London area courses

[Lou_Duran]

If a good male golfer with very limited time was to move to London for six to 24 months and wanted to join a club, what would be the best candidates?  Assume that he would have transportation, but access to the course and time spent, including getting there and back, are important.  Thanks for the suggestions. 

[Melvyn Morrow]

Lou

A starter of 32 golf clubs, still more out there but which direction is best for you North, South, East or West? Travel in a car and it could take hours at time, othertime a lot less

•   Aquarius Golf Club - London - SE22 0RY - Parkland
•   Brent Valley Golf Club - Hanwell - W7 3BE - Parkland
•   Bush Hill Park Golf Club - London - N21 2BU - Parkland
•   Centenary Park Golf Club - Harrow - HA7 2NP - Parkland
•   Central London Golf Centre - London - SW17 0AT - Parkland
•   Chingford Golf Course - Chingford - E4 7QJ - Parkland
•   City Golf & Health Clubs - London - EC2R 5EH - Other
•   Dukes Meadows Golf Club - London - W4 2SH - Parkland
•   Eltham Warren Golf Club - Eltham - SE9 2PE - Parkland
•   Finchley Golf Club - London - NW7 1PU - Parkland
•   Hampstead Golf Club - Hampstead - N2 0TU - Parkland
•   Highgate Golf Club - Highgate - N6 4AH - Parkland
•   Holland Park Golf School - Kensington - W8 6LU - Other
•   Holland Park Golf School - Kensington - W8 6LU - Driving Range
•   Laing Sports Club (Golf Section) - Finchley - NW7 2ER - Parkland
•   Leaside Golf Club - Edmonton - N9 OAS - Parkland
•   London Scottish Golf Club - London - SW19 5NQ - Heathland
•   Mill Hill Golf Club - Mill Hill - NW7 3AL - Parkland
•   Muswell Hill Golf Club - London - N22 7UT - Parkland
•   North Middlesex Golf Club - Whetstone - N20 0NL - Parkland
•   Richmond Park Assn Golf Club - Kenningston - W14 8SQ - Parkland
•   Riverside Golf Club - Eltham - SE28 8PP - Parkland
•   Roehampton Golf Club - Roehampton - SW15 5LR - Parkland
•   Royal Blackheath Golf Club - Eltham - SE9 5AF - Parkland
•   Royal Epping Forest Golf Club - Chingford - E4 7AZ - Parkland
•   Royal Wimbledon Golf Club - London - SW19 4UW - Heathland
•   Shooters Hill Golf Club - London - SE18 3DA - Parkland
•   South Herts Golf Club - Totteridge - N20 8QU - Parkland
•   Trent Park Public Golf Course - Southgate - N14 4UW - Parkland
•   Wanstead Golf Club - Chingford - E11 2LW - Parkland
•   West Essex Golf Club - ongar - cm59rw - Parkland
•   Wimbledon Park Golf Club - Wimbledon - SW19 7HR - Parkland

Melvyn

[Bill_McBride]

Take the train to Deal.   Good members, good overseas membership deal, great course, dormie house rooms.

[Adam Lawrence]

Take the train to Deal.   Good members, good overseas membership deal, great course, dormie house rooms.

But a two hour train journey is not ideal if you know you are going to be short of time and needing to sneak off to play golf!

Lou - I think much depends on which side of town one ends up living and working. And although it is a lot easier to get in to most clubs than was the case five years ago, the very top ones are going to be harder to join. I've always felt that the Berkshire was the perfect combination of great golf and a great vibe, and that if I lived close enough and they would let me in, it's the club I would most like to belong to.

[JNC Lyon]

If you are in London, any top notch course will be tough to get to in a short amount of time.  The best choices are:

Deal--which is 1.5 hours by train or car, but you will be surprised at how much you play and how little it costs.  Talk to Mark Chaplin.

One of the three Ws: Woking, Worplesdon, or West Hill, all of which are a cab ride away from Woking, which is a 25 direct train from London Waterloo.  All fine courses and clubs.

Royal Mid Surrey also has two interesting courses (from what I understand) it is a shortish walk from Richmond station.

All in all, London is a phenomenal golf city.  Pick a home club, but be sure to explore all that the heath and links has to offer in that neck of the woods.

[JNC Lyon]

P.S. Prestwick is very doable in a day from London by train.

[Adam Lawrence]

P.S. Prestwick is very doable in a day from London by train.

For someone with 'very limited time'?!

[JNC Lyon]

P.S. Prestwick is very doable in a day from London by train.

For someone with 'very limited time'?!

Maybe on a day off?

[Mark Bourgeois]

Lou,

Yeah, close to where? Melvyn's list looks like more than a good start. At any rate, the problem will be one of access. Either no memberships will be available or the course will be too far, making for a short list.

From Central London, two that qualify are Royal Blackheath and The Addington, although the latter's membership will be more like a public "membership."

