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Welcome to UK-GolfGuide's page which contains feedback from site users who have played at Traditions Golf Club.

Whilst UK-GolfGuide.com attempts to turf out the more unhelpful or just plain daft contributions, some may slip through. If you have played the course or hold a different opinion to those of the contributors, feel free to use the Add your Comments icon to provide a broader spread of views. If you have a gripe with the club then take it up with them directly - please don't use this facility for airing grievances!.

If you have played this course and would like to add your comments then feel free to Add a Report.

Ian Thomas (England) 19/03/08

Off the yellows a fairly short, but tricky course, that requires careful, accurate tee shots off a number of holes to miss lakes, ditches, trees, nature reserves and out of bounds. The SI 1 4th hole is a particularly tight tee shot and must be almost imposssible off the whites into the wind.

The greens look the part, being large, well contoured and well drained, but they had a disappointedly fluffy feel that led to them being slow, with the need to force the putts rather than the ball flowing across the surface.

The condition of the fairways left a lot to be desired, mostly appearing to be very poorly drained, with some areas being bog like. Several bunkers had standing water, despite it being a few days since the previous rainfall.

Overall a mixed bag. An intersting course layout, but not in the best of condition. However, the early bird and late afternoon rates, which were £9.99 a round when we played, make it worth a try.

It is also worthwhile having quite a few spare balls with you.

Ratings

Value for Money	8
Challenge	8
Off Course	6

Richard Hansen (England) 06/08/07

Played there on 31 July, part of a society. Hole 5 fairway was 4 to 6 inches deep in water, everyone ended up with wet feet. The bunkers were either filled with water, or rock hard solid sand. Two other fairways were water logged.

We, as a society, felt they should have contacted us beforehand and said the course was unplayable. However, in fairness to the Manager, they gave us a 10% refund.

It could be an interesting course, but don't go there if it has been raining.

My ratings are based on the conditions of the day

Ratings

Value for Money	9
Challenge	9
Off Course	5

Dave Bryan (England) 27/05/07

I played Traditions last weekend and I was so impressed! As a member of a golf club I normally tend to steer clear of 'pay and play' clubs as generally I find them scruffy and pretty unchallending and boring, but i was invited along by some friends so thought I would give it a go. Traditions is certainly a challenge! some tight holes, lots of water to get you in trouble and greens in really good nick. Well run with a starter and a course marshall which is pretty unusual for pay and pay courses as well. Will definatly play again, recomend it to anyone.

Ratings

Value for Money	9
Challenge	7
Off Course	6

M Johansson (England) 21/12/06

I will probably need to play this course again to give it a fair review. I played on a sunday morning in early November. It had been raining all week leading up to the tee off and just as we got onto the 1st tee we had to leg it back into the clubhouse due to an almighty hail storm. Once that had cleared (15min) the sun came out but the whole course was water logged. Completely unplayable! Every bunker was a lake and pretty much each fairway became a lake! a real nightmare. I must have lost 10 balls just from bunker shots and water on the fairways!!!

I'm not a huge fan of the crown golf network i feel a lot of the clubs, like Traditions have no atmosphere or feeling to them, no tradition (sorry) if you like.

I will play it again and give a better review, but if it has been raining a lot please stay well clear!

Ratings

Value for Money	6
Challenge	6
Off Course	4

clive erry (England) 21/11/06

i played this course on sunday 19/nov/2006as part of the red lion golf society,it was the worst course we have played this year.the fairways were waterlogged and the course was unplayerable

the booking in system failed we had a delay of 30 minuets before teeing off.it seems that greed is the watch word with this course.i will not be playing this course again.there was no staff in the bar to serve tee and coffee before 8 am,should have stayed in bed

clive erry

Robert Bedford (England) 14/06/06

Played here in a small society on a Wednesday afternoon.

Found the course to be in fairly good condition with a number of memorable holes. I particularly liked the very tight par three third and the even tighter still fourth. There is quite a lot of water and good course management is therfore rewarded. Some of the course is spoilt by overhead cables and pylons.

Not a particularly long course but wayward tee shots are punished with some very harsh rough.

The offcourse facilities were decidely average.

Ratings

Value for Money	8
Challenge	8
Off Course	6

'Young P' (England) 16/05/06

Traditions is now owned by Crown Golf and this has resulted in changes to the booking procedure – which I personally wasn't particularly happy with.

First off, I found myself speaking to a girl in what was evidently some kind of call centre operation and who patently knew absolutely nothing about golf. And it didn't get much better from there:

1. Tee times are now sold in blocks rather than charging individual green fees. So a tee time costs a set amount, however many people are playing. For example, if a tee time is set at £48, it would cost £48 to play as a single, £24 each to play as a twoball and £12 each to play as a fourball. Net result: the course gets packed with slow-moving fourballs but the club rakes in more cash. Ker-ching!

