St Neots Golf Club

I had not played this course before,so was looking forward to visiting it.

The pro in the golf shop was quite welcoming and so were the bar staff we encountered after the round.

Unfortunately as we made our way down the first fairway we were greeted by some big machinery working on the green thus a temporary green had been put in place..... no mention of this at all from the pro shop,there were two other greens with temps and most of the others had been worked on and covered in sand. I understand work needs to be done to maintain course conditions but it seems in this country the visiting golfer is quite often not told pre round of this so that they have the option to play or not.

Course conditions aside I was not a lover of the layout, most holes were very similar and you would struggle to remember any at a later date,probably the 15th and 16th the pick of the crop.

They say the first person you meet when arriving somewhere can set the mood for the occasion. Upon arrival here at the golf shop, not so friendly greeted by the gentleman who was chatting away to someone else who has spent their hard earnt money there. His welcome was "just come in lads", I mean "good afternoon lads, how are you? I will be with you in 2mins" would have been the ideal welcoming.

Once their chat was over it was him thinking "let's criticise on golf etiquette" for which I have worn on other courses with no issues at all. He made it out to be an issue but in a roundabout way probably felt like he should start appreciating the fact we were well dressed for golf. I think it was my chino shorts (non turn-up) didnt have a golf brand on them which was what annoyed him, or we simply wasn't repping the Saint Neots Golf Club logo? Silly I know. Then he moved on to keep your shirts tucked in etc etc even though we had them tucked in anyway, felt abit like listening to a headteacher basically.

Anyway moving on we requested a golf buggy for the full round of 18 holes, having paused with a screwed up face and some humming going on it became clear that amongst the two buggies parked outside, there was an issue. He then declared one of the buggies was kapoop (not working) but the other one he wasn't sure it would last the full 18 holes and didn't want us getting stuck out on the course with the buggy as he wouldn't by that time be in the shop (closed). I then suggested that when we return to the clubhouse to tee off on the 10th, if the charge is half or below half, we can hand it back and just walk round instead, he said that's fine, just pay half for now....so £15 was then transactioned.

Me and my mate then returned to the 10th tee with still a FULL BATTERY indication and so with that, the bloke from the golf shop came over and I said to him "Hello mate we still have full battery showing" his response quite abruptly was "i need it back, it's booked out for someone else." Really taken back both me and my mate, we removed out golf bags and off he went with the buggy. Now I wouldn't mind if the buggy was for someone of old age or with mobility issues to walk such distances and terrains of the golf course but this buggy went to what I can describe as a body able, fit and healthy adult of a man.

The issue here and very disrespectful with it was the fact:

1. He told us the buggy wasn't likely to last 18 holes.

2. He made it clear he didn't want us getting stuck out there.

3. He should have gave us first priority if we wanted to keep hold of the buggy or not.

Both my mate and I really were disappointed of the service and treatment given by Saint Neots Golf Club and we have point blankly decided never to go back there again.

Even worse for them, I had about 40 golfers interested in a charity golf day who said according to images online of the course really considered having these events every quarter period for different charities. I have told them not to waste their money or their time and go elsewhere. Course would have got good publicity aswell through some influencers but there you go, some people just spoil it for themselves and deprive a business of clients/paying customers.

Golf is a funny ol game, often having the involvement of miserable people......maybe golf has a divorce rate?

Çaio

We came today asked for a buggy which we was told I’ve got one but the charge won’t last on it, so you can have it for first 10 holes as the guy didn’t want it stuck on the course. So ok we were fine with that. We catch up to the pair in front as they are walking do they let us through?? Nope the couple of lads behind us also catch up still no one letting through. We get to the 10th hole the guy from the shop comes over and we told him it’s still full he said it doesn’t matter I’m giving it to someone else. I was. Wearing chino shorts as was my pal and he pulled us up on it saying they’re not official goof make stuff but we will get away with it today. The Tees are all over the place no order to the course whatsoever it’s mad I definitely will not be back and it’s literally 6 mins from my house. All the other reviews are right weird course.

Played St Neots for the very first-time last weekend as a visitor. The course is long, narrow, and kept in good condition, with excellent greens. Unfortantley the club is let down by its members. From the moment we arrived, we didn’t feel welcomed. The theme of the day was members looking at us with disdain (with a few comments along the way too). Staff unhelpful and happy to chat to members, but not visitors. Perhaps the most damming assessment is - if I had walked to that club as a someone who has just started golf 18 months ago, I wouldn’t of played again. Not great for golf courses trying to grow the game! (Or maybe some clubs don't want visitors turning up!)

The course was in a mediocre condition with terrible bumpy greens. The members were very unfriendly and reminded me of what golf courses were like 30 years ago. The course layout was very poor. Many of the 350+ yard holes were a dog leg at over 220 yards and many of the fairways were less than 20 yards wide so any mistake, even a slight one would result in having to chip out. There was no rough just thick trees either side of every hole which became monotonous and coupled with the tight fairways and bumpy greens mentioned earlier made for a sad round. Play somewhere else

Excellent course layout and course conditions. Greens were first rate.

Played in a CAGU event yesterday and enjoyed the course for the first time and would definitely return. The reason for the review is to congratulate the staff for the welcome and service throughout the day. The lady (sorry to miss your name!) in the pro shop was very helpful on arrival and the bar staff very helpful after round.

Pace of play was slow , slow players did not take notice of other normal players

The sunny weather conditions may have been a factor however I was very impressed by the course. A fairly forgiving course & undulating in places. Well maintained with some well placed water features. Few long walks between some holes. Everyone friendly & very helpful. Played through twice so no issues with slow play. Highly recommend & looking forward to coming back.

Played here for the second time, first time round we had to give up after the 10th due to slow play (nearly 4 hours for 10 holes)

Booked a twilight hoping the course would be a bit quieter. It was and I was actually able to get all 18 holes in this time.

Unfortunately, again, slow play kind of spoiled the experience, 4 older gentlemen refusing to let anyone play through and holding up the last few groups out on the course.

Despite a couple of signs up reminding people to avoid slow play they're clearly not having much of an effect.

it seems like it's the members that let st.neots down. Real shame as It's a very nice course and the greens are excellent.

I would love to play here regularly as it's only 15 minutes away, but due to the attitude of certain members it's highly unlikely, the same reason applies why I couldn't recommend the place to a friend.