Westerwood Hotel Golf Club

Worth starting by saying I am a member of this golf club for the sake of transparency.

The Westerwood had a reputation as a long, punishing course which was kept in poor condition for some years and I had found it disappointing on previous outings. A new greenkeeper has been in post for a good bit now though and his work is really starting to bear fruit, drainage is much better than before and the overall presentation of the course is superb. Improved condition, layout changes and sensible tee and pin placement makes this course a much more enjoyable prospect nowadays, hence I joined up this year.

The course is a great layout with a good variety of holes, some favoring straight hitting, others rewarding distance. It is laid out over a large area of ground so you're never in conflict with players on other parts of the course. It is quite a long walk, so a trolley or buggy is probably advisable.

I've always found the staff and other members to be great and it's a very accommodating place for visitors with none of the stuffiness of some other clubs I've played at.

Good facilities in the hotel too for visitors.

Hope word of the course's improvements gets around and goes some way to helping restore the course's damaged reputation.

The course was in a 10 out of 10 condition. I've played the course about 10 times before, the course layout is absolutely fantastic and the condition is the best I've seen. It's a great course for all handicappers. I'll definitely be back a few more times this season.

course extremely well presented compared with other courses in the area. Fairways and greens in excellent condition.

Cracking course. Very scenic and a good challenge. The par 3 15th being the pick of the holes. Only down side was the number of blind shots. A bit of a tough one if you have never been round before. A bit of a trek between some of the greens and the next tee. In great condition though and would definitely play again

Course wet and greens spiked and sandy . No buggies allowed on 4,5,6 even on the fairways due to waterlogged . Could be doing with more direction markers on some holes it's a hit and hope

Overall not as good as expected

Played here with a couple of friends. It had been dry for almost a week yet this course was still very heavy underfoot, really poor in areas. The greens had been spiked so heavily it was like playing marbles when putting. The bunkers were solid, so much so, there was about 6" of standing water in some. Genuinely had no idea at times how shots would be received by the surface which spoiled the round for us. I was looking forward to playing this course but felt the layout was quite poor. On arrival we were told buggies weren't allowed on three holes which meant we had to carry three cart bags around and one player was carrying an injury which caused further inconvenience.

The off course facilities were great with friendly staff, but that wasn't enough to make me want to return unfortunately.