b101
Newbie
I had the pleasure of playing Camberley recently - I was keen to get around a couple of Surrey's lesser-known good courses, and this seemed a good place to start. Up at 91st in England according to the top 100 courses site and at 20th in Surrey, it certainly has a number of good reviews as one of Harry Colt's unsung gems. The first thing that immediately hits you is the clubhouse, which is massive and modern. Whilst it won't be to everyone's taste, it is very impressive and you get the impression that Camberley is a club that is going somewhere. After a quick (very good) bacon sandwich, we headed out onto the first tee.
The first four holes are genuinely brilliant. I loved the tee shot from the first - hitting into a hard dogleg right, where you could take driver with a fade, but the 3 wood is more sensible. You then take your approach into an elevated green - somewhat of a theme on this course. What I found really interesting about Camberley was how deceptive things look from the tee. Often, we'd look back from the green to realise that the better play would have been a low iron followed by a mid iron into the green. Admittedly, we were playing from winter tees, so it would probably play longer in the summer, but I think it shows more good course design than anything else. Next in the strong opening is a tough par 3 uphill to a bigger green than you think, with lots of tricky undulations. An uphill par 5 follows to yet another elevated green, before you head into a tunnel to the 4th which undercuts a road. The fourth is the first of the short par 4s, with loads of danger short of the green. You could take a hybrid and risk the bunkers, try to drive the green or lay up with a 6 iron - the danger increases the more you try to take off on a really well-designed hole. A long (495 yards from the whites) par 4 follows before a second short par 4. The front nine closes out with a decent par 4, a long par 3 across heather and a strong par 5 ninth which has a great-looking tee shot over a heather bank to a narrow fairway (see below - whilst the heather is currently out for the winter, you can really get a feel for the spacious nature of the holes at Camberley, especially when you consider how hemmed in it actually is).
The tenth hole is a quirky par 4 - you play over the top of a hill to the bottom, before hitting back up to the top of a hill to the green. We both took 3 wood, but regardless of what you take, you'll probably end up in the same shot. I'd certainly be interested to take a 9 iron off the tee and see what happens. From this spot at the bottom of the hill (see the panorama picture), you're facing a low iron up to a very high green with a false front. Looking back down from the green, it's an impressive hole, but more for the approach than the tee shot.
A halfway hut and another par 3 follow - this one with a massive drop off to the right. Camberley's green staff are currently putting in a load of effort to refurbish the bunkering (starting with all the par threes), so this area to the right was all GUR. Whilst it did detract from the hole at the time, it's great to see that they're clearly investing money and trying to push the course forward. The final hole this side of the road is the 12th - a decent, if unspectacular par 4. Coming back the other side, you're faced with a par 5 much in the vein of the quirky tenth; elevation changes facing you with each shot and a big bank of heather forcing you to think carefully about the tee shot. Another par 3 followed before the par 4 fifteenth. I'm not a fan of blind tee shots, and this hole is basically all about the blind shot over a hill. Hard to tell off the tee, but all you need is a mid-iron, which should roll down toward an inviting green. Like the tenth and fourteenth, it's a different design to what you might find on most courses, and some will really like it - but it wasn't my favourite hole.
The final three holes are strong ones. First off there's another short par 4, this time with a lake in front of the green. I know some have criticised the addition of the lake as out of kilter with the rest of the course, but I liked it - it adds something different that you've yet to experience and really makes you focus on your approach shot. Additionally, there was a well-placed bunker on the left side of the green that drew my ball like a magnet. The penultimate hole features a sloping fairway and a nice dogleg right forcing a cleverly-placed drive. You finish up with the signature 18th, which necessitates a drive over a heather-covered hill or going left towards a fairway at the bottom of a hill. Again, your approach is to an elevated, well-bunkered green. This is another hole that divides opinion somewhat, but I quite liked it as a strong closer.
