The 4th on The Addington
The Addington began life in 1913 as a premium heathland course, 10 miles south of central London, just to the east of Croydon. It adjoins Addington Palace Golf Club and is close to Addington Court Golf Club, however it has always been the best of the trio and is an iconic venue bristling with history and bathed in charm.
In 2006, the Addington was acquired by the Altonwood Group, which is owned by the Noades family. The late Ron Noades, who was chairman of Crystal Palace and Brentford football clubs, had a vision to create a string of high quality golf courses in and around the Surrey stretch of the M25. The Altonwood Group now comprises the Addington, Surrey National, Westerham, Woldingham and Godstone Golf Clubs.
With the Addington’s rich history and clear golfing pedigree, Ron’s son, Ryan Noades, is now spearheading a comprehensive revival of the Addington Golf Club. This includes a complete overhaul of course, clubhouse and maintenance facilities. The course, which was originally a heathland style, had suffered over the years from the ingress of many mature trees. It was decided, after much discussion with course architects Clayton Devries Pont to put the course back to its original heathland splendour. There is still much work to do, but the transformation of the Addington is quite clear for all to see. Dramatic views across London and the Surrey hills make a dramatic backdrop for the gorgeous holes. The greens, tees and playing surfaces are all in better condition now that they can benefit from more natural light and air. Despite the haircut, the course is still tough to play and a challenge for any level of golfer.
The existing clubhouse, which is on a single level and adjacent to Shirley Church Road, is due to be rebuilt and hopefully relocated to take advantage of a more central location within the complex.
Mike Clayton, a former tour player from Australia is part of the architectural team leading the adjustments to the Addington. Golf Features caught up with him recently:
“The Addington is a truly remarkable course - wild, bold, great fun to play and it perfectly captures the essence and spirit of early 20th century English golf. It had been overrun by trees through what we can best describe as “benign neglect”, but restoring the intent of the original Abercromby design has been a passion of Ryan’s and a joy for Clayton Devries Pont to be a part of restoring one of golf’s great treasures.”
The course is a challenging test with a yardage of 6,300 off the back tees and a par of 69, which might suggest a simple test, but The Addington is far from it: it unusually features six par threes and is a fiendishly tough track to conquer, with a course rating of 71.6.
Despite the reduction in trees, there are plenty of hazards to challenge golfers of all standards - it is undulating, so buggies are available for those that find walking more difficult: in the long run Ryan hopes that buggies will be limited just to those who only need them for medical reasons. He elaborates:
“Our vision is to restore the course back to its original strategic design. Wider fairways, reclaiming lost green areas, shorter grass, lean heather roughs, reinstating lost playing lines and angles. Reversing so many years of neglect takes a lot of work. So much change can often be contentious. We work very closely with our architects, CDP, to ensure we restore the course in the most authentic way possible, while communicating that vision to the membership and ensuring they’re brought along and understand all the reasons behind the changes. We’re fortunate to have an amazing group of members, who are fully in support of the project and have embraced the vision. The course has such an excellent pedigree and it’s such a superb location, so close to London, the sky’s the limit.”
The club is moving towards a more private membership model, but, for the moment, still offers playing opportunities to visiting golfers.
The Early Days
It all began on July 10th 1913, when Addington Golf Syndicate Ltd was incorporated with an initial share capital of £1,000. Leading the way was South African born John Frederic Abercromby, a former member of the Stock Exchange. He had become private secretary to the owner of Bridley Manor, who instructed him to build a course. Though a top class golfer who played off a handicap of plus six, Abercromby was a relative amateur in course design. With the aid of the experienced Willie Park Junior, however, he made an impressive start by building Worplesdon and Coombe Hill before he took on The Addington. He subsequently stayed on as a chairman from 1919 to his death in 1935.
During this time, the club went on to become so popular that, between the two World Wars, a second 18 holes were opened in 1923. The opening of the second course was met with great excitement, and leading stars of the day, including James Braid, Percy Alliss and Abe Mitchell, played a match just before the formal opening.
In the glory years, between 1919 and 1939, there were 800 members, of whom 200 were women, and it was said: “You could count those who did not come in their Rolls Royces on the fingers of one hand.” Indeed, there was even a chauffeurs’ hut next to the caddies’ hut.
Its distinction was underlined when King George VI became a patron in 1937, leading to it becoming temporarily known as Royal Addington. The celebrated author PG Wodehouse was a member in the inter-war years and his love of the game was illustrated when he signed the preface to Heart of a Goof as P.G. Wodehouse, c/o the sixth bunker, Addington.
Later, in the 1950’s, Henry Longhurst, the doyen of BBC golf commentators, included the 13th and 16th holes in his book My Perfect Course. Of the club’s signature hole, the dramatic 230 yard par three 13th he eulogised: “I swear it to be, with the exception of the fifth at Pine Valley, the greatest one-shot hole in inland golf.”
Two serious events were to end the early halcyon days. During World War Two, the New Course was appropriated for military purposes and in 1948 Croydon Corporation recommended it for compulsory purchase to alleviate a housing shortage.
The second blow to hit The Addington came on the night of February 2nd 1952, when a blaze destroyed the entire clubhouse, and with it all the treasured records and trophies, plus no fewer than 2,000 golf clubs.
Today though, it is heading back towards its most glorious condition.
Golf Features will return to cover the progress of this remarkable venue.
For more details, please visit: https://addingtongolf.com/