swanny32
Journeyman Pro
Time and time again I hear people say that the Gainsborough course is the course to play in our area, "it's held Senior PGA Tour events" don't you know! With the sun shining, the temperature up and a spring in our step, off we went to have a go and see what all the fuss is about.
First thing you notice is the sheer size of the place, the hotel, clubhouse and spa are pretty big and well kept by the looks of things, you definitely get the feel that you are somewhere a little bit more special than your average golf course. The pro shop is very well stocked and the bar area has a fantastic patio area over looking what we thought was the 18th of the Gainsborough, but actually turned out to be the 18th of the other course, the "Constable", which was a little bit of a let down as we were looking forward to (or not) playing up to the front of the clubhouse, as we new it would be packed.
The course was in "seasonal condition" shall we say, it's the end of March and not really the best time to be playing courses but overall I thought the condition was pretty good considering the harsh winter we had. Although a little damp in places, generally it was fairly dry under foot. The greens had just been hollow tined and sanded which obviously affected the quality of them, it was very difficult to gauge what they were going to do, some were fast and very true, others not so true and slow. Summer time I can imagine the greenkeepers get these in immaculate condition. The tee boxes were shot and ripped to pieces, really very surprising, looked in desperate need of some repairing, seeding and watering, especially on the par 3 tees.
Overall I thought the course was just ok, average at best, the 1st hole was a nice short par 4 that had a good look to it, but then in my opinion there wasn't another "Championship" looking hole until the 9th, which was probably the first time we said "wow".
What wound me up the most (other than the 5 hour round) were the little things, no ball holders in a couple of the ball cleaners, no bell on the 9th fairway to tell the group behind you that you had moved out of range......we had a couple of balls come up quite close as the group behind obviously thought we'd moved down the fairway. Some of the bunkers were very thin in sand, others were loaded with the stuff, and as for the signposts telling you where to go when you walked off the greens, sometimes they were non existent, in particular walking from the 2nd green to the 3rd tee, we must have looked lost as the course marshal came and pointed us in the right direction.
For a course that get's some Senior PGA Events, and some high praise from quite a few golfers in this area, I have to say I was a little disappointed. I'd like to go back and play the Constable course, just to play the 18th really as it's a really nice looking hole and right in front of the clubhouse which would be a good laugh with friends but I wouldn't rush back to play the Gainsborough course. I haven't played many course in my golfing career but I'd rather play Bentleys (Brentwood) or Chartham Park (East Grinstead)
First thing you notice is the sheer size of the place, the hotel, clubhouse and spa are pretty big and well kept by the looks of things, you definitely get the feel that you are somewhere a little bit more special than your average golf course. The pro shop is very well stocked and the bar area has a fantastic patio area over looking what we thought was the 18th of the Gainsborough, but actually turned out to be the 18th of the other course, the "Constable", which was a little bit of a let down as we were looking forward to (or not) playing up to the front of the clubhouse, as we new it would be packed.
The course was in "seasonal condition" shall we say, it's the end of March and not really the best time to be playing courses but overall I thought the condition was pretty good considering the harsh winter we had. Although a little damp in places, generally it was fairly dry under foot. The greens had just been hollow tined and sanded which obviously affected the quality of them, it was very difficult to gauge what they were going to do, some were fast and very true, others not so true and slow. Summer time I can imagine the greenkeepers get these in immaculate condition. The tee boxes were shot and ripped to pieces, really very surprising, looked in desperate need of some repairing, seeding and watering, especially on the par 3 tees.
Overall I thought the course was just ok, average at best, the 1st hole was a nice short par 4 that had a good look to it, but then in my opinion there wasn't another "Championship" looking hole until the 9th, which was probably the first time we said "wow".
What wound me up the most (other than the 5 hour round) were the little things, no ball holders in a couple of the ball cleaners, no bell on the 9th fairway to tell the group behind you that you had moved out of range......we had a couple of balls come up quite close as the group behind obviously thought we'd moved down the fairway. Some of the bunkers were very thin in sand, others were loaded with the stuff, and as for the signposts telling you where to go when you walked off the greens, sometimes they were non existent, in particular walking from the 2nd green to the 3rd tee, we must have looked lost as the course marshal came and pointed us in the right direction.
For a course that get's some Senior PGA Events, and some high praise from quite a few golfers in this area, I have to say I was a little disappointed. I'd like to go back and play the Constable course, just to play the 18th really as it's a really nice looking hole and right in front of the clubhouse which would be a good laugh with friends but I wouldn't rush back to play the Gainsborough course. I haven't played many course in my golfing career but I'd rather play Bentleys (Brentwood) or Chartham Park (East Grinstead)
I'll strike that one off my must play list
) . Yet other people love it.
