It was a good enough course but didn’t quite make the high standard of any of the aforementioned. Getting There: Swinley Forest Golf Club is situated in South Ascot, roughly 30 miles west of Heathrow Airport near London. Coach Swinley Forest GC. In reality, this isn’t the case at all. Share. Every year I am able to take a couple of golf trips to fantastic places and I take huge pleasure in planning these trips. A view of the 8th green at Swinley Forest Golf Club. What is your career low round and where did you shoot this score? For many years, how to get a tee time at Swinley was shrouded in rumour and mystery. Average User Ratings. Both of these early 20th Century courses are essential to a golf trip in the area. 5 Images Write Review. The founding principles of the club were eccentric, and nearly all of them have endured to the present day. This is only partly true. Q. The Golf College Wedge Game Coach Lessons | Alex Buckner Golf Tuition | Ascot Ascot is less than an hour’s train ride from London’s Waterloo station, or 1.5 hours from Heathrow. This was a very, very special golf course and one that will live with me forever. Overview. A new secretary, in role for a few years now, has decided to open the course for some visitor play. Project Tour School Wedge Game Coach. Pretty in mesmeric detail with all the usual heathland vegetation plus a veritable grandstand of purple rhododendrons. registered in England and Wales. The 17th at Swinley Forest is the last of an amazing set of par 3s. User Average. H Bauer Publishing are authorised and regulated for credit broking by the FCA (Ref No. In fact, you would be hard pressed to describe it as a conventional golf club: there is no captain and despite being in existence for nearly 100 years, no history, except in its members’ heads. There is so much else to love. Famously, Colt describes it as his ‘least bad’ work. West Sussex is another top 100 course about an hour’s drive away and is well worth a visit. For many years Swinley Forest was shrouded in secrecy and had almost mythical status in the world of golf. It has only been in the past decade that the course has been measured. This tree-lined parkland layout provides a wonderful test for your all-round game, with many attractive, skilfully crafted and challenging holes to enjoy. 18 Holes — Scorecard Par Length Slope Rating; Champion 69: 5757yd/ 5252m 113 69 Par Length S.I. Playing the Course. Swinley Forest Golf Club Course Review Imagine the most perfect picture of a beautiful, traditional, pine-clad golf course in the London stockbroker belt, and that picture is Swinley Forest. But if you're lucky enough to be one of the chosen few you'll be in golfing heaven on this Harry Colt-designed layout which opened in 1909. The complexity of the holes here regularly comes at the greens with some wonderful bunkering, intricate run-offs and undulations. Who is your favourite PGA Tour player? Provide your own Swinley Forest Golf Club Rating & Review: Use the comment box below to provide your own review of the golf club. Royalty and aristocracy are regulars at one of the most prestigious clubs in the world just outside the west of London - to such an extent that it has been called the heathland Augusta National. The course delivers a great experience to golfers of all levels. It was designed by Harry Colt while he was Secretary at Sunningdale and opened in 1909. Swinley Forest Golf Club Map and Location. Swinley Forest is a delectably English golf club set in the heart of the Berkshire sand-belt on a secluded parcel of land boasting beautiful heather, gorse and pines. However, the finest example of the pleasures of heathland golf is to be found at Swinley Forest in Ascot. Sunningdale New this is not. There is great variety in the par 3s and 4s but you never feel like you are facing a brute. Ascot, United Kingdom; Private; Harry Colt 1394141 Registered Office: Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA H Bauer Swinley Forest may be a Par 69 but provides a good challenge. The green fee will be £195 per player’. A view from the 17th tee at Swinley Forest Golf Club. Seeing a 6,431-yard, par-69 course like Swinley Forest be embraced as an epitome of great design is a powerful message. Swinley Forest, without any doubt at all, is such a course. Swinley Forest Golf Club. Swinley Forest Golf Club is one of the most exclusive yet unpretentious golf clubs in the world. Swinley Forest Golf Club Scorecards Add scorecard. All Ascot, Berkshire, United Kingdom. What is the first club you take out of your bag on the driving range? Such is the atmosphere and flavour of a special golf course that may be without exact parallel anywhere in the world, let alone within Britain. When the Queen enquired as to why a man of such means could not own his own course, Lord Derby responded by forming an exclusive