Silvermere Golf and Leisure Complex

Wow! What a difference a year makes. I played the course last year and it was simply terrible. Seems to me that some major rework has taken place. Greens are much better, tees are no longer water logged. Grass cuttings on fairways no longer exist. There has been a great clearing programme undertaken. It is much better. Excellent work chaps, keep it up.

I have played the course many times over the last few years but it has changed significantly (for the better) over the past few months. Greens, fairways and tees are superb and the last 2 holes are quite simply brilliant. Its a steal at £10 twilight too... Must play!

Former European Qualifying Venue! Well! Well! Well! If I were a member, I'd ask for a refund! A true test of any golf venue is the greens, the ones here were terrible. Like a pitch and putt course! They were slow, bumpy and not cut to standard. Tees were water logged, even the new ones. How can that be so? What level of construction has been applied? Bob the builder? With regards to the sand in the bunkers, I think Bob the Builder would be better placed to use it! Come on chaps sort this place out!

I've not played at Silvermere for a few years now. The last time I played, was in the summer. I'm aware that it's never been a good winter course but was surprised how bad it actually was. I don't know whats happened! The course is messy, with leaves and grass cutting everywhere. Some places of the course are under water. The drainage is simply substandard. Plug holes (yes plug holes) have been inserted into some of the greens but don't actually drain the water! The run up to the fifth is terrible with GUR completly across the run up to green. New Tees are full of standing water, are bare and uneven. The ponds and ditches are messy and full of silt andd grass. It's in a terrible state. I was very surprised. Shame really as it was once a good test. I'd rather go somewhere else for the money to be honest.

Well what can I say. Silvermere was once a very good track but for some reason appears not to be the course it once was. Seems that money is being spent around the bar complex and club house but not on the important aspects such as the course. The ponds and ditches are messy, greens are terrible, tees in some places are worse than some munis I've played. I'm afraid that it is no longer value for money with other courses in the area available and in such a better condition. It takes an age to get around probaly due to loss of balls in the grass cuttings and unkempt rough, ditches and ponds! Very poor indeed. I will not be going back again until someone gets some staff into maintain the place proberly!

I have played the course 3 times already this year and enjoyed them all. The course has a fantastic first 6 holes, full of challenges and enjoyable to play. As you cross the road for holes 7-16 the course opens up and becomes a little repetitive as you play up and down but the signature 17 and 18 over the lake make sure you need to keep your focus as you approach the clubhouse. The club shop is huge and really well stocked and you cant beat having a beer and watching the remaining players come home over the lake. Twilight deals are a bargain!

I hadn't played the course for a few years but a colleague of mine said it was in great condition so I thought I'd go down there for a game. They weren't lying, course was in excellent condition and well worth the green fee of £27.50, even got a voucher to come back again which I'll probably use if I can. The newer holes that used to let the course down have definitely improved but it's still defined by the tricky first 6 and last two over the lake which I enjoyed even more with a par, birdie finish!

Played this course early April 2011. The course in itself is about average, with a good variety of holes. Holes 1-6 and 17-18 were the better holes in my opinion, with the other holes being too open. However, this early in the season the course was in good condition. The most positive experience from our visit was the clubhouse facilities. Extremely well stocked pro shop, excellent restaurant and very friendly and service minded pesonnel everywhere.

I played in early February the course was wet and a bit rough round the edges but only one green was out of commission. There’s a driving range and a practice green which was unfortunately closed but the synthetic practice green was available so you have no excuses on the first tee. The first hole was a little disappointing being right next to the range and a little underwhelming but the first six are all tight and tree lined and pretty tough. After you cross the road it changes completely far more open and much more room to miss the fairway off the tee and it just doesn’t look as nice. You cross the road again for the last two which play over the lake and are two of the best holes on the course. There is a great big club house and a very well stocked pro-shop. I would return again for a midweek round but I was warned that it can take six hours to get round at the weekends in the summer.

I played Silvermere in early April and thought that it was a very interesting course. It has a strange mix of excellent holes and boring holes. The fairways must have been over an inch thick in April so I couldn't get a good feel of how the course would have played with the extra roll off the tee. Although the par 5s are reasonably long from the backs, they are rechable in two. I found the putting surface on all but the 600 yarder (although if my 3 wood hadn't clipped the edge of the tree I was trying to fade around I think I would have). The greens were extremely slow and playability suffered. My friend managed to gett a bobble on a 35 ft putt that came about 8 inches off the surface. All in all the course has about 6 very good holes, 6 good hotel-course-esque holes, and the rest are poor ones. The finish to the round is interesting but I feel it is too diluted. There is room to create another tee, thus a longer tee shot, on the 18th. I think the average golfer will think this course is amazing. The better golfer will be disapointed that the course peaks too soon and lacks real stimulating holes around the turn. Not a pushover by any means though. I will visit again in summer when it is in better condition.

