Milford Golf Club

I am fortunate enough to occasionally play in a good friend's golf society and usually get invited to their Christmas outing. However, we seem to be climatically challenged every time we play at this time of year. Last year we played at Cuddington Golf Club, near Banstead in Surrey, in gale force winds gusting around 50-60mph at times. It was certainly challenging on an already tricky course.

This year we were playing at Milford Golf Club. This is owned by Crown Golf (Crown Golf's Website) and sited in a small town called Godalming in Surrey, some seven miles or so from cathedral town of Guildford. The club was opened in 1993 and the course was designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark on former orchard land (Milford Golf Club website). It isn't a long course, playing only 5,890 yards off the whites and just 5,521 yards of the yellow tee of the day.

This year, our climatic challenge was fog. Thick, old fashioned pea souper fog. Visibility was only one hundred yards, less in places, and to be brutally honest was probably too dangerous to be open. It was however and we were out there. In our defence, there was no-one behind, and the group in front aided by shouting back when they were clear from the fairway and after putting out on the greens.

The view from the 1st at Milford Golf Club. In fact there was a gap in the fog and this was as clear as it got all day

I've played several Crown Golf courses, including the now defunct Blue Mountain Golf Club, near my old home in Bracknell and it does seem to be company policy to keep their courses open at all costs. As a result, I thought the conditioning of Milford was patchy in places, especially on the tee boxes and the fairways were muddy, and bereft of grass. That said, given that the greens had been frozen in the previous few days, they were receptive and putted very well, if a little on the slow side and were in better condition than some courses I've played in winter.

I haven't played much golf in recent weeks as you'll know if you're a regular reader of this blog and I wasn't overly blessed with any sort of form. I had been to the range using a newly acquired practice aid, the Swingyde (Swingyde Training Aid Review) which had been going well but had no thoughts aside from playing with two of my best friends and having some fun.

I've known my two partners for many years and while neither have any aspirations to be anything other than social golfers, they always try hard, can produce some golf holes of absolute brilliance along with some golf shots that defy description or belief. The banter however is consistently fierce and no quarter ever asked or given. Under a barrage of quips, I stood on the first tee, peered vainly down the fairway and got ready to play. My driver met the ball and it flew high and straight for the seventy or so yards we could see it and I assumed it had found the fairway.

Myself (right) and playing partners about to do battle

There must be something about playing blind. I was swinging within myself, especially off the tee and finding fairways with alarming regularity. I wasn't always hitting greens, but given the fact at times we couldn't even see the green let alone where the flag was placed I was prepared to cut myself some slack. My shots were always there or thereabouts and left simple chips or bunker shots to set up simple par or net pars and keep the score ticking over.

Despite being short in length, Milford Golf Club has water that comes into play on several holes including the sixth hole, a par three of 192 yards and a cute penultimate hole, only 93 yards on the card but which plays entirely over water to a small green, protected by two bunkers.

Milford Golf Club's 17th hole - their signature hole (not taken in the fog we played in!)

There is also a railway line that runs alongside several holes. It evokes images of places like Royal Troon and other famous courses with train tracks alongside. At Milford, there are certainly a couple of holes where a wild drive will require a reload as it finds the railway.

It's perhaps unfair to do a review of the course at it was hard to see any hole in detail and certainly hard to pick any defining characteristics. That said, I played what was presented to me very well and managed to acquire 38 points to win the guest prize (and was the best score overall). I also won the longest drive, which was a strange notion as someone who is not known as a long hitter by any stretch of the imagination. I also managed to stick my approach to the short seventeenth to fifteen feet to win nearest the pin (less said about the subsequent three putts the better). I cleaned up and not entirely sure I'll be invited back this time next year, at least without a significant handicap reduction.

Milford Golf Club Statistics

It's a very friendly club, with a small range, and a pleasant clubhouse. I liked the first hole, which played 390 yards off the yellow tees and stretches out to the 400 yard mark off the competition tees.

The 1st at Milford Golf Club - a hole that will pose questions from the start of the round

It's a left to right dog leg (not that we could tell in the fog) but with trees down the right, it was important to get a drive away that was straight or favoured the left side although there are mounds situated down the left that could impede a view of the green if a player was too far to that side. It's a hole that definitely asks some questions straight away and reminds you that despite the total yardage on the scorecard, this isn't going to be a push over.

There are five par three's at Milford Golf Club, and they all have something to offer. I've already mentioned the 6th hole that plays over a lake in front of the tee, and the clubs signature hole, the seventeenth, but for me the 15th is perhaps best of the lot. At 214 off the whites, playing up to a raised green it has three deep bunkers right and another to the left of the green. Even off the yellow tees it's a lusty blow to get all 187 yards as it definitely plays longer and the bunkers are definitely to be avoided.

The view of Milford's well appointed clubhouse, putting green with the 18th green behind

It's a course that definitely requires another visit in more accommodating circumstances. It's a course that requires a little bit of care and thought and is definitely one where trying to blast driver and take advantage of the lack of yardage can be a dangerous thing. The greens putted well enough, if a little woolly. They aren't the biggest in the world and so accuracy with the approach shots is a necessity. There are definitely some well placed fairway bunkers and the rough looked as though it could be penal come the warmer weather and so finding the fairway would be paramount when played again.

All in all it was a very enjoyable day (it always is when you do so well) and despite the limitations of the weather, I think all of us had fun. It might be short in stature and still relatively young in years, but Milford Golf Club is a members club that gives a visitor a warm welcome.