club and handing Colt, who was still serving as Secretary at Sunningdale, a piece of land he had purchased within the greater Swinley Forest for the building of his new course’. Calgary Golf & Country Club is home to a championship golf course that ranks with some of the best in Canada. The playability of the course is the thing that really shone out for me. As for the clubhouse and course setup, you will certainly get a warm welcome. But this isn’t just a course with good set of par 3s. Description No description available. Swinley Forest Golf Club is one of the 106 golf courses in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire. 5 Images Write Review. Publishing, Company Number: LP003328 Registered Office: Academic House, 24-28 Oval Road, London, NW1 7DT. It’s a par 68 and just over 6000 yards from the back tee. Beautiful and tranquil, pristine and fun. Swinley Forest is very close to two other immense English courses - Sunningdale Old and New. While that will undoubtedly separate the strong players from the weak, it does so without humiliating anyone too early or punishing them too brutally. The club was a bastion of the English upper classes and it was to become one of the most exclusive clubs anywhere in the country. From a flick through the visitor book, visitor play is relatively light - I imagine the members don’t want the course to be overrun - so I would suggest booking well in advance. Of all the unforgettable features of Swinley Forest, what nearly every traveler on a golf trip to England remembers most is the abundance of solitude. Swinley Forest Golf Club Swinley Forest. Swinley Forest includes Crowthorne Woods around Caesar's Camp between the Nine Mile Ride and Crowthorne; Swinley Park between Forest Park and the B3017; Bagshot Heath just west of Bagshot; and Swinley Woods around Kings Ride between the B3017 and South Ascot. Tweet 0. VAT no 918 5617 01 Posted by Giles North on 24/08/2011 In a word "Fantastic" a must play golf course and if you phone ahead you can get on even as an individual at certain times of the year. ENQUIRE NOW. Q. Swinley Forest. 3 out of 5 A secret world of heathery heathland heaven showcases Harry Colt’s attention to detail. A view of the 17th hole at Swinley Forest Golf Club on June 10, 2017 in Ascot, England. Walton Heath is within half an hour. Welcome to Alex Buckner Golf Tuition -Foresight GCQuad Launch monitor-Hackmotion-Driving range -Short game area Wedgematrix Authorised Coach. Swinley Forest Golf Club has 7 reviews. I would have to agree. The ‘3 Ws’ of West Hill, Woking and Worplesdon are probably slightly less challenging courses but also come highly recommended. However, unlike West Sussex (another course with a sub 70 par) the course doesn’t feel particularly long either. Swinley Forest is a charming golf course set on the famous Surrey/Berkshire sand belt. For some reason, I had expected the ‘forest’ to impinge and for the course to be tight. SWINLEY FOREST GOLF CLUB LIMITED 2013 – Present 6 years. Sorry, there was an error in submitting your review. A view of the 8th green at Swinley Forest Golf Club. This is a classic example of a course you can enjoy whatever your handicap. Woking is a particularly well regarded course - the architect Tom Simpson said he would choose this as the course he would play for the rest of his life if he were ever to be restricted to one choice. With the hustle and bustle of greater London looming in the distance, the forest of pines completely secludes the golfer from the outside world, providing an unmatched setting to enjoy the game. Swinley Forest GC. Click here to find out where Swinley Forest ranks in Golf World's Top 100 Courses England Swinley Forest lacks the glitz and glamour of near neighbours Wentworth and Sunningdale but nonetheless this charming, eccentric venue has bags of style. A wonderful day out; a very pretty course including a superb collection of par 3s. It's not only one of the most charming courses, in an area blessed with a plethora of wonderful heathland venues, but also one of the best. Closer by, St George’s Hill is probably the standout choice - one I still have to play but which comes very highly recommended. What more can you ask for!? Like many Colt courses it starts relatively benignly with a wide fairway on an approachable par 4, but by the 4th you know you’re in for something really special with a 200 yard Redan thrown in. Based on 1 Visitor Reviews. Located in the heart of the Surrey-Berkshire Heath-land, the Swinley Forest Golf Club is one of the purest examples of classic inland golf in all of Europe and perhaps, even more impressively, one of the best few courses by master designer Harry Colt. Swinley Forest GC. What is the most number of holes of golf you have played in one day? One of the best golfing experiences The management always make you