I had the misfortune to play this course in February when the course was far from at its best. The fairways and first cut were pretty badly cut up with divot holes, animal scratchings and mole hills. As others have said the first 6 holes are quite tight with rhododendrons lining the fairways to gather any non straight drives. Unless you can rely on hitting straight tee shots I would recommend leaving the big bat in the bag. I didn't and lost 5 balls in 6 holes, though I found more than I lost. The newer holes across the road are now maturing well with trees growing to also make several of these holes quite tight off the tee. Excellent off course facilities, especially the massively stocked on site golf superstore.

When you play a course for the first time you're never sure what to expect both condition wise and facilities. silvermere doesn't disapoint on either count. From the moment you drive into the complex, to the walk off the 18th green, it's a very enjoyable experience. The pro shop is both the best stocked and staffed that i have ever used. The diversity and quality of the equipment on offer is first rate matched only by the knowledge of the staff. They are more than happy to let you try before you buy and if you are savey enough to use it, an exellent custom fit facility. The driving range has plenty of bays with auto tees with good range balls and plenty of targets and distance markers. The course its self is a fair challenge to most levels of golfer. High handicapers will find the first six holes tough as distance and accuracy off the tee are crucial as although the fairways are generous the rough is not. These holes are very picturesque lined by trees and large flowery shrubs. As you cross the road the holes open out a bit with the run offs a little more forgiving. You still require a good tee shot especialy on the longer par 4s but higher handicapers shouldn't find them as daunting. The two finishing holes are both over water with the 17th being a mid length par 3. At 150yds (yellows) it looks further but with the 18th behind it you wont be penalised to heavily for going long. The 18th requires a mid to long iron for placement as it's your approach shot that has to carry the water to an island green. The condition of the corse which at times has very heavey traffic was good. My only gripe was that we were caught behind a society which meant a 5.30 hr round. My advice would be to check who will be infront when you book.

I play off of 9 at a course with a par of 69 and the sss at 71. How Silvermere's sss is the same as the par God only knows. I feel with 2/3 of the par 4's being on or over the 400 yds mark that the average golfer isn't going to enjoy this much. That said the holes 'over the road' are now beginning to settle in with the rest of the course, I just feel it's a tad too difficult for average players with many fairways having 20 yds or less to land tee shots in. The early bird deal (breakfast thrown in) was fantastic value and was pretty popular at 7am and took our 3 ball 4 1/2 hours with only minor delays on some holes. I'm presuming at the weekends this place is jam packed and must be somewhat tortuous if your game and patieance aren't at their peak.

Recently played Silvermere on our "Captains away day". Excellent facilities and one of the best stocked [and reasonably priced] pro shops I have ever seen. First 6 holes are tight and can cause problems, however, once you cross the road to the 7th the course opens out more. Fairways and greens in reasonable condition for a place that has this much traffic on it. As previous contributors have said, 17th & 18th are a bit of fun. 17th is a par 3 with a carry of 150yd over the lake. 18th is a narrow tee shot - 4/5 iron, to a gap and then a wedge over the lake to a green which is next to the clubhouse. As part of our deal we had a barbecue afterwards and the food was well cooked, plentiful and tasty. Only complaint - to much traffic - round took 5.30 hrs + and we waited on nearly every shot.

Visited Silvermere earlier this week for the 1st time in around 10 years. Was pleased to find the holes across the road have now matured into a good set of holes. The pace of play was good and it was fair value at £22.50. The greens were not lightning fast (which public course is?) but fair and the general presentation of the course was good. The 17th and 18th holes over the lake offer great fun and a real challenge, and the need for a well earned beer Having read an earlier review about a burger and a beer being £14, I was more than a little skeptical about entering the bar afterwards, as I was paying! Glad to say this was not the case and it was nice to see others taking the 18th on with a pint in hand from the terrace.

Lovely course for the first 9 holes but a bit average and very open for the rest, except the last 2 the greens are soft and feel over played, they do not run true, however overall its pretty good and for the price I think excellent value, we played one sunday after 1600 and it was only £25 for me and my son whi is 14, thats a bargain. If the greens were cut more and not as over played it would rate more highly for me.

played there yesterday, the first time for three years and two days after coming across a well-maintained darenth valley course in shoreham, kent), and was disappointed with the slow, wooly greens, the lack of stakes indicating water hazards .. one in particular in front of the 1st, another on the 11th and a dank pond just on the length of a reasonable drive on one of the longer holes of the back nine(14th perhaps). the map on on the back of the scorecard is little help and only a few of the tee markers showed the layout of particular holes. the bunkers could do with a bit more sand, too. very corporate in everything else they do (you can only leave the club shop out of a different door from the one you went in as they want people walking around there in clockwise fashion!.. the need to register for a privilege card etc), they would do well to hire a few more greenkeepers and start indulging in a bit of old-fashioned TLC. First six and the last two were good holes, but i won't be rushing back...

