Thanks for the advice guys.
I managed to play the Red course and had a great time, though I had to shoot off afterwards so I couldn't sample the carvery....I suppose that means I'll have to go back and do 36 with a carvery lunch at some point!
I was really impressed by the course. I tried to relax and take everything in rather than over think each hole so I think I'd need a few more plays before I could really form too many solid opinions about the course, but here are a few quick things I did notice;
- The scale of the property is off the chart, the stretch around the turn is just huge, 10 is epic in every sense of the word.
- the 6-6-6 mix makes for really interesting golf that keeps you on your toes which I loved. Definitely no monotonous par 4 stretches, though the 5's were generally on the short side and I could see them producing some low scores.
- I felt the course was often lacking in interest from the tee. I'd have to play there more to see if greens favoured approaches from different angles or lengths more but at first view there didn't seem to be many questions asked of line or length from the tee. The only ones I really noticed were on 5, 11 and 13 where after hitting my best drive of the day I found myself down in the huge dip with a blind second from a hanging lie, whilst my partner was 40 yards behind me but on a perfect flat lie with an inviting view of the green.
- There are some really cool dips, hollows and banks around the greens, often hidden away behind bunkers and mounds that make for some horrible chip shots if you miss the green on the wrong side....I experienced lots of these.
- Without being too wild, the greens had plenty of break and variety and looked like they would be great fun for the member sin the height of summer.
On first view I'd say it was maybe a notch down from Sunningdale, but only just and after another look I maybe convinced otherwise.
Swinley is on the list for the near future James!