Overall, I found Camberley Heath a very good course, but I feel it's a couple of holes short of being great. It's certainly got some memorable ones, with the massive elevation changes maybe adding a bit of a gimmicky feel in places - however, you certainly had to think about your shots. The course was in excellent condition, even in December and they are clearly putting in a lot of effort to improve the holes. The staff were all very helpful and we got a great impression of the place. Certainly, at £49 for a weekday round, it's very good value at the higher end of the Surrey courses and I'd thoroughly recommend it.
The first four holes are genuinely brilliant. I loved the tee shot from the first - hitting into a hard dogleg right, where you could take driver with a fade, but the 3 wood is more sensible. You then take your approach into an elevated green - somewhat of a theme on this course. What I found really interesting about Camberley was how deceptive things look from the tee. Often, we'd look back from the green to realise that the better play would have been a low iron followed by a mid iron into the green. Admittedly, we were playing from winter tees, so it would probably play longer in the summer, but I think it shows more good course design than anything else. Next in the strong opening is a tough par 3 uphill to a bigger green than you think, with lots of tricky undulations. An uphill par 5 follows to yet another elevated green, before you head into a tunnel to the 4th which undercuts a road. The fourth is the first of the short par 4s, with loads of danger short of the green. You could take a hybrid and risk the bunkers, try to drive the green or lay up with a 6 iron - the danger increases the more you try to take off on a really well-designed hole. A long (495 yards from the whites) par 4 follows before a second short par 4. The front nine closes out with a decent par 4, a long par 3 across heather and a strong par 5 ninth which has a great-looking tee shot over a heather bank to a narrow fairway (see below - whilst the heather is currently out for the winter, you can really get a feel for the spacious nature of the holes at Camberley, especially when you consider how hemmed in it actually is).
The tenth hole is a quirky par 4 - you play over the top of a hill to the bottom, before hitting back up to the top of a hill to the green. We both took 3 wood, but regardless of what you take, you'll probably end up in the same shot. I'd certainly be interested to take a 9 iron off the tee and see what happens. From this spot at the bottom of the hill (see the panorama picture), you're facing a low iron up to a very high green with a false front. Looking back down from the green, it's an impressive hole, but more for the approach than the tee shot.
A halfway hut and another par 3 follow - this one with a massive drop off to the right. Camberley's green staff are currently putting in a load of effort to refurbish the bunkering (starting with all the par threes), so this area to the right was all GUR. Whilst it did detract from the hole at the time, it's great to see that they're clearly investing money and trying to push the course forward. The final hole this side of the road is the 12th - a decent, if unspectacular par 4. Coming back the other side, you're faced with a par 5 much in the vein of the quirky tenth; elevation changes facing you with each shot and a big bank of heather forcing you to think carefully about the tee shot. Another par 3 followed before the par 4 fifteenth. I'm not a fan of blind tee shots, and this hole is basically all about the blind shot over a hill. Hard to tell off the tee, but all you need is a mid-iron, which should roll down toward an inviting green. Like the tenth and fourteenth, it's a different design to what you might find on most courses, and some will really like it - but it wasn't my favourite hole.
The final three holes are strong ones. First off there's another short par 4, this time with a lake in front of the green. I know some have criticised the addition of the lake as out of kilter with the rest of the course, but I liked it - it adds something different that you've yet to experience and really makes you focus on your approach shot. Additionally, there was a well-placed bunker on the left side of the green that drew my ball like a magnet. The penultimate hole features a sloping fairway and a nice dogleg right forcing a cleverly-placed drive. You finish up with the signature 18th, which necessitates a drive over a heather-covered hill or going left towards a fairway at the bottom of a hill. Again, your approach is to an elevated, well-bunkered green. This is another hole that divides opinion somewhat, but I quite liked it as a strong closer.
Overall, I found Camberley Heath a very good course, but I feel it's a couple of holes short of being great. It's certainly got some memorable ones, with the massive elevation changes maybe adding a bit of a gimmicky feel in places - however, you certainly had to think about your shots. The course was in excellent condition, even in December and they are clearly putting in a lot of effort to improve the holes. The staff were all very helpful and we got a great impression of the place. Certainly, at £49 for a weekday round, it's very good value at the higher end of the Surrey courses and I'd thoroughly recommend it.
