Theale Golf Club

This club is the most unfriendly club around. The staff are all miserable, I’ve never felt welcome as a paying guest. They’ve always charged top whack for a round and it’s not even near as good as Calcot who are on a par with round fees I’ve always played there begrudgingly as friends enjoy a change of scenery from time to time. But today has topped it for me. I called this morning to book a buggy as I have been struggling with a torn meniscus in my left knee for the past 6 weeks, to be told that they only rent buggies out to members or those with a medical certificate. I don’t have a medical certificate as I have not been to the doctors about my knee. (I know what the problem is, I’ve had 6 operations on my knees, I’d like to think I know a bit about knees) I started my journey to the club in my car and thought, I’ll challenge them when I get there and ask the rationale behind their decision. When I arrived I was told it was because their buggies keep getting damaged and their insurance does not cover them for repair. Now whilst I understand that, it’s crazy in my opinion that you are willing to turn away custom (money) based on a small minority who damage buggies. I even offered to pay for any damage and for them to take a deposit. I was told that someone was going to come down and see me and after 15 minutes a lady come down and said it’s our policy if we do it for you we’d have to do it for everyone. I disagreed and almost begged her as a one off could she do it, she said she would get the boss to come down “but it will still be a no so you are wasting your time” after 10 more minutes, nobody came down, I said I’ve been waiting for 25 minutes now and need to tee off, she said to me well it will be a no so there is no point in waiting. She offered to refund me but basically said it’s our policy so tough. In a world where golf clubs are struggling financially, I’ve never been to a golf club anywhere in the world who does not rent out buggies to paying guests. I find it incredible that this is their stance on it. I will categorically never play golf at this club again and will always try and deter others from this club when possible.

Very easy walking course, not a lot of elevation with good course layout. Lots of driving holes with big wide fairways ( I still managed to miss almost all of them) well positioned greens making you double think your approach shot.

I came down on holiday to visit a friend and we wanted to play golf at a local course for a bounce game. We figured as we weren't playing seriously and it was a Thursday evening we would be able to share one set of clubs as we were playing socially. When warming up a member of staff came and interrogated us saying, "we aren't that kind of club you must hire if you want to play." To avoid an argument I agreed and payed £12.50 for quite possibly the worst hire set of clubs I've ever been given. Normally we would have stayed for food and drinks but felt quite embarrassed as we were accosted infront of the club house. My friend plays regularly at this club they have now lost a customer and potential future member.

The course however was an enjoyable and interesting challenge with many quirks. Unfortunately the greens had just been dressed so didn't play as well as I suspect they usually do.

I enjoyed my round at Theale GC. The course is mainly flat but provides challenges with water, trees and the odd electricity pilon! It had been hot and dry for a while so the holes were playing shorter and off-course drives ran into the rough. However, the rough was not overgrown so our golf balls could be found but it was long enough to make the next shot more difficult.

Generous fairways but with a number of holes that require strategic tee shot planning.

I have been playing the course now for many years. And I can say hand on heart it is currently in the best condition I have seen it in. There are a few things that need addressing (bunkers mainly) but over the last year it has been improving weekly. There are areas that have had a lot of irrigation work done recently that needs a bit of time and effort to get back to where they were but on the whole a good test for all abilities.

The course is in a awful condition, they seem to be trying to make it better, then seem to just give up and hope the grass will just grow.

Layouts a bit uninspired at times but it’s still a nice course, back nine I found had more character than the front. Everywhere’s pretty flat (could do with some raised greens/tee boxes) but greens are small and trees are plenty.

Has some nice driving holes and you can usually find your ball after miss hits, might need to play safe to get back on to the fairway but at least you have the chance to play out of trouble unlike other courses where missing the fairway by 10 ft means a reload.

We tee’d off at 11 and were waiting on a couple shots but nothing major for a dry Saturday. Course was in fairly good condition (well drained for the most part) after a cold wet week in the middle of winter.

Visited this course in early September it was excellent weather and the course was quiet. Some interesting holes to think through not a long course but enjoyed playing it very much. Well worth a visit

Well presented course, greens and fairways are in great condition, a good fun challenge

Found this to be a pleasant experience, the fairways were in great condition however the tee boxes were a little uneven and could do with some work, most of the greens were good however some appeared to be recovering from recent maintenance. Friendly staff however no facilities available due to current COVID restrictions, will definitely return for another round in near future.

This was a disaster.

The course, if one can call it a course, was in such a terrible state. At points it felt like i was wading through mud in a vietnam monsoon.

The greens were bumpier than a Madagascan road and the rest of the course wasn't much better maintained. I could review the fairways if I was aware where they started and the rough ended, but alas that seemed too much to ask for £36.

For some odd reason despite it being the wettest time of year trolleys were still allowed, and the tyre marks on most fairways, made it feel as if we were on beaches of normandy, on that note the Green looked like it had seen more bombs than the battle of the bulge.

There was molehills throughout and most teeboxes (if you could even locate them) were muddy and slippy, to keep your grip while driving was a task in itself.

The staff were not welcoming in the slightest and it felt as if we were interrogated at every turn about our appropriateness to play at this 'club', despite forking out £36 for the privilege.

One must only assume they are using the £36(!) each to raise the funds for a greenkeeper as they clearly don't have one currently.

Just a tip for anyone thinking of booking this club, there are plenty of others in the area that are a similar price and considerably better.

This was not a golf course it is a public park, it was not worth the extortionate fee that it required, I will not be returning.