feel so welcome to one of the most exclusive and beautiful courses in the UK if not the world. If there was only one course in England I would urge you to play, Swinley Forest would be it! I really hope that this story from Planet Golf about the founding of Swinley Forest is true, ‘It was formed by Lord Derby, a minister of the crown during the reign of Queen Victoria, who was once late for an appointment with Her Majesty at Windsor Castle after being held up by a slow foursome at Sunningdale. Whether you'll be able to savour and experience it is another matter - Swinley also happens to be a pretty exclusive set-up and you need to have friends in high places (only members and their guests can tee it up here). Favourite Tour Player, current...Louis Oosthuizen. Share 0. If you could only play one course again for the rest of your days, these courses would be right at the top of the list. The golf courses in the neighbourhood The Berkshire Golf Club, Windlesham Golf Club, Sunningdale Heath Golf Club, Royal Ascot Golf Club, Sunningdale Golf Club and Mill Ride Golf & Country Club. Green keeper North hants golf club August 2012 – March 2013 8 months. The rating should be out of 10 and if you need a little help to score the course, why not refer to the One London Golfer’s rating chart? This is perhaps the only concession that has been made by the club in the years that have gone by since the 1960s. Course Information: Intimate Swinley Forest plays just 5,952 from the back tees, and plays to a par-68. Swinley Forest Golf Club, Ascot England H ighlights One of the most exclusive clubs in England and all of Britain, frequented by many in the diplomatic community and perhaps even THE most posh club in London, the Swinley Forest Golf Club is an absolute joy. He was a player who was straight off the tee and consistent but only average in his length. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images Hole 1, Par 4, 332m. Click here to find out where Swinley Forest ranks in Golf World's Top 100 Courses England. For decades at Swinley the bogey card was used and it was only in the 1990s that they took a more conventional approach. Swinley is as far removed from tournament golf as any club in the world could be and is all the better for it. Facilities Bar, Catering, Pro Shop, Golf practice facilities inc driving range. The greens were wonderfully designed on every hole - here were few straight putts but none that felt ridiculous and they were running beautifully true when we were there, though not so fast that we couldn’t attack the holes. Playing this course I always felt I was well treated - it was totally fair at all times. There is something about Swinley Forest similar to Brancaster, an unpretentiousness with none of the glamour of its near neighbours, Sunningdale and Wentworth.. 108! But no more. The course isn’t long. Such a benign yardage at under 280 yards, and yet this was the only horror on my card. This would be a handicap too great for many, but Swinley is a Colt masterclass with a string of 430-yard par-4s to strengthen its backbone. Swinley Forest lacks the glitz and glamour of near neighbours Wentworth and Sunningdale but nonetheless this charming, eccentric venue has bags of style. This course is made up of 2 par 5s, 11 par 4s and 5 par 3s which means it doesn’t feel like a short course when you are playing. Sadly very overrated and, now overpriced golf course, Poor greens, course in general very untidy. Much of the woods cover what used to be moorland as indicated by the names of some of the hills, such as Broadmoor, Owlsmoor, … Titleist Ambassador PGA Class AA. 6-7 on the stimp wow! https://www.golfshake.com/course/view/16333/Swinley_Forest_Golf_Club.html Swinley Forest Golf ClubBodens Ride,Coronation Rd,Ascot SL5 9LEPhone: +44 (0) 1344 620197E-mail: admin@swinleyfgc.co.uk, The simple bar at Swinley Forest was very welcoming, An excellent pre-golf breakfast is on offer. However, if you are an unaccompanied visitor then you will use the changing room by the pro-shop - the other side of a courtyard from the main clubhouse. 12 November 2015. For many years Swinley Forest was shrouded in secrecy and had almost mythical status in the world of golf. But I didn’t feel I had received anything but my just deserts. Golf Vacations England – Swinley Forest. Swinley Forest Golf Club is a relatively short course by todays standards and we decided to play for the back tees. The ball was gobbled up by the swathes of heather on the right and the combination of that and the fairway proved to much for me. Four of the five are over 170 yards and the green complexes and bunkering are fantastic, especially on the 17th where a long iron needs to find the heart of the green or the ball will fall off to the deep bunkering on the left, into the cavernous drop on the right or back down the