Addington Palace Golf Club

Addington Palace GC is a members club located in Addington, on the outskirts of Croydon, Surrey. (I pass by it every time I travel to Cherry Lodge).

The club was founded in 1930 and was designed and laid out by Fred Hawtree and JH Taylor (5 times Open Champion).

The course is set up in the grounds of Addington Palace, the previous home of Archbishops of Canterbury, is made up of demanding holes meandering through wooded glades and picturesque parkland.

The course is a par 71, 6,072 yards from the visitors yellow tees. The SSS is 70. There are 4 par 3s, 11 par 4s and 3 par 5s.

The course opens with a medium length uphill par 3 and finishes with a tough (also uphill) par 5. Among the remaining 16 holes there are challenging tee shots in terms of slopes, long blind carries, bunkers and ditches. There is a mixture of very tight targets and more generous landing areas.

Many of the greens are raised so club selection/distance control is crucial. The greens are generally large and undulating, run true but are tricky paced. I managed a couple of chip-in pitch and run type shots to help me on the way!

This was the first time I've played the course though I've often stopped here and had breakfast over the years. Their catering is good and reasonably priced! There is a good ambience about the club!

A factor behind not playing there before is that their midweek visitor green fee is too high at £55.00, though reduced to £30.00 after 4pm. On this occasion I played as a member's guest (also a fellow Cherry Lodge member), at £30. This is a very good vfm rate but I wouldn't pay the full visitors rate.

This is a very good challenging course but it is too hilly/slopey for my liking to want to play it more that the occasional game. While the challenge is tougher for us short/medium hitters, with a bit of course knowledge and control, it is scoreable! Play it if you can get a good green fee rate!

The Addington Palace is a well established and mature parkland golf course. Clever use hasbeen made of the geography here and tight holes with uneven lies are the order of the day. It would be unusual to be hitting 2nd and 3rd shots from a level lie. Some magnificent elevation changes make this course a difficult walking course. Shame then that the club imposed a three-ball maximum on visitors. Locals were a bit 'protective' and whilst the overall welcome was friendly I got the impression that non-members were merely tolerated...

This is a course that need two or three visits (or local knowledge) before you can get to grips with it.

Most holes were interesting, lots of variety. Course was well maintained and in general good order... Wildlife abounds (foxes, deer, amongst the usual mix...)

Food was good, service with a smile. Car parking adequate although you need to watch out for the signs off the main road. The treat is the practice putting green in the converted stableyard...

This is not a level course... but nonetheless a good test of skills and course management.