- Course Type – Parkland
- Green Fees – £17-29
- Par – 72 (back), 71 (middle and front)
- Length – Back 6186y, Middle 5780y and Front 5211y.
With two 18 hole courses and a 9 hole Par 3 course, East Horton Golf Club is a great golfing set up. Situated in between Winchester and Southampton and just a little east, it is conveniently located just off the M3 and M27.
The drive in will excite most golfers. This is because you wind your way up to the main clubhouse by passing the 18 hole Parkland course on your left and the Par 3 Marwell course (sharing its name with the nearby zoo) to your right.
From looking at the Marwell course it looks flat and a good place to learn or sharpen up your game. Of the two 18 hole courses, the Parkland is the shorter, flatter and more friendly option. But I’m told still offers a good challenge. Finally, tucked round the back is the Greenwood, East Horton’s self-proclaimed championship standard course.
The three courses together certainly make East Horton a really appealing option for a junior or new golfer. As you can see these golfers starting on the Marwell and graduating up to the Greenwood course, via the Parkland.
The Greenwood course that we played, is largely built around into the side and on top of a hill. As a result many of the holes either play up, down and across the hill.
At 6186 yards off the back tees it is far from the longest. But with six of the holes having sharp dog legs it does play to its yardage. The design, built around the hill, is good with only two weak holes… We’ll get onto them later as I like a moan! Haha!
The course condition is quite mixed at the moment. The further you move up the hill the more burnt out and bare it becomes. Unfortunately the majority of the course is built up the hill, so right now it is suffering from a lack of water.
I’m told the winter is quite the opposite with the water running to the bottom of the hill. This must make it a challenge to maintain the course to a consistent standard, especially the greens.
The greens offer lots of variety in terms of their sizes and undulations. However, they are really bumpy to putt on right now and we both felt this cost us a few shots. In truth this was a little frustrating as they have the potential to be great fun.
Likewise, the tee boxes are comparable to Happy Gilmore’s caddy: a bit scruffy and in need of some TLC. The fairways do have a lot of weeds but they are more playable than some courses we’ve played recently.
Right, lets get into the hole by hole…
The Front 9:
The opening hole at East Horton is one of the two weaker holes I referred to earlier. Its a short Par 4 and requires two short irons at most. Therefore, if like us, you didn’t get a chance to warm up, its a welcome start and a good par opportunity. Just don’t be too aggressive and avoid the forest left and stream right of the green.
Personally I don’t like Par 5’s where you can’t git driver off the tee and the 2nd does just that. After a 200y tee shot its a sharp dog leg left that climbs up the hill. Layup short of the bunkers and a wedge onto the green makes this another good par opportunity. Another hole to plod your way through.
From there you turn around and play straight down the hill. In truth you probably want to leave the big stick in the bag. This is because the green is slopes heavily from front to back meaning you’ll want a lofted shot in. So don’t try and be clever with your approach! Take one club less and land it short. Otherwise, like NSYNC you’ll be singing ‘bye bye bye’ to your ball as it rolls long and lost.
The 4th plays along the bottom of the hill and turns slightly to the left. Its a strangely tough hole. The neighbouring fairway offers a bail out left and encourages you to take driver. If you do go left, be careful, because the trees between the holes make it difficult to reach the green.
Next up is a dog leg par 5 that turns right up the hill to a very raised green. Its not long but it is tough to reach the green in two due to the steep slope. Take one more club than you think into the green as its two tiered and very big. You’ll want to plant a flag to prove to everyone you made it up the slope when you finally get onto the green… But only once you’ve caught your breathe!
A short Par 3 that plays further up the large hill to a flag you can barely see. Take one more club than you think and then resume your hike up the mountain to the green.
The 7th is a tricky Par 4 running along the top of the hill. This is due to an annoying (well placed) large tree that guards the left side of a fairway that slopes away from you to the right. This is followed by an uphill approach to a green that slopes left to right also.
Thankfully there is a quaint little church behind the green here. So you can pop in to confess your sins for all the curse words you’ll use on this hole if you miss right!
The second Par 3 is mid-length, downhill and relatively wide open bar some greenside bunkers. As a result if you step up and plonk a mid-iron on the green, you should make your par.
The front 9 at East Horton finishes with another sharp dog leg Par 4. Or if you are bored of all the dog legs take the Tiger line like Neil did and hit a 3 wood straight at the green. Be warned though, its 260 yards up hill with trees to carry at 190 yards.
