The 9-hole golf course at West London Golf Centre
West London Golf Centre is a full length 9-hole golf course which opened in July 2015, on the site of the old Lime Trees golf centre. This is a challenging 3,037 Par 36 golf course. Built at a cost of £1 million, with nine large, undulating, USGA-spec greens which provide the perfect putting surface, the golf course at West London Golf Centre will test every shot in your bag.
The 9-hole course has been designed and built by an in-house team from The Bridgedown Group, owners of The Shire London near Barnet. This very attractive and very challenging golf course perfectly complements the rest of the high-quality facilities at West London Golf Centre. Enjoy your round of golf at West London Golf Centre!
Our greens would not look out of place on a Tour standard golf course, let alone a 9-hole course attached to a golf centre. Among several striking holes, the short and strategic Par Four 8th is perhaps the stand-out, with a downhill drive which must avoid a lake to set up the approach to a well-guarded green. With two Par Fives, two Par Threes and five Par Fours, West London GC mixes stadium-style target golf with links-style golf, with gorse, rolling fairways and several lakes to negotiate. There is plenty of elevation and several greens & tees offer stunning panoramas of both the golf course and the surrounding area.
The course is similar in spirit to The Ballesteros Masters Course at The Shire London. It is designed for golfers who like to have fun on the golf course, and yet you will need to think your way around to build a good score.
Here's our Hole-by-Hole Guide:
1st Hole – 480 Yds, Par 5
This short par 5 offers an early birdie chance – but don’t go left off the tee. You’ll never see your ball again. Instead, strike your tee shot to the spacious right-hand side of the contoured fairway. As the hole dog-legs gently left, you’re playing your approach shot directly towards the city of London. 100 yards from the green, it narrows dangerously on the right, so take care laying up. It’s spacious around the green, and there are no bunkers, so why not go for it? Fly the trouble on the right, and you’ll find a large green – and your first taste of our beautiful putting surfaces.
2nd Hole – 181 Yds, Par 3
A lengthy par 3 played back towards the clubhouse and normally played into the prevailing wind, our second hole presents a stern test with a very large, slightly raised green which is a full two clubs in length. Most golfers fall short on this hole, so hit at least one more club than you think. Sloping upwards towards the back, and guarded by a bunker on the left, it’s another spacious putting surface. There are great views of the golf course from the back of the green – it’s one of the highest points on our golf course.
3rd Hole – 344 Yds, Par 4
A straight par 4 with a fiendish, hidden lake on the right which will swallow errant tee shots. You’ll need to bomb it very long and straight, to carry the water from the tee. A long iron or fairway wood from the tee will leave you safely in a generous fairway, and only a short iron to the green. Just beware the bushes on the left. Your approach is slightly uphill to another long green, narrow at the front but wider towards the back. Our advice: club for the middle of the green, avoid the bunker on the right, and shoot for the birdie.
4th Hole – 339 Yds, Par 4
Risk and reward time! A superb par 4 which challenges you to go for it from the tee. Another lake lies in wait on the left, and a lay-up shot will roll downhill towards the water, leaving you with a blind shot to the green. So – we say – get your game face on and go for the carry across the valley. If you need a little help, play from the shorter tee. Your approach to the green is slightly uphill, dog-legging slightly to the right. There’s a bunker short so, once again, take an extra club and attack this wide but shallow green. It’s a challenging target which suits a lofted approach. Float your ball onto the undulating green, and you’ll find that it rises to a plateau in the back right corner.
5th Hole – 167 Yds, Par 3
An attractive par 3 across a lake in a valley, but this time the water’s not your problem – the lake is just in front of the tee. You can clear it. Focus instead on attacking the pin on the more inviting of our two par 3s. Gorse bushes frame a cloverleaf-shaped green which opens towards the back. As with all of our greens, it’s an undulating putting surface with plenty of interesting borrows. Nestling among a series of mounds, the 5th green is a tranquil spot on which to reflect on your round so far.
6th Hole – 476 Yds, Par 5
A memorable three-hole sequence begins with a beautiful short straight par 5 with strong echoes of links golf, which sets the golfer a series of attractive challenges – all clearly visible from the tee. There’s trees and a ditch on the left, so avoid those and target the spacious right-hand side of the fairway with your drive instead. On the tee you’ll see distant fairway bunkers, but they are out of range for most golfers unless the wind is behind you – in which case you also need to beware the water, 300 yards distant on the right. Approaching your second shot, you’ll see that the fairway corkscrews towards the green, undulating all the way. Just like the 1st hole your layup area is quite narrow. The spacious green is protected front and right by bunkers, and disaster awaits if you over-club. This is one of the best holes on the golf course.
7th Hole – 296 Yds, Par 4
Many golfers’ favourite hole at WLGC, the 7th is a picturesque short par 4 which dog-legs left around a stand of trees towards a well-protected green. Like the 6th this hole has a strong feel of links golf as you drive over water to a fairway with gorse on the right, and a creek snaking towards the green on the left-hand side. There’s a plateau close to the green which is the ideal spot from which to attack the green, but only well-struck drives will get there. A large bunker guards the front of the green, which is one of the smallest on the golf course. When you’ve putted out, stand for a moment on one of the mounds at the back of the green, and absorb the sight of the prettiest hole at West London Golf Centre.
8th Hole – 359 Yds, Par 4
Rated as the hardest hole on the golf course, the 8th looks fearsome from its raised tee which gives a good view of a fairway which does a right-left zigzag as it approaches the lake on the left hand side – which comes into play for long hitters, or when the wind is behind you. Stay right, is our advice. Aim over the mound – there’s a safe area beyond it. From there you’ll have a short iron approach, slightly uphill, to a large triangular green which widens towards the back. Take an extra club, as under-hit shots may roll back towards the water. At the back of the green, enjoy the view across the lake as the 4th hole rises into the distance – it’s a great spot for photos. Par on the 8th is always a good score.
9th Hole – 395 Yds, Par 4
Our longest par 4 is a tough finishing hole. Two fairway bunkers face you in the distance – reachable with a strong hit – at which point the hole dog-legs left and uphill towards a green guarded by a fiendish pot bunker, which lies invisible to the left of the green. The fairway is generous, but it all slopes right towards trouble. When you finally reach it, you’ll find a green which, like many at WLGC, is narrow at the front but which opens out generously, particularly to the left. Club long! Like the previous hole, a par here feels like a birdie, and then you’re back to the clubhouse – or back around for your second nine!
