my opinion, perfect with barely any stones in the bunkers and lots of fluffy sand and some high and steep lips to get over. The fairways were fast and fair not giving up odd bounces and the greens were a good test but not too fast. The toughest part of the course is the slope and tightness of the fairways; any off-centre hits end up rolling down the slopes which sometimes meant that the ball ended up in the rough (which incidentally is tricky but not penal). A straight tee shot will be better than a long one! The clubhouse is great although I couldn't use it afterwards due to a party taking place and it being full of 14 year olds! From the special offer and the way the website presents the club, I got the impression that this would be an average club. How wrong I was and very glad about it too. Pay a visit and enjoy a quality round of golf. :-)

we played on friday morning 2x 3 ball and really enjoyed the course. The fairways were in good condition and the greens were great. I am new to golf and thoroughly enjoyed playing the Hawk/Heron section. Some nice challenging holes and some tasty par 3`s. The staff were helpful and friendly and i cant wait to play there again !!!!!

I Play at South Essex quite a lot and love the place. Ive now played all 27 holes there and although the Vixen course is shorter, seemed to be in the same condition as the other 2 and still a challenge. If your looking for a well maintained course and a good round of golf id recommend it!

WE PLAYED HERE ON SATURDAY AND I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE.ALL 27 HOLES ARE WORTH PLAYING ON.THE NEWEST 9 HOLES WHICH IS CALLED VIXEN IS SLIGHTLY THE EASIST OF THE COURSE BUT STILL VERY INTERESTING TO PLAY ONE,ESPECILLY FINISHING WITH A PAR 5 557 YARDER WITH WATER ON THE LEFT.THE WHOLE COURSE IS IN GOOD NICK AND THE GREENS ARE IN VERY GOOD CONDITION AND QUITE FAST.THE PEOPLE WHO WORK THERE ARE VERY INFORMATIVE AND HELPFULL.AND TELL YOU OF ANY DEALS THAT ARE GOING ON AT THE MOMENT.I WOULD PUT SOUTH ESSEX IN MY TOP 3 OF COURSES THAT I HAVE PLAYED ON.

Being new to golf (4mths)i have tried to play a few differant local courses and on sunday 07/01/07 i played 18 holes at the sth essex, (heron and hawk)the front 9 i felt a little under pressure with another group of players waiting to tee off behind my 4 ball, so i didnt play well and rushed alot of my shots which resulted in me picking up my ball as i couldnt score on 4 out of 9 holes (we were playing stapleford),but on the back 9 with no one behind me i felt no pressure and had a good back 9. the course was good if a little muddy (due to rain th night before)the greens were exellent if a little fast for me, all in all was ok.

South Essex golf club is a lovely place with fantastic greens, superb fairways, and some interesting par 3's. However, one thing I notice about this club is it is more of a money making club than a club that cares for players. I am not a member at the club, but it seems that it is very busy over there and there are alot of society's. Im guessing its very hard for members to play when they want because of all the people paying to play. However, I do love the course and it is quite challenging and the greens are wonderful. The Course is looked after for sure!

Played Heron-Hawk - 29th August 2006 -- 8:03am A very good golf course which just needs work on tees to make it superb. The tees were quite bare, but were good considering it is cheap. £21 weekdays, but if you play before 7:30 am or after 2pm, it costs £9.99. The fairways were generally in superb condition and the greens were very quick, the ball rolled true on all greens. Bunkers need more raking, but that does not stop this from being a great course. Also a good clubhouse with cheap beer (£1.99/pint) and serves good food and has a good spacious balcony overlooking the lake and the 18th green. All things considered, a superb course. p.s. i am returning next monday (4th september)

Played 29th August 2006 -- Heron/Hawk -- 8.03am A great golf course. The fairways were cut very short and were very nice, not many divots or bare patches. The greens were superb, very fast and true and no pitchmarks, forget the other comments about poor greens. However the tees need some work as there was little grass, however this didn't stop the enjoyment of playing a lovely course. The surroundings were nice, but beware, the rough is very penal (as are the fairway bunkers). Lots of mature trees add to this great golfing location. Good value as well, with playing before 7.30AM or after 2PM, on weekdays is a cool £9.99 per player. The normal weekday rate for adults is £21, and juniors are £13. Great off-course facilities aswell with a good driving range, great clubhouse with cheap drinks and food (pint of beer = £1.99). All in all a great golfing venue which I highly reccomend, and a course which I would gladly return to in the future - Richard Cook

Played the Hawk and the Heron course on a hot dusty day. Had no time problems, finished in 3h45min and had no waits on any tees. It's a good course on an interesting peice of land but it just needs a bit more TLC. The tee's were poor on nearly every hole we played and the greens had a lot of pitch marks on. Some of the par 4s could do with a bit of lengthening a little but design is pretty good.£27 seemed a little expensive all things considered. Clubhouse is great in the summer and the range is good quality as well.

