Welcome –Lee Valley golf course’s slightly scruffy appearance does make it less fussy and more relaxed so you don’t feel self-conscious with Fido in tow. You enter the course through a caravan park which shares a reception with the course. In the window, a prominent sign says “No dogs except guide dogs”, but it is referring to dogs staying in the caravan park.

Water – The biggest fresh water feature I have ever seen at a golf course (obviously excluding the ocean at various seaside resorts). The front nine simply takes you in a circular route around a 5 acre lake. Furthermore, the middle nine flanks the eponymous River Lee. Neither bodies of water are readily accessible for your dog to grab a sip (except lake can be accessed from the 7^th). The 10^th does take you round back to the entrance where you can go to the caravan park for some water (a couple hundred yards walk though).

Wildlife – The play through the front nine is a bit reminiscent of the Hitchcock classic “The Birds”. I have never seen so many and so many different birds at a golf course. Especially lots of seabirds like gulls and terns who were collected on the little patch of land in the middle of the lake squawking loudly like some sort of political rally. Swans, ducks, coots, grebes. Also, the adjacent William Griling Reservoir, several times even bigger than the course lake, also drew many waterfowl flying overhead throughout the game.

Walk – The walk is a leisurely stroll on very flat terrain with plenty of visual interest especially in the first half with the lake on your right shoulder.

Wind Down – Lee Valley is situated in quite an urban part of east London amidst industrial parks and roadways. So the pubs nearby are in pretty limited supply regardless of coronavirus restrictions. However, the course is part of the larger Lee Valley Park complex which also includes the ODEAN Luxe Lee Valley and Lee Valley Leisure Centre both of which offer a variety of refreshments. And the surrounding park area provides plenty of places to consume them with your dog by your side at your bench or table. Due to the lockdown, all the establishments were shut for business (however, side note, another recent addition to the facility is a COVID19 mobile testing area in the parking lot).

Welcome – We are venturing into the northern part of our very own home county, Buckinghamshire, to try a few of the Milton Keynes area course the welcome dogs. First stop was Windmill Hill golf course. A well-appointed course with well-groomed fairways, and a relaxed ambiance to it. We didn’t see any fellow dog golfers, but we did come across a local dog-walker passing through.

Walk – Another long walk with the yellow tees measuring 6,385 yards. Until the mid-1980s, the course was one of the longest in Europe. But, resting on the table of Aylesbury Vale, it is all very level ground making the hike a bit easier. That includes 5 par 5 holes! One thing that Lori appreciated was that on 7 holes the Ladies tees were around 100 yards ahead (the 16^th hole was a 117 yard advantage) of the yellow tees which took the sting out of the long fairways for her drive (and yet perversely, there were 3 holes where the Ladies reds were behind the yellows). So I had to be extra careful of my duff shots for fear of elevated risk of “willy rule” penalty!

Water – Water on the course itself is quite unavailable. It has a couple of water features that have been created, but they are not naturally fed and early in the season they were quite dried out. However, for the first time in what seems like ages, the course does return to the clubhouse on the 9^th hole (so you can get water there).

Wildlife – Nothing much of interest (to us or Grace) aside from a few pigeons (flying rats) and squirrels (rats with fluffy tails).

Wind Down – Once again we thought we would give a try to supporting a nearby dog-friendly pub with ordering some take-away. However, going through the DoggiePubs list in the area, we extended to a nearly ten mile radius and still couldn’t find an establishment advertising take-away food or drink. But, as we were driving to the course we passed a sign advertising The Lowndes Arms pub just a couple miles away that also noted being dog friendly. When we arrived, it was buzzing. It was serving a limited range of drinks (mostly beer and cider) as take-away, but it did have a large beer garden where people were consuming their beverages in a socially distant manner. The food was limited to crisps, but they do a Sunday roast take-away you can book in advance. Despite the limitations, it was encouraging and refreshing to sit down to a post-round pint, or any pub pint, for the first time in months.

