Troon Links - Darley

First time playing this course, completely different to the other two Troon courses; Lochgreen and Fullarton,
Staff were great at check in as always, excellently kept fairways and greens, a few of them had been aerated but can only expect this at this time of year.
Lots of tight fairways and undulation with very little room for error and definitely a course suited for the advanced player. Many adjacent fairways cannot be seen due to the undulations of the landscape.
It wasn’t busy by any means, I played in the early afternoon and couldn’t see anyone less than 5 holes ahead of me.
My only annoyance was the amount of dog walkers, the majority of them kept to the side of the fairways but given how tight they were it was still enough to annoy me. It felt like every hole between 3 - 17 I was meeting another dog walker and waiting for them to clear. Then on the 17 an entire school of children (including teachers) cut across the side of the fairway and many children were standing in the green so I had to wait for the to move, then again a group of kids walking down the 18th fairway.
On the whole, a very nice course, and in the grand scheme of things I only had to wait a total of 10 minutes for people to move the entire 18 holes so nothing major, just minor annoyances that the club can’t really do much about.

Played the Darley Course as an alternative to my own inland course which has been wet all winter. Course was quiet and we played at our own pace and enjoyed the layout of the course and more importantly the dry conditions and superb greens for this time of the year. Played off temporary tees which is not ideal, but understandable. We had a great time, helped by the sunshine and the condition of the course, definitely recommend playing here and will do again.
Nice clubhouse and welcome from the staff.

Very good considering the amount of play throughout the year

I have played the darley for many years and I have loved playing it .over that last couple of years there has been transformation on many holes making the course more enjoyable to the golfer. However with this transformation ,to waste areas from gorse, it has become very shabby and untidy .The waste areas are great however a shame there are deep footprints and animal footprints all over the place. A shame as I love the course and welcome the change

The Darley is a great golf course. Layout is excellent. Unfortunately the greens were very hairy and bumpy. With a bit more care on the greens I would have been visiting a lot in the future. As it is I will be exploring other options first. The staff on reception I found to be very cheeky and slightly rude. They didn't welcome us just rather rudely asked us who we were and where we thought we were going. I explained I had a tee time and not much else was said. I had to ask about cards and where and when I had to go to tee off. I would expect a bit better at any place I was playing as a visitor. The clubhouse was excellent. Food and drinks were good and services and facilities superb.
So much potential to be getting 5 star reviews here. A wee haircut for the greens and a bit of customer service from reception and we would have been very happy golfers. As it was we left thinking what might have been.

Layout and condition only marked down due to heavy frost, meaning winter greens and tees.
From what I could see normal tee areas and greens in mint condition, definitely coming back when tees and greens on, exceptional value for your money.

Off the course, from starter to cafe, staff very friendly and welcoming, food excellent from cafe.

We have played Darley lots of times over the years and love the layout. However this time the greens were basically a joke and totally un-puttable as they were extremely heavy. In fact on some holes the fairways leading up to the greens had less grass than the greens. We also didn't find out till we got to the course that 'winter tees' were in operation. I use the term tee very loosely as it was basically on the fairway with slopes going in all directions, some long grass and some just mud. Something like the tees should be highlighted by Golf Now when you book. Biggest disappointment was the greens though! Normally my go to winter course as it's usually full greens and tees, but it appears not anymore.

Darley has been changed over the last few years and for the better in my eyes. The fairways as always have a low of rabbit holes/scrapings but course layout makes your mind drift away from fairway conditions

The course is a lovely course, a really good and tricky layout. Combining a links with a heathland feel, unfortunately the greens had been treated but to be fair it wasn’t a massive surprise considering the time of year.

In the summer time when it’s firm I can imagine it’s pretty tricky and lots of bump and runs into the greens definitely required

The starter although trying his best to accommodate myself failed to say that extensive greens maintenance was under way and 15 greens were core tined and sanded. Considering that both Lochgreen and Fullarton were not busy had this been pointed out to me I would have opted for either of the other two courses as they were not getting necessary work done on the day I played.

This was my first time playing this track and it was great, greens, fairways were amazing. I’m 110% going back to this course again very soon and I’m sure I will play the other courses they have there too.

Really impacted by two things.

The pace of play was so slow that three groups walked off behind me after 13 holes

Holes 12-16 are right next to a high school which empties into these holes at lunchtime. There were literally kids everywhere

Course itself is fantastic. Good challenging holes and in great condition. But won’t return due to the above