Praised Locally for its Layout, Condition and Design

Thorney Park Golf Club is a challenging 18-hole parkland course with water features on numerous holes. It commands the respect of both beginner and expert golfers with a variety of different challenges as you approach every hole.
The sculpted fairways are generous in places, tight in others, while the undulating greens are fast and fair. Numerous ponds, streams and water hazards are dotted around the layout, some as integral parts of the holes, and others offering more of a visual backdrop (as well as providing essential water for irrigation). Extensive tree planting has helped to give the course an air of maturity, while well kept tees and pathways give the impression that the course is being cared for by people who really understand what golfers like. With five par threes and two par fives, the uninitiated might believe that the 5,790-yard course is there for the taking, but the par of 69 quickly dispels that notion, as does the length of the ‘short’ holes, many of which offer the opportunity to rack up some big numbers if you’re if you haven’t brought your ‘A’ game. The 7th, 8th and 10th are all par threes, but none are shorter than 170 yards, which places a huge demand on accurate long-iron play (especially if the wind isn’t helping). Some of the shorter par fours present birdie opportunities, but dog-legs, well-placed bunkers, eye-catching water hazards serve to focus the mind, while mischievously-sloped greens make three-putting a possibility if you find yourself on the wrong side of the hole on several greens. Favourite holes are the 9th and the 16th, both par fours which require some careful thought off the tee. The 380-yard 9th requires a big draw over the corner of a dog leg to leave a short iron over a lake to a flattish green, while the 365-yard 16th, which has recently had a new back tee built, sweeps round to the right off the tee (with OOB all down that side), with fairway bunkers catching anything pushed left for safety. The approach is made trickier by a tilted green, which will see anything left short roll back down the slope.
The club takes great pride in the condition of the course, with the fairway fully automated irrigation ensuring lush conditions in the hottest of summers, while extensive drainage systems keeps the course open throughout the winter, with no call for trolley bans. The greens have been constructed to USGA standards, resulting in incredibly smooth and consistent putting surfaces, with no call for temporary greens in the winter months. A bunker renovation programme is nearly complete. Some of the bunkers already having been refilled with a new glass-based sand, that gives it an almost white look, but more importantly makes its playable all-year round. A practice range has recently been completed, while the club’s notorious practice putting green, with its devilish slopes, has been the scene of many a hard-fought match.