Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa - Championship Course

This should be a great course as the layout and the actual holes are really good but the condition of the greens and tees was poor. 2 of the greens were impossible to putt on since they had been spiked and had not been rolled afterwards to flatten the green. The other greens were far too soft and slow and also had alot of bare patches on. The tees need to be returfed as they were full of old divots. Ive played here multiple times before and enjoyed the course but there just doesn't seem to have been enough maintenance work done to the course over the last few months. Also when finishing the round I was unable to clean my shoes and trolley due to the compressor not being switched on. All in all I would say £39 was not a fair price. Ive previously payed £25 or less to play the course in much better condition.

Not been for while but course was in great nick. Had been heavy rain in the days leading up to round but had completely dried for our visit. Well worth the money

Really like the layout, but course in poor condition, greens poor, won’t hold a ball rock hard and don’t roll very well.

We always have a meal after the steaks have always been great, but think the restaurant has been taken over and steak was poor, won’t be back for a while

Played a wonderful 4 ball with friends walking the course that was very dry but lovely to play.

Positives:

Excellent course layout

Lovely fairways, even in the heat we have had

Undulating and tiered greens

Negatives:

Teed off at 852 but only option for a breakfast roll was with the hotel who charged us £34 for a bacon butty and coffee!

Halfway house only just opened as we were about to walk off the 10th tee circa 1100

Greens were patchy with dried out grass

No warning for aerated greens

We enjoyed the course. Greens were a little slow and some were suffering with some sort of fungus! It all kind of feels like it needs a bit of tlc and it could become a great track. However at £30 we didn’t expect it to be Augusta. Bar prices are ridiculous £20 for 2 pints and 2 packet of crisps.

Played on the course for the second time. Just how I remember it - scenic, varied holes in great condition. One of my favourites.

Overall the course was well laid out and in good order the only thing that let it down were the conditions of the greens, they were 2/5 at best , bare patches and where they have moved hole positions they left uneven ground behind was expecting much better putting surface and if paying £65 for round would have asked for my money back ,

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Fantastic venue, and I realise we have had very little rain now for a few months, but the greens were bad, different grass, running in different directions with the surface grabbing the ball on every putt.

My Dad and I had an enjoyable afternoon. However after hole 7 the game became increasingly slow to the point where hole 16 we waited for 5 groups to play infront of us.

I've never experienced that before at Portal

Still enjoyable afternoon

I hadn’t played here for over ten years and the course played as well as I remembered. It’s an excellent layout and the condition of the course was very good.

The only thing marking it down was the St Andrews bar was shut (midday on a Friday) but the main hotel bar was fine.

Millionaires golf, no one following, the course was in excellent condition. Halfway house on the 10th for snacks and even a draught pint of Perroni. 14th par 3 has cameras and an opportunity to win £10,000 for a hole in one an excellent testing hole, unfortunately I didn’t win the £10,000 but it’s nice to believe that you could. We thoroughly enjoyed our game at the Championship course at Portal so much so we are considering taking out membership of the course! You will enjoy your day if you book this course.

Staying away and finishing slightly early. I booked a last minute round here. Course layout was amazing especially the back 9. Course was relatively quiet which was perfect as a lone golfer. Two times I hit traffic I got let straight through. Tee boxes are a bit worn but thats the only fault I could give.

First time playing this course & wow the views are stunning. The layout is open but challenging with some long rough lining the open fairways. We played off the yellow tees but some of the white tee locations look incredible. The 16th hole is beautiful & the hole in one comp on this hole adds a bit more excitement (even though the £10k is well and truly safe with me playing )

Halfway house had peroni on draught which was much needed in the heat.

Only slight downside is having to stick to the buggy paths, this is a really long course & sticking to the paths means it’s still 4hrs+ in a buggy! That being said I’m a lefty & playing partners were all right handed golfers so perhaps it’s just more annoying for me than anyone else as I’m often on the other side of the fairway 😂

Can’t wait to play again!

Easy to find, Pro helpful, lunch in hotel was good and course well maintained with some very tricky greens. This is quite a long parkland course which I found difficult to score on but very much enjoyed the day. Played Championship course and will definitely go back to play Premier next.

The course was ok, a long way off how it was before the Mac Donald group took control of it. It price (£27) reflects the quality. It was ok for a knock with the lads but I wouldn’t go back, the course looks like minimal

Maintenance is being done.

The restaurant and bar don’t take cash it’s card only