As an occasional visitor to Silvermere I'm pleased to report that the greens are hugely improved since the spring. This makes the green fee worthwhile as they now represent a proper test of ability. Previous comments about the expensicve clubhouse grub are justified, by I see thay are offering sandwiches etc at the starters hut.

If you into yoru golf, you will appreciate a course for its layout, its condition and the natural beauty of the surroundings. Silvermere is outstanding in its layout and the beautiful tree-lined course. The condition of the course, whilst not bad, if it was improved would make this one of the best courses in the county. The holes are tree-lined, interestingly shaped with many dog-legs. The layout of the holes and their features make this a much longer course than the 6404 yardage would suggest. I would not hesitate in playing silvermere again on teh sunday special £26 after 2pm...and would recommend it to other golfers at this rate. One thing to beware of is the expensive clubhouse for food and drinks. Burger and beer cost £14.40!

Played here yesterday (10/4/07) the weather was superb and there hadn't been any rain for a good few weeks. So why are the greens always so bad everytime i play here? the greens are bald, don't run true and due to it being a public course with inconsiderate players there are hundreds of pitchmarks on every green. The round was fairly slow but not as bad as usual. But i do still like to play silvermere occasionally despite everything i have mentioned because it has some great holes (17th/18th obviously being the best two) and for a special £25 a round wasn't bad. Usually they charge ridiculous prices, but whilst they are filling every tee time you can't blame them. Great clubhouse/nice food/lovely garden to watch the golfers chipping over the water to finish on the 18th green/driving range/ ood but expensive club shop are all other good points.

Interesting course. First few holes are memorable with the remainder being typical parkland terrain but pleasant nonetheless. The last two water holes are special. The greens were ok but grass was scarce on a few of the putting surfaces. The fairways were good and provided a sharp surface to strike a good ball. The main problem was the time taken to get round. 6 hours is no joke and the problem was further exacerbated by the punks behing driving balls over our heads in their frustration. However our annoyanace was lightened when one of our group hit a goose on the 17th tee which fortunatley only appeared to be winded. The culprits shout of "what shall i do, what shall I do " was responded with "strengthen your grip slightly and move your head back a touch" Overall a nice place to play golf but the slow play means I will not be going back on a weekend.

I played this course in the middle of July and was not impressed, bearing in mind I paid 37.50 I was expecting something special but the fairways and the bunkers were just a joke. I thought they had put tar in the bunkers rather then sand! Saying that the greens were in a good condition and the first 6 holes were very nice (albeit tight drives). The final two holes are stunning as they both require a tee shot/approach shot over water, the last in front of what could be a packed bar!

Played here in a fairly large society on a Friday afternoon. The course is fairly local to me and i have used the club shop and restaurant on a number of occasions. The carpark and restaurant are always packed so the course is obviously a very busy pan and play. For that reason I was not expecting the course to be up to much. How wrong was I! This is an excellent course with some lovely holes which was, given the amount of traffic it sees, in excellent condition. The first is an excellent run into six quite tight holes, before crossing the road into a bit more open territory and then finishing with two more tight holes over the water of the lake. All in all an excellent course offering great value for money. My only criticism was the pace of play. We played nine holes in the morning which took three hours. I don't think the five minute tee times helped!

Played a Society day here on 11/5/06. Fantastic for a society, great food, fair test of golf and excellent service. 17 and 18 obviously stick in the mind as Silvermere lake comes very much into play,but the course will be remembered for the double-dogleg 11th (557 off the yellows) - even Tiger would be hard pushed to get near this beast in two. The other real highlight was the BBQ platter in the evening. Recommend to any society look for a good value for money day.

My local course, but today was my first round here. I have heard several stories about the course. I don't have an official handicap but on a good day, I'm a mid handicapper and I almost played to it. I thought the course conditions were excellent. Fairways were well cut. The greens wern't the best I have played on but the ball did run well. There was the odd pitch mark, but thats just the problem with the course being open to the public. The front 6 holes are fantastic. You really need positional play over a good slash with the driver. The 10th, what can I say...A beast! 577 yards off the yellows! And the last 2 holes. Well thats worth the green fee alone. The comments on slow rounds are unfortunately true. I had one of the last tee times and did manage to pass a couple of groups, but I was standing on the tee for more than 10 minutes on several occasions. More expensive than most I have played, but I'll be back for more - Brilliant course - Well recommended.