Panshanger Golf Complex

Played the 18-hole course at Panshanger Golf Complex yesterday and came away pretty disappointed with the overall condition of the course. I’ve played here many times before, so I know what to expect and understand it’s a public course — but this was by far the roughest condition I’ve seen it in, it's steadily gone downhill in the last 5-10 years.

Considering the recent hot, dry weather, I wasn’t expecting lush green fairways, but they were extremely bare, rock hard, and full of unrepaired divots. There was absolutely no give in the ground, meaning even slightly imperfect strikes were heavily punished. The paths were also difficult to navigate with a trolley due to the rough Type 1 hardcore surface used throughout the course.

The greens were actually the best part of the course — lush, soft, and healthy-looking — but the grass was left so long that they played incredibly slow, which felt strange given how fast and firm the rest of the course was playing.

The tee boxes were another weak point: uneven, heavily divoted, and clearly overused. It doesn’t seem like the teeing areas are rotated often enough to allow proper recovery, and the result is excessive wear going into summer.

I understand this is a public course, and some wear and tear is expected, but golfer etiquette also seems poorly monitored. I repaired 5–6 pitch marks on nearly every green and easily could have fixed many more. Unless more is done to encourage players to repair pitch marks and replace divots, the course condition will only continue to decline.

The main positive is the price — it’s affordable golf — and the balcony by the bar is actually a nice place to finish the round. However, hearing loud conversations from the balcony while trying to hole out on 18 isn’t ideal and feels inconsiderate for players finishing their round.

One final note: the chocolate bars at the snack hut were melted because they’d been left in a metal bowl on the counter instead of the large half-empty fridge behind it. I mentioned it to the young staff member, who agreed, but nothing was done.

Overall, cheap golf, but the course and facilities need significantly better maintenance and management standards.

Well maintained, beautiful course.

Challenging but forgiving.

Very friendly and helpful staff.

Highly recommended.

Lovely layout and excellent value. Bunkers need a few rocks and stones removed but otherwise a very enjoyable day.

Had to leave after 7 holes. Extremely slow and backed up. Not regulated at all. Five ball of teenagers playing two ahead. Waste of time

Day ruined by an incredibly slow 4ball (with buggies). Not really the courses fault though. Halfway house was also closed at 2pm which wasn’t great.

I played with three friends and we have visited Panshanger before. It is an excellent municipal course - with a pub / bar as a clubhouse with well priced food and beverages.

It should be noted some of the greens are a bit patchy and the tee blocks uneven but overall it was good value. There are lots of interesting holes that make you think about how you hit the ball with placement often more important than power!

Lovely course and well maintained.

Quite challenging but enjoyable.

All the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Keep away so you don't make it too busy for me 😁

Decent course. Was only £19 for 18 holes in the afternoon. Fairways are good. Nice undulations. Fun course. Bunkers however are very stony, greens are dodgy...bumpy and patchy. Tees are okay. Gorgeous trees and scenery

Love the design of the course. Just with a little bit of love this course could be amazing. Greens definitely need some…

The pace of playing is really bad… seniors would not let you through. At some point we were 4 groups queuing at hole 8 so the place definitely needs a Marshall keeping an eye on that.

Apart from that value for money is amazing.

I played after it has been particularly wet. And I was pleasantly surprised by how good condition the course was in. The layout has a good mixture of holes. Not the longest course. But a fun round of golf.

Good course well maintained greens were a little bumpy in places but for this time of year probably expected bar staff were excellent very friendly will definitely recommend and look forward to going back

Top conditions, superb looking fairways and greens seemingly unbothered by the weather conditions. Friendly staff in pro shop and a great bar for a post round pint. Will definitely be back

This was my first time playing the course, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Whilst I score it down on pace of play, it didn’t detract from the layout at all. The course was very, very wet on certain holes, but this is to be expected in winter - note, the greens were still running smooth!

Would recommend this course and I’ll definitely be back again?

The course was in a very poor condition. Played here many times. This was the worst I’ve ever seen it.