Welcome – Well into the dog golfing season now with extra opportunity to catch up on lost fairway time from their closure as Lori and I are both on furlough (Grace is always on furlough). Having explored the dog-friendly courses near our West Wycombe home, we now have to venture out a bit further (about an hour’s drive) to find new courses to check out. Fortunately, the reduced work schedule and long summer days are giving us plenty of time for such forays. Our latest took us to the exquisite course of West Berkshire.

Walk –The course is lengthy at 7+ km (blue tees), but meanders along fairly flat ground with a number of lovely vistas as a backdrop. Manicured expansive fairways surrounded by the most picturesque plantation of trees. Unfortunately, the flanking woods made retrieval of sliced drives harder than in conventional grassy rough. Still, we were still dusting off enough cobwebs from our form that Grace had plenty of opportunity to find stray balls (much to her delight).

Water – The course has a few small and stagnant pools of water around the course. And the clubhouse features a striking water feature, but it the steep sides keep it from being accessible for a few laps of water. But the generous supply of water is at the clubhouse and half-way hut. The course is designed that more holes return to the clubhouse than any course I have played. Conventional layout would have the 9^th hole returning to the clubhouse either for a mid-round break or to facilitate playing a half-course. But at West Berkshire, the 2^nd, 5^th, 8^th (as well as obviously the 18^th) all arrive at the clubhouse. Also, there is a half-way hut that in normal times would provide a loo, food, and water (but it is closed now due to the coronavirus protocols) that sits at the end of the 4^th, 9^th, and 16^th. So over a third of the holes finish near a place to get some water.

Wildlife – Quite a number of squirrels (the bane of many a dog’s focus) darted about teasingly in front of Grace, but she’s too much of an old dog to pay them much heed.

Wind Down – The pubs are still on lock-down, but we thought that we would try again to support one of the dog-friendly pubs nearby who were carrying on with carry-out. Scrolling through the DoggiePubs website, it wasn’t until we came to The Castle Inn in Cold Ash until we found someone advertising take-away in the area. It was a full 7 miles away from the course, but most of that was on our way home. They served up a tasty burger and some okay cod and chips topped off by a lovely syrup sponge (with lots of custard!). Truly good pub grub and just what we needed after such a long course and an hour drive home. The service was impeccable and they commented that they are truly dog-friendly as dogs typically outnumber humans during normal times.

Welcome  – Dog golfing is back! The eased UK lock-down restrictions now allow for golfing with a number of provisos to impede virus transmission (eg. parties limited to two-somes, all green flags to be left in place to eliminate touching, golf-carts sanitised after every use, number of people limited in pro-shops, social distancing practiced on course, etc). And Guildford Golf Club was a superbly relaxing way to ease back into dog golfing. A relaxed course with mostly expansive fairways (except for a needle threading Hole 2) and gentle slopes, and a relaxed welcome to canine caddies. It is a parkland course so people are walking their dogs everywhere. In fact, when we set out, we met Lola (photo above) just coming off the course who plays the course regularly. You will also find courtesy doggie bag depositories and water bowls along the course. Sadly, it was our first outing since the lost of Grace’s energetic companion, Rusty, but Grace was happy to be out traipsing along side the trolleys.

Walk – The course features a couple of inclines, but mostly undulates gently with a number of striking views of the Surrey countryside in the distance.

Water – The bad news is that the course layout is “out and back” so it never swings back by the clubhouse (to get water) until the very end. The good news is that the course has water fountains with dog bowls!) at a couple places around the course (we saw one at the 12^th hole). The bad news is that these weren’t operational when we tried them (maybe turned off for fear of spreading COVID19).

Wildlife – Actually, the course had very few critters that we came across. There are no water hazards to lure water fowl. And the course is in a more open area (rather than a wooded area). The profusion of dog-walkers with their dogs passing regularly through the area probably plays a major role in keeping wildlife at bay. So relatively few distractions for Grace through the play.

