Donnington Valley Hotel & Golf Club

The Donnington Valley golf course was re-designed and lengthened between 1998 and 2000 and is set in beautiful rolling countryside. Now a challenging 6,353 yards, 18 hole, par 71 from the back tees.

Generally-speaking Donnington Valley is a fair test of golf - several holes are quite forgiving though the closing four holes are regarded as one of the toughest finishes in the country, with water featuring prominently on the 15th, 16th and 17th. After your round you can relax in the Snelsmore House clubhouse, a Grade II listed Victorian building, or the four star Donnington Valley Hotel & Spa.

• Course has: Bar
• Course has: Buggy Hire
• Course has: Driving Range
• Course does not have: Practice Green
• Course has: Pro Shop
• Course has: Restaurant
• Course has: Trolley Hire
• Course has: Dress Code
• Course has: Club Hire
• Course does not have: Handicap

• 5 out of 5 Delightful Donnington 14 May 2014

  By Dickmitch

  I have just had one of the most enjoyable rounds of golf I have had for a long time. Having spent some time in Southampton we decided to look up a course to play on our way back to Hertfordshire. The course I plumped for was Donnington Valley and what a find it turned out to be! The reception from the pro was exceptional, making us feel more welcome than we could have ever expected. Fees for a round of golf during the week were £36 and that also include a card giving us 20% off if we visited again within a month. ( A great idea for other clubs!) As we approached the first tee we were invited to go in front of a fourball as we were a two ball and had hired a buggy. From then on every golfer we met gave us us a friendly greeting and offered us advice on how to play the hole. The course itself was quite exceptional. A superb mix of holes including two very interesting par fives and some tricky par threes. The par fives have been designed so that if you hit a really good tee shot you feel that the green may just about be reachable with a perfect second shot! The par threes included a very short and tricky (100 yds) which looks easy but is anything but! There is also a couple of fairly tricky threes were you tee off at a position well below the green. In all honesty there was not a bad hole on the course! The clubhouse facilities were very good indeed. Food and drink were good, well priced and again the staff were exceptional. On top of this there was a hotel attached at the other end of this course which offered good value for money and some very good stay and play options. In the words of a big hitter - I will return! Dick Mitchell.

• 2.5 out of 5 Nearly good 08 May 2012

  By hackers35

   The hotel was very welcoming with helpful staff. The bedroom spacious and well appointed. Breakfast was excellent but the evening meal left a lot to be desired. The menu was limited especially the one in the package price and we were forced to pay extra for the a la carte which itself was barely acceptable. The golf course was in good condition particularly given the recent heavy rain. The holes are not very exciting the best being the last four but beware the tees are in dangerous positions and you need to keep an eye out for errant drives. We teed off behind a ladies five ball and immediately complained to the pro who did nothing!! We let a two ball in a buggy through but the lady members showed no such courtesy and held them up for nine holes until they left the course. Arrogant and unwelcoming. We will not be returning.

• 3.5 out of 5 Donnington Valley 14 September 2008

  By joe jarlow

  During a 2 week holiday in Newbury, Berkshire (August 2008), I decided to play some local golf courses in the area. Having managed to get my handicap down to 16 in recent months (living and playing in Malaysia) I though playing some new courses in the UK would give me a challenge and test my new handicap. With loads of resources on the Internet on golf courses in the UK it was not hard to find a number of courses within 30 minutes drive of my accommodaton. I ended up playing 8 rounds of golf on 4 courses during the two weeks and managed to pick almost rain free days. I played Sandford Springs (South of Newbury,25mins), Newbury Race Course (East,10mins), Donnington Valley (North,15mins), and Newbury and Crockham (SouthEast,15mins). I visited another course, Donnington Grove, having been highly recommended on the Internet (best in area), however the reception I got was less than inviting. The Pro shop staff were not very encouraging towards a non member and as a result I decided not to play the course. I arrived at each of the courses very early in the morning on weekdays (7.30am) and managed to Tee off easily by 8.00am. Donnington Valley staff were very friendly (particularly the staff opening the bar early) and were neven happy for me to Tee off and pay when I completed the round. Sandford Springs (27 holes): Well kept, nice course, beautiful woods and countryside, friendly staff, some really challanging holes. A bit costly (35GBP) so on a scale of value for money I would choose Donnington Valley and Newbury & Croockham instead. Donnington Valley: A relatively easy front nine apart from a long par 4 6th. Although the short downhill par 4 280yard 10th. is easy, the next 8 holes on the back nine are all very tight, hilly, and wayward tee shots are punished severely. Very friendly staff and well priced at 18GBP. Newbury Race Course: Open and a bit boring just up and down parallel holes. Little or no trees and a straightforward course. The last 6 holes have been squeezed in a bit. However, if windy the course becomes a bit trickier, the and tee shots will suffer if not accurate. Having said that, wayward tee shots just end up on the parallel fairway. Pleasant staff and very cheap (11GBP). Newbury & Crockham – Beautiful picturesque countryside and forested course, tricky couple of par 5’s. Shortish on the back nine. Peasant staff, nice members that I spoke to, and reasonably priced at 25GBP. Difficult to get in to the clubhouse for a drink afterwards due to automatically locking doors requiring members keycard entry only, annoying. Friendliness: SS = 6, DV = 9, NRC = 7, N&C = 7. Picturesque: SS = 8, DV = 7, NRC = 4, N&C = 7. Value for money: SS = 5, DV = 9, NRC = 7, N&C = 8. Overall: SS = 19, DV = 25, NRC = 18, N&C = 22. Overall (0-5): SS = 3 (3.2), DV = 4 (4.2), NRC = (3) 3, N&C = 4 (3.7) Order of play if I visited again: Newbury & Crockham, Donnington Valley, Sandford Springs, Newbury Race Course.

• 2.5 out of 5 Not bad 18 May 2008

  By stevemadgolfer

  When paying in pro shop,the first thing the pro said was 'are we using one those?' meaning the 2for1 vouchers!!! An interesting coarse,tight tree lined, good greens!!not bad for a hotel type course.Club house food poor though!

• 4 out of 5 Impressive 08 May 2007

  By swickens

  Having only started playing golf again on a regular basis 2 years ago i have not played to many courses, but Donnington Valley was a test for all 11 players in our group over the weekend (handicap ranging from 6 to 28) with the greens in exceptionally good condition and lightning fast, star hole for me was the big dipper, a 600 yard par 5 requiring 3 very good shots to have any chance of scoring well. Only let down was the driving range squeezed in between the 1st and 8h holes. Club house was excellant and staff very friendly, highly recomend playing this course. Will be returning next year!

• 2 out of 5 Disappointing 15 April 2007

  By Mark Pulleyn

  I'd heard a lot of good things about Donnington Valley Golf Club, but I have to say that I was rather disappointed. Although there are a couple of interesting holes, there's really nothing that strikes you as being extra special. With the recent good weather, we expected the course to be in better condition than it was. Tees were tatty, fairways were Ok and although the greens looked good, in reality, they were in need of a cut as they were woolly and a little bumpy. When you consider the competition in the area (Wokefield Park for example is 15 minutes away), Donnington Valley has some work to do to justify the green fees it charges.