1. sms316 | Rated | 15 Dec 2011 | Add A Review

The course is decent enough. But the current 4 star rating is a joke.

Plenty of holes with doglegs will force driver out of your hand and the lack of subtlety shows up after a while. The drive on the 1st is interesting – a straight away par 5 with OOB all the way down the left. If you have a history of losing drives left your sphincter will tighten considerably.

It is good for the price, but surely that cannot be reason alone to rate it so highly (not to mention the member blindly giving it 5 stars a couple of times to pump up the rating).

2. q-tip | Rated | 10 Sep 2011 | Add A Review

Here an unbiased review…measures 5679m Par 70 with five par 3s ranging from 127-197m, ten par 4s ranging from 294-418m and three par 5s ranging from 455-476m.

Course has a flat short-medium sized tree-lined layout which I found a tad boring. There are legends couch grass teebeds and fairways in good condition with rye grass on the green surrounds and in the rough. The medium-large sized bent grass greens are smooth and quick. There are 34 bunkers with only 2 bunkerless holes on the entire course – the 366m straight 15th (index 4) and the 197m 17th (index 9) with its island teebed.

All greens will be converted to G1 bent grass greens like the 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 11th are already now within the next 5 years.

Highlights include: the 340m straight 3rd (index 8) with 2 fairway bunkers on the left about 190m and 220-230m off the tee with an OOB fence far left and a shallow but wide green guarded by 2 bunkers; the 397m slight dogleg right 6th (index 3) to a fairway that opens up on the left to a green guarded by a bunker short; the 418m slight dogleg left Par 4 7th (index 1) with the longest green on the course guarded by a bunker short left; the 377m straight 10th (index 2) with a front-sloping green guarded by 3 bunkers; the 455m 14th (index 7) doglegs 45 degrees to the left from 200m off the tee with short trees and the 11th fairway quite tempting to have a lash off the tee with bunker 30m short right of the green guarded by 3 bunkers – probably the pick of the par 5s. The short 294m straight 18th (index 1) has a pond on the right from 30-110m short of the green guarded by the 9th green’s double bunker on the rightside.

The layout is ok, with the 6th green returning the proshop and the 9th and 18th greens in front of the clubhouse but there is no variation in topography.

Also, SIX out of the ten par 4s are less than 340m in length, and I did not find the course challenging even from the back plates on their club championship day where the pin placements are supposed to be the hardest.

Played here on 4th September 2011 with current fees of $32 social green fees on weekends and $27 social weekday green fees. Open competitions for non-members are $25 to play on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Howlong has around 2200 people about halfway between Albury and Corowa along the Riverina Highway. Course access is on Golf Club Road which is off Read Street from Hawkins Street about 1km east of the town centre on the way to Albury. Overall, a very well conditioned course with lovely bent grass greens with consistent speed and roll.

3. GPJ_Longdriver | Rated | 04 Jan 2011 | Add A Review

Played Howlong a few times recently over the week between xmas and new year, (on a stay and play package) and I must admit to really enjoying it. The course has designed to be a fair test of one’s skills, despite it being a very flat layout. Holes of various lengths of each par level, only light rough and receptive greens, help to make the round enjoyable, and get uyou using all your clubs, not just driver and wedges like some courses.

Some of it’s fairways aren’t overly wide and with the odd dogleg hole tossed in, positioning the tee shot is at a premium. Howlong is more a course to plot your way around, rather than bomb your way around, so if you manage that, you will reap the rewards.

The course condition itself at the moment is firm and green, and with very good fairways that provide a little bit of run. Bunkers have just the perfect amount of sand, they’re not beaches, and they’re not bare either, so a well played bunker shot should see you close to the pin. At the moment, locusts are pretty well everywhere along the murray in their millions, and Howlong is no exception. Brooms have in fact provided on each green in order to clear your path of these little crunchy buggers before you putt (Mallet style putters also come in handy for this) but they’re not too bad.

The greens themselves are playing true and while gently sloping, offer a reasonable amount of confidence when standing over your putt.

Howlong has a small but good pro shop (the latest titleist drivers are available at the moment) and being a country club, it has a very good clubhouse with restaurant, bar, pokies, and an outdoor undercover area, which is a great place to sit and have a drink whilst watching the sun set over the course. Accomodation is available at the course itself, and while not 5 star, it is reasonable, and you can’t get any closer to the first tee. You also get drinks vouchers if you’re on aplay and stay package which come in very handy.

There are no doubt though, other courses along the murray which are better known, but Howlong has a relaxed country feel to it, and it’s in great condition, so if you’re in the area give it a go. If you’re a half decent golfer, or even a "once in a while" golfer, you’ll certainly enjoy your round.

4. sire_of_spin | Rated | 22 Oct 2009 | Add A Review

Its been a while since i have played at Howlong, but from what I remember, its a great little course. I agree with what has been said so far, as the greens and tees are looked after very well. The greens are a fair size, coupled with hitting short irons to most holes leads to lots of greens in regulation. So if you putter is working well, expect to have a great score and walk away happy.

Credit must go to the course staff and pro shop as everyone there was friendly and do a great job.

I will definitely be lining up a game when in the area next.

PROS

• Maintained well
• Cheap
• Friendly staff

Cons

• Short
• Flat

5. striped_it | Rated | 16 Feb 2008 | Add A Review

Howlong is one of the best kept secrets along the Murray River. It’s not the longest course you will find, but it is one of the tightest driving courses I have played. Always in great condition, with large greens, that are generally very fast due to the work of their excellent greens staff. This course tends to surprise most good players as shooting an under-par score here is no easy task. Some of the very large pine & gum trees have been removed over the last few years, making the course much fairer than it was 6 or 7 years ago. A must play.

6. hendo1 | Rated | 23 Feb 2007 | Add A Review

As a beginner, I look for course that will help me progress with enough challenges to get me thinking like a good golfer. Howlong is it for me. Short, flat but with some awkward moments, I highly recommend it for all golfers, but especially those wishing to feel good at the end of a round

7. ian430 | Rated | 30 Mar 2006 | Add A Review

cheaper than corowa sorry.

8. ian430 | Rated | 30 Mar 2006 | Add A Review

this being my home course i felt i should try to upgrade it from the rating it now has. Howlong is a beautiful course, flat, not exceptionally long but with more than enough distance for a significant challenge for golfers of all handicaps. The first is a straight par 5 that runs along a fence and often enough you may find yourself out of bounds. the first three holes all run along a fenceline and staying in bounds here is the key to a good score. stay out of the tree line for once you are in there there is vey little option but to chip out. Standout hole is for me the 418m par 4 7th. a huge challenge it doglegs slighltly to the left and a par here is like a birdie on most other par 4's going around. truly an awesome country course near the murray river and is 6 times as cheap for membership ( just $55) as other murray courses such as yarrawonga and Howlong.

9. burstock94 | Rated | 29 Mar 2005 | Add A Review

Over Easter 2005 we decided to journey up from melb to play Howlong and visit the near by Rutherglen region.

The course was in very good condition, with the tee boxes and fairways in particular in great order. Disappointingly, non repaired pitch marks left the greens in not such good repair, especially as you would expect, on the par 3's.

Overall the course is easy to navigate, it's fairwys replying more on dolegs and vegitation than rises and dips. One disappointment however is that the 2md is a par 3, which on the day we played, was causing a slight backlog after the opening par 5.

The clubhouse is functional without being acceptional. Howvere overall Howlong is excellent value for money, it is the chaepest course on the Murray at $13.50/ $20 respectively and is worth the visit and experience.