Neil hit a ripper to the fringe and turned a difficult Par 4 into a long Par 3. I’m not going to lie, its not the first time I’ve been jealous of another mans length…
The Back 9:
East Horton starts its back 9 with a severely downhill hole. Its wide open so pull out the driver and give your ball a smack. You’ll still have a long way in but the green is large and unprotected so go on, go for it!
The 11th is a shorter replica of the 5th, running parallel to it. Its a tough Par 4 but the green isn’t as raised. So if you aren’t greedy off the tee (like I was), you can still make par.
12 is another downhill Par 3 with a wide green and bunkers protecting anything short left. If the pin is tucked left then aim right otherwise those bunkers are like hungry hippos waiting to gobble your ball up.
What follows is the poorest hole on the course… Here comes the rant! It’s gimmicky and virtually impossible for anyone without a very low handicap to get near in two. This is because the second shot is played back up Mount Everest before the hole turns directly left at the top. This means most golfers are forced into hitting a short iron or wedge, as they need the loft to get up the hill. Its a terrible design.
Oh and then to make matters worse the green was unplayable as two thirds of it were brown and dead. Get some water up that hill please East Horton! Even Neil who played the hole perfectly and took on the hill couldn’t reach the green in two. Rant over!
Fortunately, the hole is quickly forgotten as you move into a stretch comprising the best holes on the course. I’d therefore find it hard to disagree if you picked any of the closing 5 holes as your favourite…
This run starts with a short Par 3 which is cut into the side of the hill. Anything left falls off a sharp drop off whilst a bunker catches anything a little short. If your miss is left this short hole has the potential to catch you out!
The 15th is a rollercoaster dog leg left; down then up. The green is protected by a large bunker short, whilst anything long is in trouble. However, there’s more room than it looks when stood over your approach shot. So don’t be sucked into not taking enough club.
The 16th is a short downhill Par 4 with a pond left and bunker down the right. You don’t need to hit driver here but you might want to so you carry the bunker. The green is protected by another pond so you need to fly one in… Otherwise you’ll have the resident ducks laughing at you as you take your drop!
The final par 3 requires a carry of 140 yards over water. A large tree right and wooden cabin, which looks like something out of an American horror movie, to the left means there is no good miss. So forget the water and find the middle of the green!
The final hole is a downhill Par 5 with a fairway that cambers steeply from left to right. Be aggressive, whip the head cover off the big stick and hit it down the left and watch it trundle back. From there you have a small stream 120 yards from the green. You only live once, so be brave and go over it to leave yourself a pitch/chip or, if you are a long dog, an eagle putt.
The backdrop to the final green is a separate clubhouse for the Greenwood course. It’s a lovely log cabin with a nice patio – perfect for a post-round drink.
Overall:
In conclusion, the Greenwood course at East Horton is a fun test of golf. It is cleverly designed considering it is built into the side of a steep hill. Consequently you don’t battle with the ball being above or below your feet all day. This is unlike most courses built on a similar landscape and is refreshing.
Based on the fact Neil and I both shot under handicap (we were a combined -11 net), it also feels like a course you can make a score on. This certainly adds to the fun factor.
However, and this seems to be a line I’m writing in all reviews right now, the condition is suffering at the moment. Regardless, with the benefit of sprinklers you would expect better greens and tee boxes.
One thing that does go against East Horton when we rated it, is that it claims to be a championship standard course. Right now it doesn’t live up to this… We therefore maybe expected a bit more from it.
But as a venue East Horton has a lot to offer every type of golfer with its three course set up. Because of this, we’d love to come back and play the Parkland course and the Greenwood again. But perhaps we will wait for the autumn when its had a bit more water on it.
If you’d like to take on the Greenwood course then click here to book yourself a tee time
WHAT DID OTHER MEMBERS OF THE TEAM THINK?
Neil (our single figure player):
“Another course that has a very interesting but tricky design. I would therefore recommend playing it with someone who has played before. If not, get yourself a stroke saver guide from the pro shop! There are a lot of dog legs, some are very severe, so knowing where you are going will make it more enjoyable.
Even though the design is challenging, the course is get-able and good golf is rewarded with a good score.
Sadly during our visit the course was not in the greatest condition. The tees were poor and the greens struggling due to the hot, dry weather
My favourite hole was the 9th – especially after driving the green and cutting out the dog leg.”
WEEKEND TOUR PROS RATING:
- Fun Factor: 7
- Quality of the Course: 5
- Value for Money: 5.5