[Mark Chaplin]

Lou - If you friend is a member of a good club, is in London working for a good company and can provide solid references it is worth writing to some of the good second tier clubs to see if they will take a temporary member. If accepted he'd be able to play in comps (not trophy events) and take guests, etc. Few members club don't need a litle injection of cash.

[Noel Freeman]

 As much as I love Deal and enjoy being a member..

Deal is not do-able unless you go down every weekend and want to spend 1h 51 minutes from Waterloo followed by a 10 minute cab ride. Trust me, I know..

Lou, I'm assuming this is for your son. I would visit Woking and see about getting a membership. Its a 25 minute train from waterloo followed by a 5m cab ride.. You can get a train oh every 10 minutes or so and the course was recently lengthened and is a good test, great membership and great strategic design.. One can also play very quickly there and it is also easily drivable from central london.

[Bill_McBride]

Contact GCAer Richard Pennell at New Zealand.  He is assistant secretary there and would be able to offer some insight to opportunities, access, etc.

[Sev K-H Keil]

If you are looking for links golf, Deal is your ticket... so worth the commute!

While I love the W's, Berkshire and Swinley Forest the closest quality course to Central London is Coombe Hill - an Abercrombie gem that is easily reachable by taxi (9 miles from Mayfair).

[Mark Chaplin]

Depending on the side of London you live there are one or two good courses around.

Mill Hill and South Herts in the north are both fine tests.

South east and east are a bit barren although Langley Park, Royal Blackheath, Orsett and Thorndon Park are all solid courses. As is Hainault in Muldoon country.

Addington is posh pay and play but Croham Hurst and Addington Palace are OK.

[Mark Pearce]

North West there's Sandy Lodge, which is easily accessible from the underground.

[Sean_A]

Lou

The big issues for any top club in London will be the contacts and joining fee.  I think a club like Woking is £10,000 to join, but not so much for the yearly dues.  Your son may want to consider a place like BEARWOOD LAKES.  Its well above average in quality and I suspect the contacts issue is neglible.  CAMBERLEY HEATH is a good course and may also be a reasonable option.  It probably offers cheaper membership for young adults. 

Ciao 

[Lou_Duran]

Thanks, guys.  I think he is living in central London, near Victoria station.  He brought up the subject while he was here for Easter, and, as an Anglophile of sorts, I endorsed the idea immediately.  Hopefully he won't do as I might and calculate the cost on a per round basis.  Being a member of a good club can add greatly to the quality of life, possibly well beyond that suggested by a simple ratio.  While I suspect that he will pass on a club with a high initiation fee, I'll forward all the information in a week or so after he gets back to his new home.  Thanks again.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

None of the London donut clubs have international memberships? It would seem that there would be some clubs with those available.

[Scott Warren]

Tiger,

They do. Sunningdale's is quite attractively priced, but it's still a case of getting in.

[Mark Chaplin]

Tiger - If you live in Victoria you have zero chance of becoming an overseas member of any club!

Victoria is good for Bromley South station and Sundridge Park GC.

As I said earlier it shouldn't be impossible to get a temporary (no joining fee) membership at a good club.

[Keith Phillips]

I lived in London for two years a decade ago - given school choices at the time we chose to live in the suburbs - we settled in the Wentworth estate and were full members of Wentworth within 30 days - while the West course takes a hit on this website the overall experience was phenomenal - three 18 hole courses (including the East, which remains my favorite 'short 18-hole course'), a 9 hole par 3, 13 tennis courts and a great gym/spa for my wife - of the name clubs Wentworth is the easiest to join but also the most expensive (still cheap by New Jersey standards) - friends of mine in similar positions have 'leased' memberships at The Wisley, also not a cheap option but likely still doable, and several others joined Royal MidSurrey, which is closer to central London and also easy to join; another friend joined Stoke Park, with 27 holes and I believe still accessible- the Wokings and Berkshires et al are fabulous, and are accessible for the day with one phone call, but are not 'joinable' in short notice - good luck!

[James Boon]

Thanks, guys.  I think he is living in central London, near Victoria station.  He brought up the subject while he was here for Easter, and, as an Anglophile of sorts, I endorsed the idea immediately.  Hopefully he won't do as I might and calculate the cost on a per round basis.  Being a member of a good club can add greatly to the quality of life, possibly well beyond that suggested by a simple ratio.  While I suspect that he will pass on a club with a high initiation fee, I'll forward all the information in a week or so after he gets back to his new home.  Thanks again.

Lou,

If you think that the cost per round over a short period of membership at a local club might be prohibitive, then perhaps his best bet is to try and get an overseas/country type membership at somewhere further afield but still reachable in a day, like Deal, so he has a membership when needed. He could then spend the rest of his time paying green fees at the wide variety of courses around London or perhaps taking advantage of invites to places near and far, and having a broad experience of the courses here in England?

Cheers,

James