Have any GCA members been to visit this new club/course for a tour of the facility? Here is the website;
www.centurionclub.co.ukAs I am moving in the next 6 months from Surrey to the Herts/Bucks area I wanted to have a look at this new club to see what the set up was like. We (a good friend who is a member of Ashridge - and myself) visited this weekend and were shown around by one of the owners, chap called Graham.
I'm sure the club and course have real potential but I really do think they are going to struggle. The course is quite close to the M1 motorway near it's junction with the M25 so there is always going to noise akin to Walton Heath in proximity to the M25. There are some very interesting holes and the acquisition of mature woodland has given the designer scope to design a course that looks more "finished" as such.
It going to be compared to The Grove but it's going for a non corporate market where the Grove is so strong that way. Also from a cost point of view it's as expensive as Woburn, if not more so....which is a tough ask for a totally new place. The course has some great looking holes and the greens were exceptional even for this stage/time of the year. I would say it is very much like Bearwood Lakes (where I was a member for 4-5 years) in scope, design and the business model.
However the space available to "fit" the course has meant there are compromises (in my eyes) where you have a number of holes running parallel to each other - a pet hate of mine.
They have been showing prospective members around for 8-9 weeks now and in total 90 have visited the facility but only 14 have signed up as yet....we both felt that was a poor result and possibly an indication of the stiff competition they have and it's made worse by the very "top end" pricing for joining.
Would be interesting to hear other views especially from people who have also visited.
Thanks,
Gareth