Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf and Country Club

For an average handicapper ( I play off 24 ), this course is very challenging. It is a long course with true, fast greens with borrows which are difficult to read. Every shot has to count and there is little room for error. It was in very good condition ( May 2016 ) and for golfers who really enjoy letting go with the driver and fairway clubs, this is for you ! We played on a weekday and the dedicated golf bar facilities were closed, but the hotel bar and sunny balcony provided a pleasant option for recovering at the end of the round !

The Championship Course Our second day at the Portal and we played the Championship. Fortunately the rain held off as the course is quite exposed. The course condition was excellent. Despite the amount of rain in the preceding days the speed of the greens was fast, and the subtle borrows led to more 3-putts than normal, but definitely "golfer error" and not a problem with the greens. The rough in general was very limited and not an issue, though it was possible to lose the occasional ball in the second cut. I thought the layout was good and there was plenty of variety in the holes and with quite strong winds you had to plot your way around. The fairways are pretty wide generally speaking and the course plays quite long due to the prevailing wind and the slopes. I took a buggy due to having broken my trolley the day before, and I must admit this was a good decision as there are some long treks between holes and it can be a little tiring.

Premier Course Not an auspicious start when we arrived at the course as the reception was empty, no pro-shop, and nobody to tell you the code for the locker room. Eventually realised that you had to ring the spike bar downstairs. That is about all the bad things, now for the good, and there were many. Despite absolutely hammering down with rain the course played very well and there was plenty of roll on both fairways and greens which were in excellent condition. We couldn't believe just how fast and true the greens were even with the rain and they were amongst the best I have played on this year. There is plenty of variety, but you can't just whip out the driver and bash the ball, you need to think carefully about your clubbing and where you want the ball to end up for your shots into the greens. I will be back to play it when it isn't raining even though it is nearly 160 miles away from where I live. I think this probably speaks volumes about the course.

Played the Championship course on Saturday May 25 and was very pleasantly surprised. We walked the course but could easily imagine increased difficulty with walkimng in winter what with rain and wind impacting both playing and conditions under-foot. The outward-nine seemed easier than the back-nine. The First 2-3 holes are very welcoming and not too long. I would play there again. The pro-shop was fine and the attending staff did a good job in describing the course features before we departed for the round.

Played the Championship course Monday 11th July as a hotel resident. As previous reviews have indicated the greens are tricky to read, my four-ball all hit the first in two and, 12 putts later, walked to the 2nd tee. Overall the course left me pretty under-whelmed, it's long and quite hilly with very few level stances. The short par 3 "signature hole" is pretty and quite testing into a strong breeze. Some spectacular views over the surrounding countryside but not as enjoyable as the "premier" course which we played the following day. The hotel was excellent, good accommodation, food and service. Only down-side was they ran out of bitter on the Tuesday and didn't really seem to care too much.

The Macdonald Portal has an open weekend this weekend allowing everyone to play their courses FREE of charge. A brilliant promotion, Myself and three others played the championship course, due to the heavy demand we teed off at 215 & just about got round before it got too dark. The course however IMO is no where near championship standard. it consisted by and large of a hole uphill followed by one down hill.the 14th par three which was surrounded by water was a good hole but of the longer holes the 15th par 4 which also involved a lake at the front of the green where the only other hole where shot selection was key with regards to having to genuinely think about a shot as opposed to trying to belt it up or down a hill !!!!!. a FANTASTIC deal considering it was free but if i was paying to play here i would not pay any more than £20 as it just isnt worth it i played at the Macdonald Hill Valley last October and there is NO comparison between the two courses, Hill Valley is so much better

The Macdonald Portal has an open weekend this weekend allowing everyone to play their courses FREE of charge. A brilliant promotion, Myself and three others played the championship course, due to the heavy demand we teed off at 215 & just about got round before it got too dark. The course however IMO is no where near championship standard. it consisted by and large of a hole uphill followed by one down hill.the 14th par three which was surrounded by water was a good hole but of the longer holes the 15th par 4 which also involved a lake at the front of the green where the only other hole where shot selection was key with regards to having to genuinely think about a shot as opposed to trying to belt it up or down a hill !!!!!. a FANTASTIC deal considering it was free but if i was paying to play here i would not pay any more than £20 as it just isnt worth it i played at the Macdonald Hill Valley last October and there is NO comparison between the two courses, Hill Valley is so much better

Played the Premier course on 16th September 2009. The Premier is a hilly course with fine views. Although I liked the course I found it a bit of a slog more suited to buggies than walkers. Unfortunately no buggies were available as they had all been allocated to the other course for a competition. There is an odd piece of design at the 12th where you have to walk back parallel to the entire length of the preceding hole to tee off. However, the final four holes with an unusual 3, 5, 3, 5 par finish are particularly good, with the 15th a spectacular drop hole.

Myself and a collegue played Portal Premier on the 17th December 2007. I had rung the course to check that it was open too play that day and was informed the course was open but on all temporary greens that day due to frost. On arrival we proceeded to the Pro Shop to sign in but were somewhat dismayed to find that there had not been a reduction in green fees even with all greens on winter temps! As a visiting captain from another club I found this somewhat of a surprise. Anyway having driven some distance to play the course we went ahead and payed the requested green fees. The course is in fine condition and is a good test of golf. It plays longer in winter than one would expect from the card and many shots into greens were still a good mid iron distance. The temporary greens were very small and quite a distance away from the main greens, length of hole had not been affected but these small greens were mainly placed in semi rough area's. They were also unreceptive which made getting a ball to stop on one from 150 yards all but impossible. The Main greens looked fabulous and care is obviosly taken to keep them that way for summer play. Even with the annoyance of the unreduced green fees we enjoyed our round and commented that we would like to play the course in the summer months. The Staff were very pleasant and the club house excellent. My scoring is based on the winter golf day, If I manage to play next summer I will post my summer scores too.

What a great days golf on a really challenging course,the greens were unreadable on many occasions, but an enjoyable experience for that.Considering it was early October the course was in tip top condition and i can't speak too highly of it.Definately one to revisit !

the course is an absolute gem its in beautiful surrondings.with excellent facilities to use.friendly staff.and the features on the course are excellent will be going back to play very very soon.this is a peach

The championship course is an awesome course. I have played it twice, and each time had the best day out. The scenary is stunning, the staff and members friendly, and the greens ultra quick, even when uncut for a couple of days! Play it you will not be disappointed.

Played the championship course in mid July 2002. Wonderful course with fabulous views. Tricky greens that look as if they all slope from back to front, but don’t be fooled. There can’t be many better tests in the area. High on the list of courses to join. (When my numbers come up that is)

Using the 2-fore-1 deal on the championship course on a breezy and drizzly March day I found this course to be absolutely fantastic value for money. Considering the torrential rain we have had over the past 3-4 months this course is in good condition and will be in absolutely superb nick by the summer. I seriously recommend this course for its scenery, condition, challenge and off course hospitality.