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Woking, England |
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Woking Golf Club has a charming Old England heathland course, laid out by Tom Dunn in 1893. The club was intended to provide relief for a few golf mad barristers who were sick and tired of playing on muddy clay. We must thank Woking wholeheartedly because nobody thought that heather and gorse-strewn land was viable ground for golf and this was the first experimental heathland layout.
At the turn of the 20th century, there were only a few heathland courses around London and Bernard Darwin described them as “the stars of sand and heather”. He had a soft spot for Woking Golf Club because it’s the oldest and one of the best. He went on to say, “although my judgement may not be strictly an impartial one, I think it is still the pleasantest of all upon which to play, and the golf is undeniably interesting.” Darwin was once a mad barrister himself and also a member at Woking for more than sixty years.
There is absolutely no doubt that Woking is located in an idyllic spot and the unusual pavilion clubhouse only adds to the charisma. This is not a championship layout by any stretch of the imagination; the course only measures 6,531 yards from the back tees. But Woking is a mature and strategic layout requiring well-positioned tee shots that must, at all costs, remain out of the heather and in play. We recommend that you leave your driver in the boot of the car to avoid any temptation.
Woking is not riddled with bunkers but those that are there are adroitly positioned. In 1900, a controversy raged when two bunkers were dug into the 4th fairway. The members were mortified that they might be penalised after hitting a good straight drive. Looking back at this, Woking was a pioneer in architectural terms, forcing the player to make a decision, lay up short or bravely aim on the right line.
In 1926, a match involving captain Bobby Jones and the rest of the American Walker Cup team took place at Woking. The Americans were beaten 6-3 by the “Moles Golfing Society”. The British Amateur champion was captain of the Moles. Woking was also once home to the Alba Trophy, a celebrated amateur competition. These days, Woking is used to genteel peace and quiet in Surrey’s suburbia. This is definitely a course for the connoisseur. Or as Darwin said in his 1910 book, The Golf Courses of the British Isles, "I can only end as I began by asserting that there is no more delightful course whereon to play golf." | |
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In the section below, headed “Your Reviews”, are golf course reviews posted by visitors to the Top 100 website. There are no specific rules for reviewing a golf course except you MUST have played the golf course first. Merits of each course are left entirely to your discretion. Important factors, such as course location, condition (or presentation), course difficulty and historical importance are all left for you to judge and we have developed a simple rating system where you can allocate one score to each course. | |
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 |  | | Average Reviewers Score: |  | | Woking will always have a special place in heathland golf history, being the original track in the Surrey/Berkshire belt. The course certainly holds its position as still being one of the best tracks and whilst less infamous than some of its neighbours it remains comparable in terms of architecture, conditioning and golfing challenge. The club have also invested heavily in making improvements and most notably the redefining which has been done on the 6th including the new green has subtly enhanced the golf course. When contrasted against the “3 W’s” it holds its own favourably and there are an equal measure of great holes on this course compared to Worplesdon and West Hill. We could not single out a weak hole around here although granted that a few of the par 4’s are shorter they are still nonetheless good golf holes. The 18th being a case in point, a beautiful finishing hole with the lake to the right of the green. The challenge up to and around the turn gives this course its toughness, but for us playing Woking was about its history, the idyllic heathland setting and the wonderfully warm and friendly atmosphere generated by the club and its members. Ian Henley | | Sunday, November 01, 2009