2. You have to pay in full in advance. Call centre girl gave me the lame excuse that this was "to avoid queuing in the pro-shop." I've played some of the best courses in the British Isles and, whilst I'm used to paying deposits, this was the first time I'd been asked to pay in full beforehand. Of course, when you get there, you still have to go to the pro-shop to sign in and wait while others buy polo shirts, golf balls, chocolate bars etc, completely negating any supposed benefit of reduced waiting time. I mean please don't insult my intelligence!

3. If you can't make your tee-time – for whatever reason – there is no option of a full refund of your money. All they will do is allocate you another tee time in the future.

As you can see, all of these points are skewed to the benefit of the club over the benefit to the player.

And, as a final insult, we were told we couldn't play off the white tees as they were for competitions only! Needless to say, we ignored them.

I'd now definitely think twice about playing here as a twoball.

'Young P'

Ratings

Value for Money	3
Challenge	5
Off Course	3

Clive Strong (England) 02/04/06

Played there yesterday. The course layout is fantastic. Some really challenging holes and the course has more water than I have ever encountered, so good course management and club selection is a must. The greens were very good too.

My only gripe is the water logged fairways. They were awful. The course is 6000yds off the yellows and I must of walked about 8000 zig zagging my way along the fairways avoiding the water and mud...

In saying that, I will be playing this course again because the layout is that good, and hopefully I'll get a good few extra yards on my drives rather than a big splash - the one day i drive well and i have a waterlogged fairway!

Well recommended..Just keep an eye on the weather!

Ratings

Value for Money	9
Challenge	8
Off Course	7

Kevin B. (England) 23/11/05

Played here midweek in November ( £11 using a 2 FORE 1 voucher ).

Contemporary course superbly designed by Peter Alliss. Doesn't look up to much when you first arrive but ignore the initial first impresions as this is an excellent modern course.

Lakes, sleepers & a an imaginative design here that really makes you think off the tee.It's hard to find fault with any of the holes here as the good holes keep on coming.

Large undulating greens in excellent condition where your putts run true & considering the time of year the general course condition was very good.

Good par 5s & the design of the par 5 16th is a masterpiece where you can go for a water carry to the green with your 2nd shot or bail out.

Also the 4th has one of the tightest drives i've seen (off the whites )to a fairway where at one point the short grass is only 6 yards wide.

Another plus was how empty the course was & we had no-one in front or behind us for the duration.

Shortcomings are that pylons run across part of the course (strangely ,this doesn't seem to detract as much as you'd think )& the card or tees could do with a course plan on them as on the 1st i hit my ball to the wrong green.

For £11 an absolute bargain.

Kevin B.

Ratings

Value for Money	10
Challenge	7
Off Course	6

stein arnesen (England) 16/09/05

I have played this course (and a lot of others in surrey) several times over the last 3-4 years. Not being a memeber anywhere always is a problem when you want to play early in the mornings in the weekends. Here you can always get on, (provided you book a couple days in advance. The course is usually in excelent condition. In vinter 1,2,4 and 5 can be a bit wet. In summer it tends to be dry and your drives could easly be 50 yards longer. The course is a challenge as you can on most holes chose to play safe or "go for it" the latter could prove to be a misstake when you go in the water etc. but also rewarding if you make it.

I am playing there again this weekend. (for you cheap guys complaining about distance markers etc. I got a couple of spare bocklets..- I agree with the previous wrighter - £3 saves you several balls...

If you havent played there i suggest you do, take the little road back towards A3 afterwards cross the canal and have lunch at the nice pub by the lock. Playing Traditions is all in all a nice experience at a reasonable price...

Hacker

Ratings

Value for Money	7
Challenge	6
Off Course	6

Simon P (New Zealand) 24/06/05

I am not sure where they guy who said there were no markers was looking as there are 150 yard markers on every hole... The yardage books are £3 and given the difficulty of the tee shots I strongly suggest you get one. It will probably save you three balls so think of the cost benefits!

It is an absolutely fantastic course, it is challenging but certainly playable, you just have to think your way around and play strategically which is all you can ask.

Great value for money and good atmosphere around the club.

9/10.

Ratings

Value for Money	9
Challenge	8
Off Course	8

George Browning (England) 06/06/05

This Course is the best I have ever played on. The people are also very friendly. Take lots of balls, water everywhere!

Ratings

Value for Money	10
Challenge	8
Off Course	9

Loy Dogg (England) 09/08/04

Quite a good course, not as challenging as others but still some fun holes. They haven't used most of the water unfortunately and you only have to play across water a few times, greens are great. Only problem is there are no markers and they try and sell you a yardage book for £4 which is a bit cheeky if you ask me. 5/10.