Played this course this afternoon and unusually for a Sunday afternoon was not too crowded. Very impressed with standard of greens and fairways. One or two of the tees were a little beaten up but on the whole very playable. Some very challenging and interesting holes on this layout. Well worth a visit.

played the hawk and heron on monday 11/01/05. very well kept and quite challenging and the members are very friendly.the fairways and greens are running very fast. i will definatly be going back. had a good pint and curry as well.

Played the Heron/Hawk yesterday in a Society day out. Must say I thoroughly enjoyed the course, greens and fairways in excellent condition. Rough was sometimes ok to get out of, and other times you just had to take you punishment and chip out sideways. Friendly staff in clubhouse. Will definitely be playing there again, good value for money.

Played South Essex for the first time on 24/05/05. We played Heron and Hawk, both of which provided some interesting challenges. The conditions were quite windy, which on some of the more open parts of the course added to the difficulty. The greens were in good condition and the rough was often tougher to get out of than it looked. Thoroughly enjoyed the round and will try and play there again. Good value for money and well worth a visit.

I played the course on 15th June and have to say it was a brilliant experience. The clubhouse, driving range, staff and course where all topclass. Considering the amount of time looking for balls in the deep tough rough it was a quick enjoyable round. I will be making the journey back to play again. Well done South Essex Golf Club.

Haven't played here for more than 5 years. Was pleasantly surprised, greens were very good and course very well looked after. Pretty good layout but I was repairing anything up to 5 old pitch marks on every green. Nice clubhouse as well. A good day out for £24.

Just played the Heron and Hawk course during the twilight period (£16) and what great value for money. The speed of play was good, and when on the final 9 holes it was like millionaires golf....no one around at all. Both course were, in my opinion, extremely well maintained. The fairways were in beautiful condition, and the rough, when I went in it, was a challenge to get out of well. The bunkers were well maintained and the greens....well extremely challenging and beautiful maintained. Congratulations South Essex Golf Club, I'll be enquiring about membership!

We played the Heron/Hawk which we found to be in excellent condition the greens were testing with plenty of slopes. The course layout has some interesting holes with some greens in a valley only visible from the top of the hill. I thoroughly recommend this course as value for money and it was not overly busy as there is 27 holes. The only critisism is that the holes are numbered as 3 individual 9 holes and not 1-27 as I think this would be easier for people who have not played it before!!!

The Heron/Hawk courses are in great nick... seems to have solved all of its earlier teething troubles & for £11 twilight, it's well worth a visit!

Im told this course has improved. Needs to. Havent played there for a few years, last time I was there it still closely ressembled the agricultural land that it had been a few a few years prior (ie a ploughed field). Assuming the reports I hear are true then probably worth a visit. American Golf have spent quite a bit of money and the club house is fine. A long course which in time could become half decent.

Tatty. Course lacks definition. Can't tell the rough from the fairways most of the time. I know it's supposed to be a linksy type course and a bit rough and ready but the long stuff really needs growing so the wayward shots are punished. Greens were in good condition and there are some interesting holes. Shame about the overall corse condition though. Has potential.

Played Heron/Hawk Fri 21st March 03. Fairly easy course, short rough off the fairway which doesn't punish the wayward driver. Greens are heavily spiked and under repair which makes putting almost impossible to judge(dissapointed that we wern't warned about the condition of the greens) Overall I won't be back rather pay £4 less to play at Stapleford

As a beginner, this was my first ever time out on a course. I went with a friend who has only been playing himself for 6 months. We both thoroughly enjoyed it! Very well kept, and still played well despite soaking wet ground. We played the Heron then Hawk. Very nice fairways and greens, even the rough isn't too bad! Tee indicators are superb, very good variety all round. Good driving range and shop, and all in all a very good day!

We played the Heron and then the Hawk. There is also a slighly shorter 9 called the Vixen. We played early on a Sunday and no problems at the 10th which we had envisaged. As for the course everything was very well kept and the rough was not too thick (i.e. You were penalised but didn't waste time looking for balls) On the Heron I thought the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th were excellant holes. The 3rd, 5th and 7th on the Hawk stood out for me. I thought the cousres had been very well designed using the slightly undulating land really well. The food in the clubhouse was superb and all in all £22 was a very good price for this up market Pay and Play course.

The Course is in excellent condition with very well maintained greens and fairways. The start marshall is a bit of a jobs-worth but the pro shop start are fine. Possibly a little too testing for the high handicappers (as I experienced) with narrow fairways and knee-deep rough. Cost of weekend round £22, cost of replacement balls that I lost £20, the look on my face throwing a paddy because I couldnt get my ball out of the rough....priceless

What a pleasure!!! Warm welcome, excellant facilities, course in great shape! Definately one not to miss! Good par 5's, even better par 4's and the par 3's are just sublime!! Visit it, its well worth it!!