Golf Courses Near The M1 London to Luton
Introduction
Golf courses near the M1 – London to Luton is the first in a series of articles looking at some golfing options near the UK’s motorway network.
Are you traveling up and down Britain’s original motorway?
Looking for some golfing options without straying too far?
Look no further, here are some great options within a few miles of the M1.
M1 Junction 1
Highgate Golf Club
Address: Denewood Road, London, N6 4AH
Telephone: 020 8340 1906
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £95
Visitor Info: Visitors are restricted to Monday, Tuesday and Thursday between 11 am and 12 noon in two balls and from 2 pm – 3 pm in four balls.
A golfing oasis in North London. The course was originally laid out in 1904 and now extends to 6033 yards. It had to be redesigned in 1928 when the local water board took over 40% of the land with a compulsory purchase order.
Has seen two clubhouses destroyed by fire down the years!
M1 Junction 2
Finchley Golf Club
Address: Nether Court, Frith Lane, Mill Hill, London NW7 1PU
Telephone: 020 8346 2436 (option 3)
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £40 (Weekdays) £55 (Weekends)
Discounts: County card, twilight and services (police etc.)
Visitor Info: Visitors are restricted to afternoons on weekdays and after 3 pm on weekends.
The club didn’t open fully for play until October 1930. The course was designed by the five times open champion James Braid. Nether Court mansion is used as its clubhouse.
Many trees, bushes and shrubs used on this mature parkland course are indigenous to North America. The original owner of the mansion, Henry Tubbs, had strong business links to Canada.
You may also see Muntjac deer roaming the fairways of Finchley Golf Club.
M1 Junction 3
Strictly speaking, there is no junction 3 on the M1 because the link road that it was meant to connect to was canceled.
M1 Junction 4
Radlett Park Golf Club
Address: Watling St., Nr. Radlett, Hertfordshire, WD6 3AA
Telephone: 0208 238 6941
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £20 to £40 depending on the time of day
Originally founded in 1984 as Elstree Golf Club. The course was extended from 9 to 18 holes during a 1986 redesign by the famous architect Donald Steel.
The club has changed hands on a number of occasions down the years and the course has seen many changes and now runs up to approximately 6500 yards. There is also a driving range on site.
M1 Junction 5
Porters Park Golf Club
Address: Shenley Hill, Radlett, Hertfordshire WD7 7AZ
Telephone: 01923 854 127
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £75 (round) £95 (day)
Discounts: County Card £40, Twilight £35 (4 pm to 6 pm), Winter £55
The club was originally founded in 1899 and took the name Porters Park in 1902. The course is parkland in nature and plays to 6529 yards. JH Taylor and CK cotton were both Influential in the early design process.
M1 Junction 6
The Grove
Address: Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire, WD3 4TG use WD17 3NL for sat nav
Telephone: 01923 807807
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £179 (Thurs-Sun) £155 (Mon-Wed)
Discounts: Twilight £99 (Thurs-Sun) £115 (Mon-Wed) after 3 pm in Summer
Certainly not cheap, the Grove has played host to both a World Golf Championship in 2006 and the British Masters in 2016.
No memberships are available so you could play as a visitor whenever you can find a free tee time.
M1 Junction 7
Centurion Club
Address: Hemel Hempstead Rd, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Hertfordshire, HP3 8LA
Telephone: 01442 510520
Green Fees: N/A
Okay, this one is cheating a little bit as you can’t actually play Centurion Club unless you are a member. However, it does look rather special so I thought I’d include it.
Designed by Simon Gidman, the course stretches to 7100 yards and was opened in the summer of 2013. The first few holes wind their way amongst pine woodland before venturing out to more open areas.
You’ll need to do some sucking up to the right people in order to get on this golf course I’m afraid. One of only a handful of UK courses that don’t allow unaccompanied visitors.
M1 Junction 8
Berkhamsted Golf Club
Address: The Common, Berkhamsted, HP4 2QB
Telephone: 01442 865832
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £60 (Mon-Tues) £75 (Wed-Fri) £85 (Sat, Sun, Bank Holidays)
Discounts: County Card £55 (Mon-Thurs)
Home of the Berkhamsted Trophy, a world-ranking amateur event.
The club was founded in 1890 when Willie Park Jr advised on the laying out of an original nine-hole course over Berkhamsted Common.
This was later expanded to 18 holes by Harry Shapland Colt the current layout is very much the result of James Braid.
The course is unusual in that it is entirely bunker-free!
M1 Junction 9
Harpenden Common Golf Club
Address: Cravells Rd, East Common, Harpenden, AL5 1BL
Telephone: 01582 711327
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £45 (round) £55 (day) (weekdays)
Discounts: Twilight rate after 5 pm (contact pro shop)
Although golf had been played on the common since 1895 the golf club itself was not founded until 1931.
I had the pleasure of taking part in one of their opens a few years ago and found the course to be very enjoyable.
Ken Brown, the ex-player and commentator, is an honorary member. He undertook some redesign work back in 1996 which included the addition of six new holes.
The course is laid out over mature, well-manicured common parkland.
M1 Junction 10
Luton Hoo Golf Course
Address: Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa, The Mansion House, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 3TQ
Telephone: 01582 734437
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £50
Discounts: £40 (very early times or late afternoon)
Quite a long course at 7,107 yards. Luton Hoo is described as “a harmonious blend of inland links and mature parkland, meandering through our 1000-acre estate.”
I played it in an open competition a few years ago and after taking around 3 hours to play 10 holes I decided enough was enough and walked off.
From what I recall the course is in decent nick but the pace of play would need to be massively improved for me to consider turning up again
M1 Junction 11 & 11a
South Beds Golf Club
Address: Warden Hill Rd, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU2 7AE
Telephone: 01582 217047 Option 1
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £40 (Mon-Fri) £50 (Sat, Sun, Bank Holidays)
Discounts: Twilight £25 (Mon-Fri) £30 (Sat, Sun, Bank Holidays)
The club was originally founded on common land in 1892. The club moved on a number of occasions over the years before finally settling on its current 27-hole layout during the 1970s.
Some of the holes still in use at South Beds G.C. were originally designed on the advice of Harry Vardon.
M1 Junction 12
Chalgrave Manor Golf Club
Address: Dunstable Road, Toddington, Bedfordshire, LU5 6JN
Telephone: 01525 876556
Email: [email protected]
Green Fees: £25 (Mon-Fri) £30 (Sat, Sun, Bank Holidays)
A relatively new course, established in 1994. Chalgrave Manor Golf Club wants to be modern and dynamic without the snobbish attitudes of yesteryear!
If you live in the area and membership fees look very competitive.
A little surprised that their website features so many obvious stock photos!
To be continued…
I’ll be adding the next post in this series soon – Luton to Nottingham.
If you are looking for something more exotic then check out my personal golfing bucket list.