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| | This was my first foray onto the famous sandbelt of Surrey, so it was felt best to start at the original heathland course. Its hard not to echo previous reviews, the welcome from the Pro and Members we meet was warm and helped put you at ease from the off. I'm sure better golfers than me find it short but for myself, off 14, playing from the whites it was plenty long enough with traps and heather in all the right places to gobble up my mishits. My thoughts on the 18 holes were that the front 9 allowed me to use my imagination, while the back 9 seemed to be straighter and ask questions of my ball sticking abilities. The greens will test the best of players, were lighting quick and all 18 could be 3 putted if care was not taken when lining up, i think it would be fair to say they were the best I've played in the U.K this year. As a reviewer so wonderfully said, its a perfect thatched old cottage of an English course. I've always felt that although England has some world class links courses its our great heathland and parkland courses that we do best and along with the classic Scottish and charming Welsh links helps make this tiny island such a magical and diverse place to play golf. The history of Woking makes it a must play course, and one that any golfer really should enjoy.  | | Thursday, August 20, 2009
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| | | Played 36 holes at Woking yesterday with a friend and joy-of-joys we took less than 7 hours for both rounds and a quick break for a sandwich!! Anyway, that apart, Woking is a cracking course. Not sure about the comments about it being short, we played from thew white tees and that means it's around 6300yds for a par 70 (only 2 par 5s on the course) and I can only recall 2 maybe 3 short par 4s (the 1st, 4th and probably 18th)! That aside, the course was in great condition even after 2 days of rain and the greens immaculate and very tricky! Happily be a member here until the day I popped my clogs - talking of the members - all those we met were courteous, friendly and a credit to the club. My only comment about the course layout is that the 14th (long par 5 to a green right in front of the clubhouse) should really be the 18th, I reckon a path could be built from the 13th green to the know 16th tee and the course rerouted so that you finish on 2 cracking par 5s!!! Just a thought, but really the course is top notch! | | Friday, October 03, 2008
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| | | Wonderful heath and heather gem.Yes, a bit short but devilish designed greens and bunkers.
Excellent value for the quality of the course and the friendly atmosphere. reminided us of Blairgowrie in Perthshire.No higher praise possible! | | Monday, August 11, 2008
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| | | A cracking course. There is a £35 midweek after 3pm rate for non members that offers superb value.
Its a little short so play it off the back "tiger" tees. This make most of the holes a good length.
They have a two ball rule here so play is swift. It was too swift for me a my playing partner but we let a members two ball through and then settled in behind an older man and his wife which was much more to our pace.
The two balls rule means it not a place to go as a group expecting to have spend 5 hours going round larking about.
Its not a pompous place either. Although we did have to shell out for tailored shorts as the ones we had one were not smart enough. (i have played all over the place in those shorts and never had a problem).
In short a beautifully kept course thats a must if you can get on at £35. | | Thursday, May 22, 2008
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| | | Hard work and an enormous amount of investment in the course in recent years is starting to pay off and should have Woking rocketing back up the top 100. A significant number of the holes have been lengthened to provide a challenge for even the longest hitters, with the black tees now requiring a career long iron to get close. The magic and intimate feel that won such plaudits from Bernard Darwin and Harry Vardon has been retained and in many ways enhanced by a tree clearance programme which is slowly turning the heathland course back to how it appeared originally. The greens frequently attract the highest praise for both their quality and the challenge they provide; they are in imaculate condition and were by far and away the best I played on in 2007. A wonderful course, an absolute must. | | Friday, February 15, 2008
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| | | What a lovely course. Played here on a warm mid October day. Friendly welcome to the club, very old style clubhouse which adds to its charm. The course itself was in super condition, the greens are the best i've ever played and the hardest to read, unforgettable. For me it has the edge over Worplesdon, just. Many cracking holes with the pick's being the 2nd,6th,9th12th and 16th!! Play here if you have the chance its good value at £50, you won't be disappointed. | | Tuesday, November 06, 2007
