Apr
24

Braxted Park, Essex, UK

Posted under Course Reviews by SwingingKatz

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Braxted is a hidden gem in the Essex countryside less than 5 minutes from the main A12 near Witham. This little 9 hole course has some very picture perfect holes, the par 3 first is one that springs to mind.

The course is open to pay and play during the week and closed to members only at the weekend but there are only 100 members so the course never gets that busy. Perfect cause there is no need to rush.

I am going to review the whole course as all of the holes are worth talking about:

The first is by a long straight par 5 to start that crosses over the driveway, and the perfect opening shot is to clear the road and leave a good second down the hill to the green. It is impossible to see the green till you are practically on top of it. The green has two bunkers one left one right so if you are accurate then you stand a good chance of rolling your second shot onto the green.

The second is a dogleg to the left and has a tee shot that takes you between tree’s which can be punishing if you stray one way or another, there is out of bounds to both the left and right, as well as a small pond on the right so a stray tee shot could leave you in a bad way. Once to the corner you have a good lead into the green with just a large tree to the left. The green is mostly sloping back to front so a good approach close to the flag is a good position.

The third is a very short par three which has an elevated tee, there are two very large punishing bunkers on the front of the green and a slope off down to the lake at the back of the green. Although very short (a 80% pitching wedge) going off the green in any direction can mean dropped shots.

The Forth hole is strangely difficult with tree’s on both sides of the fairway and a bunker on the right, the green is hidden by tree’s off the tee and although this is a dogleg it is a small turn and the corner can be taken by going over the trees on the left. A good drive can put you on the green putting for an eagle but a steady iron off the tee will leave you in a great position to a very open flat green.

The fifth has to be one of my favorite holes of all time (having hit the pin once gives it a special place in my heart) a very straight par three with a bunker on either side of the two level green. There is also a very large oak tree to the left of the green which if you stray in that direction it can cause problems getting onto the green. The green is easily reachable with a good 7 iron.

The sixth is a dogleg left with the biggest dogleg I have ever seen. The hole is a par 4 and very tough the tee shot is with trees down either side as well as bunkers in easy reach should your tee shot not carry as far as you want it to. The perfect tee shot is to keep it close to the left trees very straight carry the bunker and end up on the far right side of the fairway. This will leave you with a shot into the green without having to go over some very large tree’s on the left of the fairway that make this a very tough hole. The green itself has some very challenging mounds and for fast greens this is something that needs a good approach shot.

The seventh is a very straight par three but very long, around 180 yards with trees down the left and deep rough to the right. If you can get close or on the green keeping away from the bunker on the right it is a very clean hole to play.

The eight is another dogleg left this time 90 degrees left. A good tee shot will find you to the left of the fairway clear of the tree line on the left. Beware if you tee off too far you will end up out of bounds and even though there is no real reason behind the out of bounds there is a lake that you can end up in so be careful. Into the green with bunkers on either side again also there is a drop off the back of the green that could find you in deep trouble in a ditch.

The final hole is very long and requires some very good accurate golf, it is very easy to get mislead by the wide fairway that leads up the hill. The perfect line is to the left of the fairway but not in the rough. The reason for this is that in the middle of the fairway is a massive oak tree splitting the fairway in two. If you are over to the right and not a confident golfer you could find that the car park comes into play, if you get over to the left side you can get a good second shot past the tree. This hole is a par five and needs three good shots to get you onto the very inviting green.

There is a small club house that has a fantastic little cafe. I have played this course a number of times and enjoyed it every time. I even played it in a downpour that saw the greens turn into water hazards. Well reccomended.