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Slaley Hall Hotel & Golf - Priestman Course
Rating Snapshot
About
De Vere Slaley Hall owes is existence to Samuel Hunting who first purchased the estate lands in the late 1800's and it remains today a symbol of Edwardian elegance and a grand retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Set amidst 1000 acres of prime Northumbrian forest and moorland, the first nine holes of the Hunting Course opened for play in 1989. By 1990, the completed course won high acclaim and since then it has matured and undergone subtle improvements. The second championship course, the Priestman opens in May 1999.
The Priestman course, designed by PGA Chairman Neil Coles, will be of equal length an standard as the Hunting course, making Slaley Hall one of the few resorts in Britain with two genuine championship courses. Opening in may 1999, the Priestman course is situated in 280 acres on the western side of the estate and will give golfers panoramic views over the Tynedale valley.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 72 | 6951 yards | ||
| White | 72 | 6597 yards | ||
| Yellow | 72 | 6271 yards | ||
| Red (W) | 72 | 5755 yards |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green M: 73.7/138 | 389 | 359 | 174 | 539 | 177 | 374 | 414 | 496 | 401 | 3323 | 587 | 169 | 446 | 414 | 397 | 169 | 487 | 456 | 453 | 3578 | 6901 |
| White M: 72.0/130 | 379 | 350 | 163 | 510 | 167 | 357 | 401 | 484 | 379 | 3190 | 532 | 149 | 401 | 398 | 388 | 162 | 473 | 435 | 414 | 3352 | 6542 |
| Yellow M: 70.2/127 | 350 | 333 | 153 | 480 | 156 | 339 | 387 | 469 | 360 | 3027 | 513 | 132 | 377 | 378 | 378 | 146 | 461 | 417 | 391 | 3193 | 6220 |
| Red W: 74.0/133 | 333 | 321 | 141 | 444 | 144 | 321 | 373 | 439 | 334 | 2850 | 468 | 113 | 358 | 356 | 288 | 128 | 424 | 364 | 356 | 2855 | 5705 |
| Handicap | 10 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 11 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 10 | 14 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Food & Beverage
Bar, RestaurantAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Conference Facilities, Banquet Facilities
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Work urgently required at Slaley
Usually the course is usually well worth a visit and is very challenging. However, our experience wasn't the best as the course is currently very muddy to the extent that we couldn't locate the ball on some occasions even in the middle of the fairway. Remedial drainage work and restoration of walking routes is required urgently to get the course back to acceptable condition - the 4th, 8th and 16th holes are especially in need of attention. In general the wider facilities at Slaley are being allowed to deteriorate with the road into the hotel having fallen into very poor condition, Green fee should be reduced to circa £10 mid-week to £15 weekend to reflect the current conditions with £32 being the maximum summer rate.
It’s a great course - but not in winter
I understand and play winter golf plenty and decided to have a look up on Sunday. I’ve played on the Priestman plenty before but never in winter. It’s a great testing course but I wouldn’t return in winter. The state of the fairways and around greens and between greens were just awful. Again, I understand winter courses but even downhill fairways resembled swamps. If the course wasn’t attached to the incredible Soa hotel, I’m pretty sure the course would’ve been closed or partially closed at least.
I’ve gone neutral because I know how good this course is Spring through Autumn but you will find much much more playable in winter.
Course was great, play was so slow
Great course really well kept, greens were quite slow but ran nice and true, the course was jam packed and was a really slow round took nearly 5 hours to get around. Backed up on each tee box.
Lovely course - very slow play
Lovely course and in excellent condition. Greenkeepers do a fantastic job. Fairways, greens and tees all excellent. Very picturesque course. Quite a bit of water but able to avoid with low risk game management. Only annoyance was the very slow play. Got stuck behind two sets of slow players who were stuck behind the last group in a touring party. A bit frustrating and spoiled the round to be honest
Poor conditions
Seems like the Priestman is forgotten about vs the Hunting course. First green had patchy grass and dead grass, with previous 3 hole positions still visible.
Overall most fairways were patchy, with clearly old (dead) divot marks.
Nice course, bad weather.
We played in the rain all round but the course held up well. Greens were a bit inconsistent but other than that a very nice course.
Great Value
Excellent value for money. Course us much more playable than in previous years with rough grades. ReLly fun golf course with variety in holes.
Extremely slow play
Slowest round i have ever played, had to walk in it was taking over 6 hours. Poor responses from management team and marshall.
Extremely slow play
Play is extremely slow (6 hours on a weekend). Course is deteriorating and needs TLC.
Nice but needs some TLC
The course is a lovely layout with some fantastic views. The main issue is its unkempt in areas. The place just needs some tlc. For a premium golf resort you expect the course to look pristine but it's scruffy. The greens were ok. Apart from the first which had tyre tracks through the middle. What let it down was the rough. You don't expect the semi rough to be above your ankles and trying to find your ball just off the fairway was a pain. As for past the semi rough. Forget it. If your ball goes into the full rough the chances of finding your ball is a no no. The course has so much potential but it just needs looking after better.
I've never played a course with so many divots not replaced.
Lots of mud and unrepaced divots. The course was not in good shape. Lots of mud caused by vehicles driven on wet.ground.
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