[Wayne_Kozun]

This course was designed by Kyle Phillips, opened in 2003 and hosted one of the WGC events in 2006.  Has anyone played it?  Is it worth playing?

[Tom Dunne]

Yeah, it's worth playing. Not great, but it's a good  solid modern parkland course. The place in general feels a little American, and it shouldn't take the place of a round at  one of the real-deal heathlanders in Surrey or Sussex. But there's a very nice hotel, bar, lounge areas full of stylish London girls up for a day spa. You can basically get to the Grove on the Tube, which I view as a plus.

I enjoyed my day trip there from my friend's place in Hampstead. Worth a look.

[Wayne_Kozun]

You can basically get to the Grove on the Tube, which I view as a plus.

Thanks for the info Tom - I will be attending a conference there so it is very easy to play there as opposed to another course in the vicinity.  How long does it take to get to The Grove from the financial district of London?

[Tom Dunne]

Wayne,

I think the stop is Watford, which would be about an hour from the Aldgate/Liverpool Street area. From there, maybe a 7-10 minute taxi ride. So, I'd give it an 1 1/4 hours, roughly.

[Mark Pearce]

If you're looking for somewhere to play which is reasonably reachable from the city centre the Grove is way, way down in the pecking order.  I can't see any reason to play there unless you have played all of the London heathland courses, plus the Addington, plus others.  However good it may be (and I suspect it isn't that good) there must be 20 better courses around London to play.

[Tom Dunne]

Mark, I fully agree with that assessment. However, Wayne says he's attending a conference at The Grove and asked about the course. There are certainly many other courses one would want to see first, but London is one of the world's great golf cities. In that context The Grove suffers, but it's really not bad at all.

[Mark Chaplin]

Tom - Even if it is handy after a meeting is it worth £155-£165 a round in the summer and £125-£135 in the shoulder season?

Those prices are on par with the Old course at Sunningdale (top 12 in GB&I), 50% more than the Old course at Walton Heath (top 20) and £100 more than the Addington (top 100 and highly regarded here). That is serious company The Grove is pricing it'self against.

[Brian Phillips]

Wayne,

I played The Grove about 18 months ago and really enjoyed it.  Make note of the routing on a very tough piece of ground.

I think Kyle has done another wonderful job.

Brian

[Tom Dunne]

Mark Chaplin,

To answer your question: No, it's not (especially if you start thinking about converting from US or CDN). But Sean accurately points out that it's more of a corporate-outing type of place than one that takes the greens fees as they come. I do think Phillips' work here is viewed through a distorting lens because The Grove commits the double sin of not only being a poor value but being somewhat American-feeling as well.

And yes, if I'm standing in front of St. Paul's Cathedral and given a choice between The Grove and Walton Heath, I'd go with the latter in half a heartbeat. And I'd choose Royal Ashdown Forest over both of 'em in half of that! (My signature to these posts is not without meaning!)

[Marty Bonnar]

"London, England".

That would be like not the London, New Hampshire or the London, SouthNorthCentral Dakota, no doubt.

You boys really need to take out a subscription to BBC America...

FBD,
Glenrothes, ScAtland near Edinboro', ScAtland - North of London, England.

[Mark Pearce]

I met a customer at the Grove for golf and lunch not too long ago.  The setup is all very pleasant and the course is good.  I have no need to revisit the club for a private game at the prices they charge.  In fact, I doubt I would return if the prices were halved.  Unless you have a serious itch or somebody else is paying, I would make the effort to see something else.  I spose part of the problem is that there isn't a whole lot of good golf in this immediate part of the London burbs.  Moor Park is not far and the green fees are a bit easier on the wallet - though still a rip off.  The High Course has some lovely moments (as you would expect from Colt), but there are at least six so so holes which are not on when you think it costs about £75 a game.  There is no question The Grove is a better course.  

My advice is to skip the golf and enjoy the outstanding hotel.  If you must play, take the time and visit one of the proper clubs for a game.  

Ciao

Sandy Lodge is also a short (and cheap (ish)) cab ride away) and offers a pretty good value green fee, Denham's not far away either.  All better value and would be my choice, even if I'm staying there.  I'm not going to play £150 to play anywhere without some real history or some real genius.

[Wayne_Kozun]

"London, England".

That would be like not the London, New Hampshire or the London, SouthNorthCentral Dakota, no doubt.

You boys really need to take out a subscription to BBC America...

FBD,
Glenrothes, ScAtland near Edinboro', ScAtland - North of London, England.

Well Martin the reason that I said London, England is that I live less than 200km from London, Ontario a city of about 330,000.  When one says London here (in Ontario) it often means Ontario rather than England.

p.s. I do subscribe to BBC Canada and BBC World News.

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