Charlie Armstrong (England) 10/10/03

no 1 course best greens about friendly people you must try and play off whites thoigh a true test good luck and take lots of balls

eddie (england) 08/11/02

found this course to be dream from start to finish, had a truely wonderful day and it probably wouldnt have mattered if i lost but then i won!having your designated tee off time called at the first to some of the most beautiful and well looked after greens and fairways i think youll ever see, even the rough is well groomed. an all round course with a testing hole for all types of player. definately not the last time i play there. eddie

Joe Authur (UK) 21/06/02

Water, water every where etc.. If you hit right of the tee take plenty of balls with you when you play this surprisingly mature new course. The course is American-esque with each hole protected severely by combinations of lakes, ditches, reed swamps, streams and bunkers. No 60yd bump and runs on this course you have to carry to the hole on nearly every green. The opening 4 holes really test your ability to select the right clubs and play the right shots. The short 4th a par 4 that is claustrophobically tight, anything not dead straight & about 175yds+ and you’ll be playing 3 of the tee.

After the first four it beings to open out a bit, be careful very thick deep rough & OB awaits anything wildly offline. The fairways are quite tight but the wide light rough is quite shallow to compensate and most of the fairway bunkers are situated at about 220yds to 260yds so message here is hit the fairway rather than ultimate distance. Make sure you get a course map there are a few unexpected ditches around the way. The middle nine is where you really need to make a killing there are some nice holes but nothing to strenuous. Particularly nice is the par 3 10th over the water that doesn’t really come into play and par 3 15th that starts high and drops into a secluded wooded green.

The final three wholes are tough, very tough but will reward excellent shots. On the 16th you’ll be so confused by what shots to play on this left-right then right-left and left-right again par 5, it has enough water to irrigate all the paddy fields in S.E. Asia just to add to the complexity. If your anything but on top of your game or course management you could quite easily double figure here. Having said that if you hit a decent drive you could have a crack at the green in two but beware the carry will be 90% over water and then the rest is sand.

Depending on how well you play the 16th will probably determine how you play 17 and 18. 17th looks simple enough but the second creek is driveable so best take the three wood (if you fluff your tee shot there’s short water everywhere to gobble up your ball). There’s a large tree which guards the route to the green so try and get your drive left or right of the line in. Right side is best as there’s a steep bunker on the left front of the green. Final hole is also a test, there’s a 200yd+ carry required over the bank of railway sleepers with a ditch in front to the elevated fairway. If you don’t think you can make it go for the first fairway on the left (it will be better than the drop back from the ditch). The green looks fairly simple from the fairway with just the large tree on the left. Check your planner and you’ll notice that the run-off at the rear is none existent and it’s a vertical drop into 6ft of water. This is probably the only hole where a runner onto the green is the best option.

In summary this is a lovely course not to hilly and really rewarding for good play and course management, You don’t have to hit enormously here either to have a go at all of the par fours in two. Par threes are lovely and the par fives are good opportunities for birdie’s, 16th is the signature hole. In five to ten years time this could really be a peach of a course and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try it now. I only had 2 negative points the greens were quite slow, there wasn’t really any reason for it they felt quite firm underfoot and the grass wasn’t long either, maybe it’s just been the recent weather. Also the standard of cleaning in the Men’s was appalling.

Young P (England) 22/05/02

I know what you’re thinking: crap name, which probably equals crap course. Well, it’s not quite that simple.

Regular golfers who’ve seen a lot of courses will probably take this Peter Alliss design one of two ways. They may either regard it as just another new course, that for the most part looks and plays like one. Others will take that on board yet come away feeling it was a bit better than that – or at least could be, especially if the greens were in better nick.

The opening Par 4 doesn’t promise too much but you then find yourself straight into the tightest section of the course that threads through the woods that ring the eastern border. The third is a picturesque short Par 3, which is followed by the SI 1 Par 4 fourth where the pressure is on for an accurate tee shot, otherwise you’re in trouble. The same applies to the Par 3 sixth, where the green is bordered by a meandering stream.

After that, things open up a bit, both before and after the turn. Without being anything special, there are some interesting shots to keep you on your toes, such as the approaches to the eighth and fourteenth, and the drives on the ninth and thirteenth which have to negotiate a barrier of railroad ties and water respectively.

There’s an interesting run-in as well, which includes the slightly bizarre short Par 5 sixteenth where the meandering fairway around the streams and lakes means you’re likely to take 8 iron, 9 iron then pitching wedge.

The course is a bit too short off the yellows and the pylons are a bit grim but on the other hand it’s not too expensive, especially with a 2-Fore-1 voucher. There are certainly far better courses in the Woking area (e.g. West Hill, Worplesdon) but you could do worse - probably.

4.5/10

Young P