Wind Down – Dog golfing might be back, but doggie pubs are still pretty much off line. We went through DoggiePubs.org.uk looking for any nearby pubs offering take-away service and they were mostly completely closed with the lockdown. We finally came upon, the Send Inn in Guildford who had arranged a full take-away menu to keep their kitchen going during the lock down, but when we called to order it turned out that there was a nearly 2 hour wait for booking a pickup slot. So our wind down turned out to be sunset cocktail in our backyard…like so many days these past few months.

Welcome – I started this website in response to my frustration with finding information on the web and on golf courses’ websites about whether dogs were allowed to accompany golfers. Even after my research, I find that I have to call ahead to confirm the policy as there are often misunderstandings among staff, miscommunications, and changes in policy. Even then, it is always with a bit of trepidation that we arrive at a golf course what the vibe is and whether the members really feel okay with pooches invading. The first (literal) sign that this was truly a dog friendly course was a notice posted asking for all dogs on and crossing the course to be kept on a lead making it clear that canine company was a pretty common situation.

Walk – The dog friendliness was only accentuated once you got on the course where every few minutes another rambler passed by walking their dog. The walk itself was about as flat as you will find being in the Wey watershed of the Surrey plain.

Water – Water, water, everywhere…and plenty of drops to drink. There are 5 sizeable ponds around the course. They were all brimming due to a week of heavy rainfall prior to our round. In fact, the water level of the one by 15^th hole seemed to be higher than the ground itself. The course runs along side the River Wey and there are half a dozen little rivulets that run through the course. With the 9^th hole returning to the clubhouse, this is one course where you might get away with bringing water along for the dogs. Fortunately, the water hazards mostly flank the holes so there are few holes where you have to clear them to make the green.

Wildlife – Given the copious water everywhere, not surprising to find a flock of seagulls on one of the fairways. But the ponds also attracted a range of waterfowl including swans and mallards.

Wind Down – We dried off at The New Inn in Send. Finally, a pub that serves food throughout the day on Sunday so we didn’t have to feel rushed to finish by a certain time. A fine food it was and especially doggie friendly. They had a water bowl and biscuits both of which they brought over to the table.

Welcome – Bit of a confusing welcome as there are two golf “clubs” on the same course here – Chingford and Royal Epping Forest. Chingford is the public course and Royal Epping Forest is the members only club and clubhouse that sits adjacent to it. We thought we were contacting the Royal Epping Forest, but the enquiry number goes through to the Chingford booking system. Once there, it became patently clear that dogs were most welcome, and lead free too as long as you kept them under control. Chingford is another parkland course so there are lots of dog walkers about with their dogs (though we didn’t come across any fellow dog golfers) making Rusty and Grace feel right at home.

Walk – The course is a pleasant mildly undulating traipse. A bit of up-and-down and side-to-side makes the ball play a bit tricky with cleanly hit drives rolling down an embankment at times. Grace was delighted at the fun house topography as it put her ball-finding-in-the-rough skills to work (along with the accompanying treat). Furthermore, the course was covered with lots of autumn leaves making even the straight-down-the-fairway drives a chore to find in the shell game of foliage debris.

Water – No real water on the course, but the 9^th hole does finish back at the clubhouse where there is a delightful café serving hot food and a range of cakes and drinks.

Wildlife – Without the lure to waterfowl of water hazards and being quite urban (despite being a ‘forest’ enclave), the wildlife was quite limited to a urban critters – crows, pigeons and squirrels.

Wind Down – What the Kings Head in Chingford lacks in booking ability, it more than makes up for with some exceptional dog friendliness and quite a tasty menu. Travelling a distance for the day, we wanted to make sure we could get a meal. We tried booking from their website, but that facility just creates a “booking request” which says “Thank you for your enquiry, which we have received – but it is not yet confirmed... A member of our team will be in touch with you soon to confirm all your details.” When no member of the team got in touch, I sent a chaser email. The next day, still no response to the email so I called. The manager answered saying she would check it all out an call me in an hour. I waited and hour and half…no call. I called the pub again. No answer. So I left a voice message as requested. A few more hours…no call back. In the end we just took a punt and showed up and they had plenty of space for us. Still a bit disconcerting how disfunctional their communications are especially for a Sunday lunch when places can get booked up.

