Dale Hill (Woosnam) - Sussex - England

Dale Hill is not the easiest course to get to but this Woosnam design is worth a visit if you’re in the area. The course is routed across some interesting terrain and when I have played here the greens have been excellent although quite demanding. I would say the course is pretty consistent throughout but does have some memorable holes. The 6th is a nice dogleg from right to left…the player must place their ball past the corner of the dogleg otherwise they will not be able to see the green. The approach to this green is not easy either as it requires a long to mid iron to this tiered green. Hole 9 is a decent par 4 although the tee shot is relatively straight forward the green is set well below the play and requires perfect club selection otherwise you could run up a cricket score! 10 is a good par 3 back up the hill to a very narrow green that slopes from left to right…anything short and right is dead. 17 is a fun short par 4 played through a funnel of trees before leaving a short iron to a narrow green protected by a brook at the entrance and deep rough at the rear. Dale Hill may not be the most demanding of courses but the scenery is very nice and the green complexes are interesting and fun to navigate.

This course is average and is no better than many courses that don't feature in the Gem's section on these listings. It doesn't really get going until the 6th which for me was the best hole, with a good stretch of holes through to the 10th, it then is rather average again until 16 and 17. The course was in good condition and was nice to play, but don't go out of your way to play it. We didn't receive a warm welcome from any of the members, they clearly don't like guests on there course.

Played here on a crisp autumnal morning; sunny and clear, I imagine that this course probably loses out to some of the bigger names due to it's location - south of Tunbridge Wells - so it isn't that easy to get to. However, I thought it was interesting and varied track - I really enjoyed the 10th - a nice tight par 3 surrounded by trees and the 17th - a short dog leg over a small valley -although I played it like a muppet - which cost me the match, but all in all it was a good morning's golf. In the current economic climate it was nice to see lots of green keepers out and about, some putting crushed seashells down on the paths instead of gravel, a nice touch. I have to add that the course ranger was very helpful, polite and attentive. Looking forward to returning again soon.

Expectations were exceeded on the Woosnam course at Dale Hill. I thought I would get an ok hotel course that was pleasant enough to play; what I got was a decent course with plenty of interesting holes. Long opening hole of nearly 600 yards keeps any 1st-hole congestion to a minimum (very important on a potentially busy course). The stand out holes for me were, the 6th; a par-4 turning left at about 250 yards and then a downhill approach, the 9th is an interesting lay-up par-4 with an accurate short iron to the green. The 10th is the best par-3 .. uphill, all carry around 160 yards, a real quality hole. Another strong short par-4 is at the 17th .... not long but a beautiful looking hole. On the course there were two holes that did not thrill me .... the 8th is just too confusing, especially the tee-shot and unfortunately the 18th is around 460 yards as a par-5 and to be honest is a little weak. The off course facilities can be described as functional rather than outstanding - turn up and expect Gleneagles and you will be cursing - but expect a decent, clean modern hotel with above an above average feeling with a course better than most and you will be happy here. I am likely to come back at some-point and that in itself is a compliment - The course is currently a GEM but it would not surprise me if it gets a ranking next time around.

I have played this a number of times now and still enjoy it – however it is let down by a number of unexciting holes such as the 1st, 14th and 18th. It is rare that you start and finish on what are 2 pretty boring holes. However there are some cracking holes (7th, 9th, 12th and 17th) and what I really like about the course is that you really need to think about club selection off the tee on a number of holes. I think the greens are pretty good and but I share the views about this only being a buggy course and some of the bunker care is well below standard. I don’t think drainage is a huge issue to be honest and have played this at times of persistent wet weather and it holds up well – it is just the inconvenience of the buggy rule. The course would benefit from some more tree planting alongside some of the fairways just to break the openness of the course in places – doing this now will pay huge dividends in 20 years or so. It has the making of being a much better course if some more money was invested in trees and bunker care.

Played this course a few times on a 2 for1 basis so not bad value. Some interesting holes but really let down due to drainage problems. It's a pain to leave the buggy on the path and walk over soggy ground to your ball. If the over wet fairway problem can be resolved it would be more enjoyable by far, however the prices may then change. Nice course with a very good 19th.

I was not expecting to be wowed at all by a visit to Dale Hill and it’s 90’s service station club house. It is part of the group of courses which The Oxfordshire and Chart Hills falls into and the promotional literature plays heavily on the fact that the New Course was designed by Ian Woosenam. But that’s what you would expect, Woosie is a popular fella for many reasons and rightly so. He is also a pretty damn good course designer. He was reasonably lucky to be given such a good piece of land to work with, but he really has made the most of it. This new course has none of that hard, stony, clay, flat field, ex-arable feel that some golf courses have (like the PGA at the Belfry). It is a lush sculptured surface, with good greens, a whole host of well placed bunkers and is generally very well maintained (with the exception of the bunkers). The course uses it’s outstanding views to good effect and the over all terrain is well used and to add further to the effect the land has been sculptured to improve the over all challenge of the course. Also in some places, when it enters into the chestnut and oak woods briefly, it becomes a very very pretty course in it’s own right with an absolutely stunning par 3 towards the end. It is also designed for us golfing mortals, 6,200 off the yellows and 6,500 off the whites. This is no Gleneagles or Kingsbarns but it is a pleasure to play with a couple of big exceptions for me. The first is the mandatory buggies, I detest go-cart golf. The whole point of this game is to walk and with a course blessed with such wonderful views and wonderfully undulating land it would be a pleasure (if a tough one) to walk. I’d be happy to rent a electric trolley, that would makes sense. The second is much more minor: bunker care; they use sit on bunker rakes which destroy the bunkers which is a real shame as they are a really strong feature on this course. Will I go back, maybe not because I prefer old fashioned courses and there a few down that way I have not been to, but I am very glad to have played it and I would definitely recommend it. As a foot note the Old course is not any where near as good. However persevere if you are playing a 36 hole society day as there is a section on this course which enters into the woods and it is truly wonderful and is graced with a par three which is unsurpassable.