Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club - Dale Hill Course

Afternoon booked through yourselves
Turned up to play to be told holes 1-5 were closed then got out to play any the fairways were spoiling boggy floored and like a mud bath wasn’t happy at all really

We played the Old course. Despite being fully booked all day, we were off at the booked time and were not held up. Friendly staff and some lovely views. Overall a very attractive course

Let's start with the good stuff - the back 9 is beautiful, really beautiful. Through the trees with some good elevation change, really pretty views- love it
(The front 9 is pretty ordinary for the most part)
Staff were friendly (there was a problem with my booking that they sorted with no problem)
Now the not so good part. The course conditions.... greens looked white good but we're so bumpy and a bit patchy, holing putts was just a bit of a lottery. Fairways weren't at their best (but let's just blame the weather and the rain and the fact its been wet - we do hear that a lot every year). Shame because I can cope with course conditions if courses are priced accordingly. I'll accept it when it's not prefect but £25 is quite a lot when it's far from its best)
Round took 3.5 hrs. I couldn't belive it. It's a short course but it felt like 4.5. Waiting to play every shot - hmmm. OK I think there were some beginners out there, or something. But being let through my a 6 ball?? Not sure what was going on there!
Lastly, if course practice facilities are good. 2 greens, driving range, bar, nice pro shop. Shame it wasn't £15 then I'd have said it was all fine

Have played Dale Hill a few times in the past on the woosnam course and that never disappoints. Only my second time on the old course and although it’s shorter it’s still a very good test. Club selection off the tee is key as you need to put yourself in a good position for the second shot. Greens were outstanding and considering how much traffic I imagine the course gets it was in great condition, the only small thing I would pick up on is the tee’s needed a bit of a trim but this was very minor and in no way takes away from what a great golf course this is to play. Highly recommend for a evening round like we played or a stay away trip.

Didn't play old course as was shifted to the Woosnam by the staff as a member wanted our slot.

Good track, well looked after. After a bit of a stale start (up and down 1-3) the course gets interesting with some challenging holes. Quite hilly (clue is in the name) but nowhere near the most mountainous of courses I’ve played. Well worth a visit for low, mid and high handicappers. I preferred it to the Woosnam. We will be back.

This course is not a bad course but I did not overly enjoy my round here.

The course layout is tough: more than one blind tee shot, the greens a fairly small and the bunkers are challenging. There are multiple doglegs with tall trees guarding the inside and tee boxes forcing you to either draw or fade the ball - something I cannot do and I can't say I know many golfers who can.

There are plenty of banks around greens which can leave horrible downhill chip shots out of patchy rough and nasty run off areas, also with really patchy grass so very easy to get horrible lies from areas deliberately designed to catch you out - these seem unfair and just not well kept.

Even as a naturally long hitter, the par threes are lengthy and very well guarded. If you play for fun and aren't long or straight, this course will grind on you.

On the 13th - a short par 4, it's slightly downhill for 200 yards then sharply downhill and breaking right to left with a tree guarding the whole left side of the green. If you hit beyond 200 yards you are punished for being on the fairway - again balls collecting into a run off area that has been destroyed by rabbits and moles. I just can't understand how this hole is supposed to be fun for anyone who can't hit a baby draw to a tiny green and stop the ball before it runs off into woodland and leaf litter.

To make this clear, many others might well enjoy this course. Clearly, it is built on a hill so if you don't like constantly playing uphill lies, downhill lies, hanging lies etc then think twice about playing here as there are almost zero shot played from a flat lie.

Courses have only been open 2-3 weeks since lockdown restrictions have lifted so I suggest that a lot of the upkeep of the course and the speed of the greens (very slow) may well be below their normal standards so I won't judge them based on this trip. However, even with the course being in better condition, the layout and the contours make this a place I won't be coming back to.

Sunday twilight
Course to ourselves
Excellent buggies
Staff really friendly and helpful, especially Nick
Course is fun to play with some spectacular views and stunning golf holes
Greens will be superb by the end of April
Highly recommend a round here both the Woosnam and Old courses are excellent layouts

Lovely course, interesting holes, good pace of play. Nice greens

Great course with challenging, interesting holes.

It was cold, frosty and the ball was plugging of fairways and greens but it still most enjoyable.

Highly recommended

Just expect to lose balls in the rough at they hit the dirt, become muddy, then disappear.

They are trying a drive-thru check in... but it’s poorly signed and poorly executed. This needs improvement but good on them for trying.

I look forward to returning.

I was really looking forward to playing the Old Course at Dale Hill, which I'd heard was better than the Woosnam course. The course lay out is good, and is a fair challenge for the average golfer. The staff were friendly but the bar etc. was closed by the time we had finished (just after 6.30pm), so we didn't have the opportunity to use the amenities, but they looked very good. The greens were in good condition, as were the tee boxes, however the fairways were atrocious. They were almost without exception patchy with areas of bare dirt literally every couple of inches. I've never played a course before where you have worse lies on the fairways than in the rough. Almost every shot that remained on the fairway was penalised. Truly terrible, especially given the amount of time the green keeping staff have had to keep the course in good condition when golfers have been unable to play this year. Had we known this when booking, we would not have played there.

Course layout is OK although a bit up and down. Fairway conditions below average with lots of areas in need of repair. Main issue was that another 4 ball was double booked for our tee time - not sure if this the fault of the club or the app - which contributed to a very slow round.