St. Cleres Hall Golf Club

Played today on a Groupon. Luckily , I wasn't the one who booked it or paid for it because, if I had, I would have been devastated. I've seen and heard mixed reviews about the course but this was my first time time playing. Weather aside, the course is in terrible condition. It's home to some of the patchiest greens in Essex (although not as bad as Blakes). Its bone hard fairways married to a minuscule first cut bordered by knee high rough meant anything not straight = gone. The bunkers looked horrendous until I went into one, then I realised: seeing IS believing (they were horrendous). It's harsh but true. The course layout isn't bad; It's a bit short but fairly well protected, and could be a decent course. The clubhouse was OK but someone is clearly missing the point when the centrepiece of the course (a Grade II listed building, no less) fails so spectacularly to impress. Staff deserve an honourable mention for friendly and efficient service. An unpolished turd of a course that I sense is a rough diamond but it'll need some serious work to get there. Call me when it's done and I'll give it another go.

Bought a ticket on groupon and went to play last week. Was very impressed with the course in general, and thought it was excellent value for money. The greens were better than both other courses I have played at recently and the facilities were tip top. I poped into the club house for a coffee and sandwich and was thoroughly impressed by the very grand fireplace and surroundings. All in all, a really good course that I would reccommend to any golfer. MAY -2012

Bought a groupon voucher and looked at overheads of course on swing by swing and decided it looked nice, turned up and was met by friendly pro shop Worker and well stocked shop no problems there, course looked nice very green and visibly well manicured at first glance. Spent a few minutes on the putting green which was unbelievably slow "I honestly believe there are faster putts in my garden" anyways tee'd off and whist in visibly good condition the fairway length Is that of med rough and the greens were as bad if not worse than the practice green! You can't Hit a proper put when they are that slow unless you are Thor! From the members I spoke to the course is generally like this so decided not to play the second 18 I was entitled to on my groupon. The clubhouse is a very old listed building and granted This will cause issues with renovation, however the course was built in 94 and I'm sure painting is allowed of the clubhouse think byker grove more than country club, for example walked in wearing golf shoes and asked if that was ok to be told no but don't worry about it before she microwaved some water in a jug to make us a coffee lol. Thanks to the publicity of groupon this course had its chance to impress me and it failed will not be returning again soon.

As one of the course greenskeepers, i would like to thank you for all of your comments. All of the comments have been considered and raised to the rest of the greenstaff. Regarding the condition of the clubhouse, the owners have pumped as much money into reconditioning it as possible (and in my opinion, it is in very good condition), but as you can appreciate, it is very hard decorating/making changes to a Grade II listed, 17th Century building!

Couldnt disagree more with the last person. I play there on a regular basis, and have played many many courses in the area in the past. Overall, i am very pleased with the course. IT IS well kept, greens ARE great (spotless!), and the range balls are in my opinion are very good, and any poor shots not being down to the balls, but down the my technique! The greenstaff are also very helpful and polite, as are the bar staff and pro shop team. A highly recommended round!

A Ramshackle collection of facilities, range is poor, range balls are atrocious. Course is bably kept, greens are shocking and unplayable. Dont play it!!

23/06/08: I pay and play St Cleres on a regular basis. The course has improved during the past few years. Greens and Tees are now in excellent condition. The ongoing work to bring the bunkers up to standard is noticable.Staff in the Clubhouse where te menu has been improved greatly and the Pro Shop are always helpful. I would recommend to all that this course should be visited at any time of the year.

I play the golf course on a regular basis; the lay out is basically good and challenging. Value for money is average like many public courses in the area. Facilities are lacking, changing rooms bad, toilet facilities again bad, car park is dirt when wet you are covered in mud, when dry you are covered in dust. The clubhouse when open is poor, if you should play late afternoon and then want a drink and some food then forget it. You need to visit the local chippy. you may get a drink if the bar is still open. Taking the lay out and the added wind the course catches the best golfer, it as the potential to be one of the best courses in Essex if it was managed. IE; greens and fairways cut, teeing area’s levelled and maintained, the added insult to put up signs that the area is protected to save cutting grass. The management must be made aware that all the long grass and waste area’s slows play.

you say each year that you will be doing the bunkers,but you have not yet.when are you going to start.and i thing you should have boxes on the tees,to repair divets yours darren collins member of three years

Played the course yesterday, 8/01/2005, for the first time in 4 months. I must congratulate the green keepers for producing an excellent course. The fairways were well kept and the greens were in excellent condition. I played of the yellow tees which were freshly prepared areas away from the main tees, and although it was blowing a gale the course played superbly. i play of 22 and found the course a challange but was still able to go around in 87. Will play there again soon.

arrived 945 for 1015 teeoff pro shop personel friendly informative possitive course excellentthe six par three with new pond proved tricky but fun fair ways good trim greens excellent. all in all good value for money followed by good fare and real ale in the 18 century club house the weather was overcast recommend all to try

arrived 945 for 1015 teeoff pro shop personel friendly informative possitive course excellentthe six par three with new pond proved tricky but fun fair ways good trim greens excellent. all in all good value for money followed by good fare and real ale in the 18 century club house the weather was overcast recommend all to try

I have played the course a few times over the past few months (I'm not a member) and it has improved dramatically. Lots of work all over the course has really paid off. Love the 18th (shame my brother hit the ball 270 yards - into the water!). Good pub grub to finish.

Played the course in Mid-Feb on a cold Sunday morning. The course was in average condition. The tees were a piece of ground 20 or so yards in front of the ladies tees (fair enough in mid-Feb) and the fairways were pretty bare of grass. The greens were OK though except the 3rd green. Our round was unfortunately ruined by a very slow 3-ball who would not let us through and caused a massive backlog behind them. Since we played the course off the very very forward tees it would be hard to judge the holes true merits but the 3rd, 7th, 8th and 9th deserve a mention and the 18th is a good fun last hole.

Didn't think much of this course - only around 3-4 of the 18 holes had tee indicators - even those were in a very poorly state. This made it quite hard to find where the next hole was. The shop was OK, but my playing partner says that the clubhouse is falling apart. Admittedly, it's November, but the fairway grass was rather long. I was amused with one hole in particular (the 2nd I think) where the fairway ends on the right with an OOB. No rough at all - just straight from fairway to OOB with rough outside the OOB!!!

This is by far the worse course I have ever had the mis-fortune to play on. You have been warned. You can see it has the potential to be quite a good couse but it is so poorly kept it is a joke. It is nearly impossible to tell the difference between the fairways and the Greens. the 15th Green even has a huge Mat in the middle of it, making it impossible to putt over. How can they justify charging £20 for a round. I will not be playing there again in this lifetime.

Even though Essex has had some terrible weather this course played as good as it played in august. The greens have held up and the fairways are still dry. Catch this course on a windy day and expect to add two clubs to every shot. The practise green isn't worth a mention but the friendly welcome by down to earth members is. I played once on my own in the summer and was joined by two lads who were exceptionally friendly. A gem of a course in a clay based county.

Becoming well established and has the potential to be a very good course indeed. Good greens and fairways. A floodlit driving range has been promised for the future. The interior of St Cleres hall itself could do with some tidying up and the practice putting green could be best described as a postage stamp!