All was forgiven when we arrived and the place was perfect for Rusty and Grace. They had big dog biscuits at the door, several water bowls which they cheerfully filled and brought to our table. But the piece de la resistance was their special “Doggy Menu” (see below)! We haven’t seen one of these since Sunningdale. Rusty and Grace enjoyed a bonus serving of sausage and carrots, thank you very much. The people food was very nice too as we tucked into a generous Sunday roast with a beef duo (sliced roast beef accompanied by beef rib) with a side of some of the moreish, cheesiest cauliflower cheese we’ve ever had.

Welcome – At the outset we thought that the girls might be a bit out of place at West Essex as a member came up to us at the pro shop and commented on them saying “Well, that a first” (ie. first time seeing someone golf with their dogs). They were quite welcoming and were bemused by our accounts of Grace’s ball finding abilities in the rough. But any concerns were especially allayed when we stopped at the 9^th hole for some extra hydration. Half a dozen members came up to say hi to the pair and comment on how handsome they looked and how well behaved they were.

Walk – I never realized that greater London was so hilly. The first few holes seem as vertical as they are horizontal. Things flatten out mid-course until the rollercoaster starts again towards the end culminating in a crampon-optional summit at the 18^th. One dividend of the nose-bleed elevation are some cracking views of the London skyline in the distance.

Water – Two big water features by the 11^th/14^th and 10^th provide an opportunity for a sip, but also quite a few brooklets run through the course most of which were still flowing with water even with our late August play. The 9^th does circle back to the club house (and halfway hut) so you do get a chance for a refreshment fueled respite.

Wildlife – The wildlife was quite limited. Even the waterfowl on the pond by hole 14 were just decoration models.

Wind Down – It is even harder to find a pub serving dinner on a bank holiday Monday than it is on a midday roast-oriented Sunday. But after calling half a dozen doggie pubs in the area (of course, from DoggiePubs.org.uk), we finally found the The Woodbine in Waltham Abbey on the edge of both Epping Forrest and the M25. Its description there (“Country pub with cask ales, dog friendly and good food”) sort of under-sells it as dos its first impressions. Cosmetically, the pub is a bit tattered with quite a bit of clutter and a hodgepodge of décor. But, when it comes to the fundamentals – food, entertainment, refreshment and beer – it really excels. They seem to have some form of entertainment from jazz singing to psychic readings every night. Their broad array of craft beers was only exceeded by the longest list of ciders and perries I’ve come across at a pub (and the bar had a few dozen varieties of gin to boot). I wouldn’t quite call the food “gastro” as the dishes weren’t especially inventive or trendy. I would call it exceptionally well-prepared pub grub. Probably the best hog roast sandwich (on brioche roll packed with pork, sage stuffing and bramley apple). Lori was delighted to find poblano peppers on the starters menu. But Rusty and Grace were especially appreciative of the extra-attentive service including dog biscuits and a fresh bowl of water brought to the table.

Welcome – Magnolia Park is very happy to have dogs as long as they are kept on a lead (two people mentioned to us that they were welcome when we arrived).

Walk – Back on the Oxford Plain, the walk is leisurely flat. But what it lacks in elevation Magnolia Park adds in distance. A nearly 7k course that the club recommends 4.5 hours to play. The round includes 4 par 5s including topping and tailing your day on the 1^st and 18^th. And 6 of the par 4s are over 400 yards. Chivalrously, the red ties are set 50-100 yards ahead (in fact the red tie round is a half kilometer shorter in length).

Water – Part of being on the low lying plain (versus our more local Chiltern Hills) is that water settles. So Magnolia Park was had plenty of water all around with a couple of small ponds, a couple of big ones and a number of streams. They were not all major hazards as only the 2^nd and 15^th both had green obstructing ponds. The two massive lakes flanked alongside the 1^st and 18^th fairways only cause problems for the most extreme of draws or slices. The hazard in front of hole 2 had steep wooden sides making it inaccessible for a sip by the dogs (as well as a bit dangerous being hard to get out if a creature fell in), but the others all had access points. The course doesn’t return to the clubhouse until the 15^th hole, but there is a halfway hut at the 11^th with water.