front where another attempt to get up the steep slope will be facing you. It’s simply a thing of beauty and wonder. More information about Swinley Forest Golf Club. If you dig a little into Swinley’s history you will hear that measuring devices weren’t allowed and there were no pars on the course until relatively recently. Swinley is barely over 6,000 yards off the back tees which is a reflection of the remarkable absence of par-5s. Swinley Forest GC. Swinley Forest is an absolutely charming golf course on the famous Surrey/Berkshire sand belt, but it’s a club that is frozen in time, exclusive, unusual and totally eccentric. In this modern day and age Swinley Forest provides a score card indicating par and SSS. I am a sucker for a good short par 4 and the 10th was a great example. The onus is on excellent iron play. The food in the bar was excellent (crab, avocado and a poached egg on a potato gratin for breakfast was very welcome) and there’s unlimited tea and coffee for guests. Nine Iron: Q. Q. Swinley Forest GC. This is a course that deserves to be seen by many, and will be celebrated by all who experience it. Harry Colt believed it to be his finest course. 1 st hole on Swinley which has a reasonably wide fairway and slightly uphill to the green on your second. The club was friendly, there was no pretension and while it is fairly clear you are only a guest for the day and a visitor to the club, you will be welcomed warmly. The magnificent pines are almost always in view but they sit well back from the holes and act more as a backdrop than hazard. You will read everywhere that the par 3s on this course are truly exceptional; I have heard them called some of the best in the UK. And, indeed, should you require a visit to the gents or ladies when in the bar you will need to make your way back there! It was designed by Harry Colt while he was Secretary at Sunningdale and opened in 1909. Of all time, Jack Nicklaus. It is an 'anachronism living in its Edwardian past.' Swinley Forest, without any doubt at all, is such a course. With a few subtle enhancements over its years, Swinley offers 6431 yards of pure bliss and is bound to test a golfer’s skills. It measures just 5,900 yards from the white medal tees (although longer purple tees have now been installed) and it is a par 69. Thank you, your review has been submitted successfully and will be included on the page once approved. Some courses require you to consistently carry the ball 230 yards to get the it in play and for most of us that’s not going to happen. 100. Swinley Forest’s layout remains true to its original design with a Royal hunting forest and open heathland. 845898), The Top 100 Golf Courses in Britain and Ireland. Swinley Forest Golf Club Coronation Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 9LE Telephone: 01344 620197 Eton College Head Golf Coach. In short Swinley Forest is a golf club you must play. There are many much better couses in the area which are not living on their reputation. A few decades ago it was a club frozen in time, exclusive, unusual and totally eccentric. By submitting a review you agree to be bound by our terms and conditions. This was the score a fictional man called ‘Colonel Bogey’ would score on any given hole. Bauer Media Group consists of: Bauer Consumer Media Ltd, Company number: 01176085, Bauer Radio Ltd, Company Number: Please try again later! However, this is a private course generally playable only by members and their guests. I have seen and played many great courses but I could count on two hands the number of courses which are truly magical. A view from the 17th tee at Swinley Forest Golf Club. I am really very fortunate. And you are spoilt for choice for other courses to add. These are the courses where you can’t help grinning all the way around and, as soon as you’re finished, you want to go straight back out and play them again. Scorecards adorn the walls showing holes were measured but they were not given a traditional par, rather a ‘Bogey’ score. It’s simply a thing of beauty and wonder. The 17th Early of Derby founded Swinley Forest Golf Club, which opened in 1910. Swinley Forest, Ascot Berkshire, England. You can read more about options for where to stay in my Sunningdale review but remember, with a little planning, it is perfectly possible to visit Swinley Forest as a day trip from Central London. I emailed them (golf@swinleyfgc.co.uk) and a couple of days later received a reply that read ‘We have very limited availability for visitors with tee times restricted to after 11am Monday-Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). For decades at Swinley the Bogey card was used and it was a Club frozen in time exclusive... 6-7 on the page once approved good challenge Sunningdale and opened in 1909 is be... 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