Macdonald Hill Valley Spa, Hotel & Golf - Emerald Course

This golf course is right up there with the WORST we have played . It hasn’t been maintained well at all . The bunkers were full , and I mean full , with leaves . If you went in your ball was lost . Where you could see the sand it was as hard as a rock .

Fairways were covered in leaves .... I know leaves fall of trees but we are talking months worth of leaves.... losing your ball when you hit the fairway made it almost impossible to play .

The temporary Tees were a joke ..... uneven , falling to pieces and barely big enough to get a stance on .

What a shame .... this course was great when I played here a few years ago ...... now it’s like a poor municipal course .

Do not under any circumstances attend this golf course or facilities. The course and hotel both suffer from total neglect. We arrived at 1pm to find the pro had decided to leave for the day so no buggies or service....we literally had to ask a guest where to tee off. Course is ageing and unkempt as is the hotel. Bar stafff were rude....only saving grace was the hotel porter and receptionist who at least did try and help us.

like playing here its a nice course in pretty good condition but the bunkers are a disgrace, its as though they keep forgetting about or they cant be bothered with them full of weeds and haven't seen a rake for 6 months , £22 off golf now its overpriced wont come back till there sorted

We have been coming to Hill valley for 12 years on our annual golf trip.

The course was absolutely awful. We had a lot of rain but the green were slow and bobbly and the bunkers were terrible.

The course was extremely scruffy and I don’t think we will be returning.

Big disappointment!

Lovely lady in Pro shop. Very helpful and efficient . Thank you

Courses require money spending on them.

Courses are magnificent in their planning , aesthetics and Beauty.

Upon playing both courses, it becomes obvious very little maintenance is happening.

1: fairways full of silver/white Leaves which makes your ball almost unidentifiable.

I lost six balls after hitting drives down the fairways. Not good enough

2: first cut of rough played like third cut. Poorly maintained and very scruffy

3: Bunkers were really poor. Tall weeds growing in them, hardly any sand in these.

It seems to me, Mcdonalds Hotels are not funding these courses to an appropriate level.

Not enough green keepers

And really and an inability to realise the requirements that courses like need.

Won’t be coming again unfortunately

Had a great time, but very challenging, not for the fate hearted.

Played a couple of times over the summer so far and it's a fun course and a great test certainly for beginners/intermediates. The greens are immaculate - only slight criticism is that the tee boxes can be a bit scruffy at times. Overall though, an excellent course.

Played this course many times in the past , but today was first time this year. For the price this has always been a value for money course, but today I found the greens very bobbly , slow and a little worn, fairways could have done with a little attention too, but what was really poor were the tees , very poor. Might give this place a miss for the rest of the year, maybe a visit in 2021

Played here a few times. Overall good value for money, it's not a £40 a round golf course but all round good course, staff are always friendly and when not in lockdown the bar and seating areas are nice. Especially when it's sunny and you can sit and watch people on the 18th. Quite challenging, lots of blind drives. The only thing I would mention is the greens. it's a lottery even within 4ft, the ball seems to bobble quite a lot. Take a lot of balls if you're not the most skilled like me! As you'll lose plenty in streams and in trees as there is quite a lot.

The recent hot spell has dried up the fairways which we totally understand. The greens were okay. There must of been 8 or 9 holes with leaves and pollen on which made it impossible to find your ball. We didn't see any green keepers. I am not sure of the rules at the moment regarding workers on the course though. We loved the layout of the coarse but felt that the price was inflated due to the coarse only being open 2 weeks. The price didn't reflect the condition of the coarse.

Overall a good course

There is a serious problem with slow play though, taking in excess of 5 hours for a round

Enjoyed this course but I think I'd enjoy it more if I played it a second round here because there a quite a few blind tee shots. My only complaint would be the first cut of rough was a bit on the long side (we had a few balls go in and couldnt find them even though we knew the general location). Extremely tricky approach shot on the 18th! I will be back

Took an early tee time to avoid slow play only to find players at the 10th saying they had permission when they clearly had not even asked.

Stuck behind slow play for the back 9 holes and added an hour to our round. And also Tom be noted that if players approach the 10th tee box and people wishing to start on the 10th, you should give way to players already on their round.

I am fairly new to golf and the Emerald course has been great for me to develop my game.