Wildlife – Quite minimal and surprisingly little water fowl in the expansive water features.

Wind Down – The Pointer might just be the finest dog friendly pub we have ever visited. It is beyond “gastro” and really more “gourmet” eaterie. And yet its fancy fare doesn’t preclude including your best friend. In fact, dogs are welcome throughout the expansive establishment in either the back garden, pub lounge or dining room(s). Obligatory biscuits and water bowl. Many of the guests were asking about them and reaching out to give them the attention and stroking they adore. But what was one of the most dog-friendly gestures we have ever experienced is that when one of the servers was clearing another table, they passed by our table and asked if our dogs would like the steak scraps that the diners had left on their plate (Grace: “Yes, please!!”).

Welcome – The course is quite restricted in its welcome to canine companions limiting them to weekday evenings after 5:00 pm. Even with a relatively late summer’s sundown, it’s tough to get a full 18 before dark (though the club does offer a very attractive twilight green fee of £29). Still, everyone we bumped into fussed enthusiastically over Rusty and Grace (which they quite enjoyed).

Walk – The course meanders through an entirely flat Thames Valley landscape. While the variety of trees and greenery are pleasing to the eye, the profusion of obstacle from hillocks, bunkers, shrubs and anything else the designer could think of throwing in the path of your approach can be a bit more confounding. That said, for the longer holes, the fairways were groomed as neatly as some greens as other courses.

Wildlife –

Water – The course doesn’t have any bodies of water on the course, but there is a fountain at the 7^th and the 11^th finishes back at the clubhouse for any water pitstops required.

Wind Down – Rather than turning to our trusty DoggiePubs.org.uk, being relatively close to home we knew just the place for a post-round wind down in Sonning – The Coppa Club. Tasty food and very dog friendly (they have dog biscuits, watering bowls AND blanket at the door as you come in). The place is spacious with a huge riverside garden so there is plenty of room for the girls to settle down on their beds (or one of the landlord’s blankets provided). When we arrived, there were lots of dogs around including another (but much younger) pair of Vizslas. The biggest bonus, after playing a late day round in the later hours of a summer’s evening, is that the kitchen serves till quite late. The only problem is that the restaurant is very big (which does make it easier to get a table) and very popular (which means that you should still book to be safe). The combination of these two things plus a limited car park means that it is always hard to find a space at the pub itself. Furthermore, Sonning is a nightmare to park in with no nearby public car parks and very limited street parking (with lots of irritable residents who are happy to get you towed if your parking strays at all from authorized places).

Welcome – As soon as we arrived at Chesham and Ley Hill a few members generously commended Rusty and Grace for looking so winsome. The course is set on parkland whose covenant allows dog walkers to roam freely off-lead. We not only came across other dog walkers, but also another dog golfer with a very attentive golden retriever.

Walk – The 9 hole course is transected by 3 small but busy country roads. You have to cross them a number of times to get to the next hole. So even though the course does not require leads, you might want to have them on hand to help cross the traffic safely or to provide a bit of extra control on holes that run close to the course and you want to be extra careful about your canine caddy straying onto them.

Water – No water hazards to refresh at, but there’s not really much of a need. There’s a handy water tap outside club on the back side to fill the bottles with. And the 5^th tee is right next to the clubhouse so if you run out that quickly, you can refill easily.

Wildlife – The lack of bodies of water and the fairly built up suburban surroundings meant fairly little wildlife to distract or tempt the girls.

Wind Down – The White Hart Inn in Chesham was effusively welcoming to the girls and featured an enclosed beer garden out back which was a great place to dine in the warm summer’s evening and gave them a bit of freedom to wander about without worrying that they would stray somewhere. The food was first rate gastropub quality (the parsnip soup was especially tasty).