Vexing at Wexham

I played Wexham Park on Wednesday. I've never played it before and to be honest I wasn't looking forward to it after hearing numerous horror stories about the state of the course and the some of the people they let on to play. I was playing with a guy called Jason Ward off the Golf Monthly Forum who had just joined Wexham as a member and Hywel Lloyd my regular sparring partner came along as well.

It's set just outside Slough and adjacent to Wexham Park Hospital and to be fair it only cost £17 with a member so even if it was going to be a goat track it hadn't broken the bank. The first thing you notice is the length. It is only 5,251 yards off the whites and only has two par 5's. Some of the par 4's look like they are in range but looks can be deceiving.

Like a lot of courses, Wexham is screaming out for some rain and the ball is running and running and so it played even shorter than the card. However, the greens, bearing in mind it is a busy pay and play, are in very good order. They hold a shot and are pretty slick to putt on. The 1st is a simple enough par 4 measuring 367 yards with out of bounds (the driving range) down the right. I hooked my drive across the 18th but still only had 134 yards into the green but despite pitching it short it ran over and I started with a 5. I hit my tee shot at the par 3 2nd OB into the range and ran up a six so not a great start. I hit the fairway at the 325 yard 3rd and played a great wedge into about 10 feet. I hadn't had much chance to gauge the greens and ran the birdie putt at least 5 feet past and missed the return. DOH!

I made a good birdie at the 491 yard par 5 but at the next the scorecard said 133 yards. I teed the ball up and took aim. I missed the green left but it wasn't until Jason teed it up that I even saw there was another green about twenty yards further left which was the intended target. I never even saw it! I managed to chip and two putt and moved on very red faced.

The thing that protects the course is that if you want to take the greens on, the holes don't run straight and are protected by trees, ditches and ponds. It is very much a strategic course where plotting your way round even if that means using mid irons off the tee to leave a short approach will yield better scores than trying to blast it into submission.

I played the last four holes of the front nine in one over gross thanks to following the tactical approach. The 10th is a longish par 3 of 198 yards and I carved my drive right amongst the fir trees. I hacked to the front of the green and chipped on. This green is the hardest on the course. Severely contoured it is very slick and I three putted with consummate ease as did my playing partners. The greenstaff could have endless fun with the flag placement and I can imagine it is a bit of a card wrecker in medals.

I managed to birdie the par 4 eleventh with another good wedge to ten feet and a solid putt. After that it was a mixture of pars and bogey's until I carved my tee shot into oblivion at the 16th. I did hit the green at the penultimate hole and hit a good 3 wood off the last which pulled up from the ditch crossing the fairway at 237 yards by a foot or so. It left me a 5 iron in as it plays uphill and I hit a great shot with a hint of draw into the heart of the green and two putted.

None of us had set the course alight but it had been an enjoyable round in hot and humid conditions. I have to be brutally honest and say it was fine to play as a one-off but I think I'd be very bored if I played it on a regular basis. It has great greens though. It isn't a pushover and is probably value for money but I won't be rushing back.

Total number of lost balls in 2010 = 51