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| | | Out of all the great Surrey heathland courses Woking is the one that retains it’s old world charm the most. There is a real feeling of intimacy, timlessness and permancy about the whole club. The pot holed car park, tree lined fairways and wooden pavilion all add to its charm. As the first of the heathland courses it is of course not a modern day test of golf, despite the recent and ongoing work to lengthen some of the holes. But then even when these courses were built they were not meant to be championship tests, they were meant to be membership clubs and they were designed that way. I personally don’t think this is a problem, the heather and the trees will keep most of us mid handicap players fully in check and it’s very nice to play a course where the normal golfer can be flattered by hitting driver - wedge on some par 4’s particularly the 1st………… as long as we hit it straight enough that is! The course itself is in transition, the fairways and greens are immaculate, but there is an ongoing plan to remove trees and encourage the heather. This I think is good, you can definitely see that the trees have encroached far to much onto the course and as a result the heather has suffered badly in some places. There is also a bunker rejuvenation plan in place and I think the one criticism I would have of this course is the bunkering, it needs to be more difficult up near the greens, like New Zealand. My greatest praise though is for the greens, not just their conditioning but their overall design, they are small but multi tiered with some really vicious pin options. This was my first visit to Woking and it is a wonderful place to play golf and if I lived close enough this would be the course I’d want to be a member of, it’s charm and beautiful clubhouse would swing it for me, even though Worplesdon of the three W’s is the better course. I think if you were flying in from the States the best way to describe this place is the perfect thatched old English cottage of a course ……….. visit and enjoy. | | Thursday, June 28, 2007
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| | | Having played the 3 W's of Woking, West Hill and Worplesdon I can honestly say it would be a pleasure to be a member at any. Woking is the shortest and probably the easiest of the three yet there is enough to keep you interested all the way round. Greens with some significant undulations are kept in superb condition, as is the rest of the course. Some heavy tree clearance underway presumably to encourage the return of heather means it's less aesthetically pleasing as Worplesdon.
Well worth a visit and at £35 in the winter it's a bargain. | | Thursday, March 10, 2005
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| | The heathland course at Woking is well worth a visit. Quality is a key word here and the club are currently working hard around the course to maintain the high standard. Be prepared though, this is a short course and it’s not a place that you need your ‘A’ game to score well – rare for me to call a course easy but with so many short par 4’s, this is one of the easier I have played. Best holes for me are the 8th, 9th, 10th and 16th but in all honesty, only the 3rd looks a touch ordinary.
Lasting memory ….. great course, looks a treat, bit short but had a lovely day here. Oh and to end, those lady members – bless them … I’m sure they are not all the same ! (Make sure you check if they have the 1st tee booked before you visit – you have been warned).
 | | Friday, February 11, 2005
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| | | Woking has bags of class despite being a traditional golf club in every respect. The course is short and when I last played it at the end of the hot summer of 2003 it was so short that it played much harder than normal, it was almost links-like. It's hard to split Woking from West Hill, but for me Worplesdon has the edge. Nevertheless, Woking is a must play course for the traditionalists...and it's not bad value either. | | Wednesday, February 02, 2005
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| | | Good course - but the most irritating lady members who glare at one constantly, and seem to rule the roost here. The surviving saving grace is the men-only bar, where the bossy harridans have to peep through a hatch to order a drink! | | Sunday, October 24, 2004
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| Response: | | | Richard | Monday, June 11, 2007 | | Sorry you were so intimidated by the lady members. It is a lovely course, setting and the recent changes to the course make it play plenty long. | | | kate | Monday, November 12, 2007 | | You really should go back to the dark ages where you belong. This lady golfer woud be happy to show you some manners....and some game! | | | Carl | Wednesday, May 28, 2008 | | There is a strong lady membership at the club ...... and they are infamous. But they are also real characters and great fun for it. Basicly if you find them intimidating/harridans then there is a reason for that and isn't they that have the problem ..... ! |
| | | Classy and traditional if a little on the short side. It's good advice to leave the driver at home, I got into all sorts of trouble with mine! Thoroughly enjoyable. | | Thursday, April 01, 2004
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| Response: | | | Anthony Cave | Thursday, March 06, 2008 | | I grew up playing Hook heath, it is and will always my favorite course, havnt played it for a number of years but still i know every blade of grass, best approach to each hole....love it!! |
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