About us
Golf without the gatekeeping
The Hertsmere is a family friendly golf venue at Elstree, twenty minutes from London and just inside the M25. It was Radlett Park Golf Club until 2021, when new owners took it on and started putting the work in. You can turn up, pay for the golf you play, and you do not have to join anything to do it.
Our vision
The home of family golf, twenty minutes from London
We want to be the home of family golf in Hertfordshire and North West London. (The name is said "Harts-meer", after the borough.) There is no waiting list to get past and no sense you have to earn your place before you play, just clear prices and a tee you can book without filling in a form about who proposed you. That is what we mean by golf without the gatekeeping.Underneath all of that is a Donald Steel parkland course from 1986, with streams and ponds he worked into the back nine. Around it now sit a 26-bay Toptracer range, PGA coaching, Srixon custom fitting, and Script, a restaurant you can book without ever picking up a club. Come for any one of them. Most people end up back for the others.
1984 to today
From Elstree to The Hertsmere
Three names, one piece of Hertfordshire parkland. Forty years in seven chapters.
Elstree · 1984–1999
Chapter I · Elstree · 1984–1999
Ownership passed to London Golf & Leisure in 1987; trees were planted to define every hole, more land was bought, and by 1992 the course had stretched to around 6,500 yards.
1984
Nine holes at Elstree
Elstree Golf Club opens: a nine-hole parkland course with a small building of its own. The original owners were architects, and they drew both the course and the building themselves.
1984
1984
Drawn by its owners
The first course layout and the original building came off the same drawing boards.
- Holes
- 9
- Name
- Elstree GC
Drawn by its owners
The first course layout and the original building came off the same drawing boards.
- Holes
- 9
- Name
- Elstree GC
1986
Donald Steel walks the land
Steel redesigns and extends the course to eighteen holes; ponds and streams are brought into play on the back nine, where they still decide matches today. A fifteen-bay floodlit range is built the same season.
1986
1986
Eighteen holes, water in play
The same streams and ponds Steel routed still shape every scorecard on the back nine.
- Holes
- 9 → 18
- Range
- 15 bays
Eighteen holes, water in play
The same streams and ponds Steel routed still shape every scorecard on the back nine.
- Holes
- 9 → 18
- Range
- 15 bays
Chapter II · Radlett Park · 2000–2020
Through the nineties the original building grew a function room, conservatories and offices; the venue matured with it.
2000
The Cottrell years
The Cottrell family buys the venue at the turn of the millennium and holds it for two decades.
2000
2000
Two decades, one family
- Owners
- Cottrell family
- Held
- 20 years
Two decades, one family
- Owners
- Cottrell family
- Held
- 20 years
c. 2011
A new name and a new building
Elstree becomes Radlett Park. Water hazards grow on the 11th and 17th, the 18th gets a three-tier green, and a new main building opens: the one Script now calls home.
c. 2011
c. 2011
The building Script calls home
The building from this era is the one that was reborn as Script Restaurant & Bar.
- Name
- Radlett Park
- Main building
- New build
The building Script calls home
The building from this era is the one that was reborn as Script Restaurant & Bar.
- Name
- Radlett Park
- Main building
- New build
Chapter III · The Hertsmere · 2020 →
New owners arrive in December 2020 with a simple idea: golf without the gatekeeping.
2020
New owners, new idea
Ownership changes in December 2020. The venue reopens after lockdown at the end of March 2021 as pay and play, tee times booked online, and is astonished by the demand in its first season.
2020
2020
Pay and play, from day one
No waiting list, no proposer. Book a tee time online and turn up.
- Model
- Pay & play
- Reopened
- March 2021
Pay and play, from day one
No waiting list, no proposer. Book a tee time online and turn up.
- Model
- Pay & play
- Reopened
- March 2021
2021
The Hertsmere
Renamed after the borough in December 2021, with the words Golf and Club consciously removed so non-golfers know they are welcome. The rebuilt range opens on 1 December: twenty-six bays, every one with Toptracer, over £300,000 invested.
2021
2021
A name without "Golf Club" in it
Named after the borough, and built so a family night out counts as much as a medal round.
- Bays
- 26 · Toptracer
- Invested
- £300k+
A name without "Golf Club" in it
Named after the borough, and built so a family night out counts as much as a medal round.
- Bays
- 26 · Toptracer
- Invested
- £300k+
Today
Open to everyone
The Srixon Centre of Excellence follows in 2022, the refurbished main building and Script restaurant in 2023. Eighteen holes, par 72, across 180 acres with public footpaths, working towards GEO sustainability certification, open seven days a week. Membership is Flexi, our own points-based idea: buy a pot of points from £300 a year, with no joining fee, and spend them only on the rounds you actually play.
Today
Today
One venue, every experience
Course, range, fitting and Script, and you do not have to join anything to use any of it.
- Par
- 72 · 6,376 yds
- 4.4 (385)
One venue, every experience
Course, range, fitting and Script, and you do not have to join anything to use any of it.
- Par
- 72 · 6,376 yds
- 4.4 (385)
In a nutshell we want our facilities to become a family friendly destination for all to enjoy.
What we stand for
Five things we hold to
They are why a first-timer on the range and a single-figure golfer on the first tee both feel like they belong here.
- 01
Be inclusive
Be inclusive
There is no waiting list, no closed door, and no dress-code interrogation. Book a tee and turn up, the same as anyone else.
- 02
Be supportive
Be supportive
You will get to know Karen on the front desk and the team in the pro shop by name, and they will get to know yours. From a first lesson to a custom fitting, someone here is on your side.
- 03
Be accessible
Be accessible
Twenty minutes from London, just inside the M25, with over 250 free parking spaces. Prices are on the page. Pay only for the golf you actually play.
- 04
Be appealing
Be appealing
A parkland course visitors keep coming back to, a 26-bay Toptracer range people rate as one of the best around, and a restaurant worth the drive on its own.
- 05
Be excellent
Be excellent
Since 2021 we have rebuilt the range, the main building, the custom fitting and Script. Reviewers say the place has improved enormously. We are not finished.
Range, course and table, on one site
The people
The people you will get to know
Read the reviews and the same names keep coming up. Karen will probably be the first voice you hear on the front desk. Gad runs the bar, Abdul keeps golf operations moving, and Filipe looks after Script.The welcome is what reviewers mention most, and it is the bit we are proudest of. First round or hundredth, it is the same.
4.4
Google rating (385 reviews)
26
Toptracer bays
18
Holes, par 72
Improved enormously over the last few years.
About The Hertsmere: your questions
The Hertsmere is pronounced "Harts-meer" (it sounds like Hartsmere), after the borough of Hertsmere in Hertfordshire. The venue is at Elstree, near Borehamwood and Radlett, just inside the M25.
Come and see for yourself
The best way to get us is to turn up
Play a round, hit a bucket on the Toptracer range, or book a table at Script. No membership needed to do any of it.