Playgolf Colchester - Academy Course

Arrived to be told we (2 players) were to play with 2 strangers and that we must have booked it this way. When we assured the member of staff we hadn’t we were told we could play behind the other two as the next slot was free. The two players ahead of the other two were seriously slow and stopping in the middle of the course for random chats. No offers to let anyone play through. Course badly needs cutting, rough longer than the PGA Championship and 90% of bunkers are GUR with no sand. If only the owners spend as much money on the course as they have the sports bar.

The 10th/11th/12th were the worst condition of golf holes I’ve seen in Essex. Bunkers are all GUR, really bad course.

Club house and the range are really good and to be fair the front 9 is ok but the back 9 was terrible.

The greens are all being sanded and there was no pin in the 10th green!!

Won’t be back

I played here yesterday (Sunday 9th September).
The course condition was probably the worst I’ve played in 30 years of playing golf.
On the website it says the greens are USGA standard, grass would be a good start.
Holes all over them and hardly any grass.
The bunkers (if that’s what you call them) we’re SHOCKING, full of stones and grass. Obviously no one on the course rakes them.
We were charged £30 for late Sunday morning, probably worth £10 at most.
I’m not 100% sure if they have a green keeper. If they do he can’ only work one day a month.
DEFINITELY DONT GO THERE.
🤬

Pleasant golf course nice facilities , however was a society in front that held up lkay. I was a sole golfer delayed after 4th hoke. Waited too long deceived to pack up after 7 hokes
So didn't really enjoy the full course

I used to play this course regularly as a junior about 20 years ago, and I was extremely disappointed in the courses current condition. From unlevel and very inconsistent tee boxes to poorly kept greens that even has a rabbit hole in one of them. It hurt to see that the current management seems to care so little about the golf course itself and seem to only care about the gym and restaurant that are now present. I for one will not be returning here any time soon and neither will my playing partner who was equally disappointed. Such a shame to see what was once a fantastic course be so poorly maintained.

It is sad to see what is an enjoyable and challenging test of golf deteriorate into a farce. Bunkers are full of what appears to be builders aggregate ie. stones and gravel with a smattering of sand. Greens are awful with large bare patches and weeds and the holes have not been recut in weeks. When the course is well maintained its worth the money. Presently they should be wearing masks asking us to pay that much !!

Course maintenance was shocking!!!!
Nothing good to say..

Off course facilities are second to none with the American Golf on-site as well as the trackman range, large bar and gym. There’s clearly been a lot of investment in these points over the last few months. Unfortunately this money has not extended to the greens or tee boxes. The course layout, while very short, is quite fun however, the greens were in atrocious condition. Bare and bobbly, they resembled something you might find on a £5 pitch and putt course at a holiday park. This did unfortunately put a bit of a downer on the round but if they invest some of the money they clearly have into better greens and tee boxes then this will be a great pace to play. As it stands for £35 a round there are much better options in the local area.

The course generally was suffering from the recent high temperatures and lack of rain, that being said the greens were in poor condition all had long patchy grass on them, despite there being irrigation for them in place. They were in need for a trim.The bunkers were hard and compact and needed more sand.

A good layout and variety of holes with a good setup with a range, shop and cafe.

I'd love to give a good review of this course purely because of the staff. Alas I Can't! Greens very hard, so hard couldn't get a ball to stop on them. The bunkers need a ruddy good raking to get the stones out, also an influx of fresh sand is needed. some fairways were well defined but others were either like the first cut or even light rough. Think I'll stay away for a while, hopefully it will improve. Again the staff were great.

Ever played the course a few times over the years.
But I would say this is the worst we’ve seen the course.
The fairways aren’t in the best condition, the grass is long and in some places hard to find the ball.
The greens are in really poor condition. Lack of water made them virtually impossible to stop the ball on them.
The tees hadn’t been moved so was dug up a fair bit, especially on the par 3’s.
The bunkers had a lot of stones on the surface and under the very little sand.
I think that’s the last time I’ll play it for a while.

Fairways uncut, greens poor, bunkers no sand!! Paid £26 each for the worst course we’ve played in a long time. Gauged a wedge playing a shot from a bunker riddled with stones and no sand. It’s been a number of years since we played here as it was always very wet and not well kept and thought we would give it a go as it’s on our doorstep and Golf now we’re offering a 12.30 tee time.which suited. We will definitely not be going back again and strongly advise anyone who is thinking about it to think again!!
You’ve been warned.

Overall not bad but the bunkers do need some attention. Some had debris in them that had been therefore a while and they need a good overhaul. Apart from that not a bad round

A pleasant course with friendly staff and excellent 19th hole spoilt only by the lack of fairway markers on blind shots, of which there are many, and the confusing lay out of the course with long walks between holes, especially to 10th and 14th holes.