London Golf Course Guide

Golf Course Bookings/ Reservations

London golf courses can be booked online with payments usually taken at the time of booking. If you don’t want to book online, most courses also take tee time reservations by phone. Booking by phone usually allows you to pay on the day of play.

Generally speaking, visitors can make reservations around 7 days in advance although some courses allow bookings to be taken as far out as several months. If you wish to play on a Saturday or Sunday morning, you should aim to secure a tee time as early as possible. If you plan to play during the week or in the afternoon, there should be no difficulty in getting tee times even at the last minute.

If required, buggies (2-seater golf carts) should be booked when the tee reservation is made as there may be no availability on the day of play.

Tube/ Train

Tube journey times in this guide are measured from London’s West End while train journey times are measured from the London terminus stations (Paddington, Waterloo, etc.). All train journeys are direct unless otherwise stated.

For tube times, etc. use the Tfl (Transport for London) Journey Planner. If you are playing at the weekend, be aware that line maintenance sometimes takes place on Saturdays/ Sundays. You should check in advance that trains are running as scheduled.

If you are travelling to the golf course by train, there are a number of apps which offer information on train times and fares. Use National Rail Enquiries or Trainline.

A contactless bank card or an Oyster Card will get you the lowest fare (up to 50% lower than buying a ticket) for journeys within Greater London, which includes the vast majority of golf courses in this guide.

Local Taxis

To get from the Tube/ train station to the golf course, use a taxi. In London, there are two kinds of taxi: 1) standard taxis and 2) minicabs. Standard taxis use taxi ranks directly outside the larger stations and are clearly identified as taxis. Minicabs, by contrast, must be booked through an office (most stations have minicab offices close by and the process of booking is quick and easy). Minicabs tend to be cheaper than taxis and prices are fixed – you will always know in advance how much you will pay. For the sake of simplicity, both taxis and minicabs are referred to as “taxis” throughout this guide.

Unless stated otherwise, all stations mentioned in this guide have a minicab office or a taxi stand (or occasionally both) close by. If there are no taxis at the taxi stand or the minicab office is closed, there will an taxi advert with a 24-hour phone number somewhere in the station.

A minicab or taxi from the station to the course will likely cost £1 to £1.50 for every minute of the journey (the minicab fare is fixed and the taxi is metered but that is the usual fare range). Most companies accept card payments, but we recommend that you carry cash. Take a business card from either the office or the driver so that you can call for a taxi after your round.

Uber

Uber is everywhere in London. If you have the Uber app, you should have no difficulty getting a car from any station or golf course in this guide. Uber prices and minicab prices are similar.

Arriving at the Course

Report to the pro shop/ golf shop to register. You don’t need to use the changing rooms and you can instead arrive dressed to play golf. Note that some golf clubs (especially in the lowest price band) do not have visitors’ lockers in their changing rooms – use the clothes hangers provided or use your own bag, which you should leave in the changing room while you play. Needless to say, you should take all valuables onto the course with you.

Equipment Rental

All London golf courses sell balls, gloves, tees, etc., but very few courses offer golf shoe rental. All courses offer hand-push/ hand-pull trollies for around £5 and a large number offer electric trollies for around £15. Buggies (2-seater golf carts) are available at all courses from anywhere between £20-£60 per buggy. Supply tends to be limited and so it is advisable to book the buggy when you book the tee time. Note that buggies do not operate between October and March or after heavy rain unless the course has cart paths (very few London courses have cart paths).

Very few courses offer rental clubs, and unless the course is upscale, the rental clubs will likely consist of one or two incomplete sets of outdated, battered and mismatched clubs. Call ahead to check. High-end courses may offer brand-name clubs – but at a price.

Dress Code

If you’ve heard that the dress code for golf in the UK is strict and complicated, don’t worry – the simple rules below cover every golf course in London.

• No jeans, T-shirts, cargo trousers or similar ultra-casual wear
• No sleeveless or collarless shirts
• If your shirt does not have a collar, it must be designed specifically as golf wear
• You must wear golf shoes; the golf shoes must have soft spikes or be spikeless
• If you wear shorts, they must be tailored shorts (not beachwear or designed for other sports)
• If you wear shorts, you should also wear white socks which are visible above the golf shoe
• You do NOT need to wear a jacket or other formal attire to use the clubhouse – although a very small number of clubs insist on jackets and/ or ties in the dining room, golf wear is always permitted in other areas such as the bar or terrace.

UK Golf Etiquette

• Please repair divots
• Please rake bunkers
• Always repair your pitch marks on the green
• Don’t make the group behind you wait – always let faster golfers play through
• Keep trolleys and buggies at least two meters away from the edge of the tees and greens
• If you hit a stray shot onto another fairway, you must shout “fore”
• Set your mobile phone to “silent mode” when on the course or in the clubhouse
• Email and browsing is allowed in the clubhouse but use the car park to make/ receive calls

Pace of Play

• Keep up with the group in front
• If there is a clear hole between your group and the group in front, it means you are playing too slowly – please let the group behind you play ahead
• Don’t wait for other players in your group to play their shots; if you are ready to hit and can do so safely, hit your ball
• Use any waiting time to prepare for your shot so that when it is your turn you can play immediately
• Around the green, don’t worry about order of play – hit your shot when you are ready
• Around the green, position your trolley/ buggy in the direction of the next hole so that you do not have to walk back for it
• On the green, prepare your own putt while other players are hitting theirs
• After finishing the hole, go directly to the next hole and fill in your scorecard while waiting to hit your tee shot
• If players behind you ask to play through, please let them