Addington Palace Golf Club

The residence for six Archbishops of Canterbury between 1805 and 1883, the grand old manor house at Addington Palace is now a wedding venue, corporate function centre and extensive health club, complete with a number of accommodation units. Within the grounds of the Palace’s large estate, a golf course was laid out by J.H. Taylor and Fred Hawtree for the newly formed golf club back in 1931.

Today, the course extends to just over 6,400 yards, playing to a par of 71, with fairways laid out over a rolling landscape. The front nine appears a little tighter as many of the holes are lined with birch, oak and fir trees whilst the back nine has more of an open parkland feel to it.

The 439-yard uphill 2nd (“Gladings Folly”) is deemed the most difficult hole on the front nine, doglegging uphill right to the green, whilst the 438-yard 10th (“Lime Tree”) attracts the lowest stroke index on the back nine, again playing uphill to a green that’s heavily bunkered on the right.

Signature hole status on the course is accorded to “Cedar Tree,” the 388-yard 14th, which doglegs right to the target. An accurate drive is required to find the flat portion of the fairway on this hole before playing an approach to the heavily contoured green.

Hole 3 is named after four time-Open winner Bobby Locke, who often based himself here when he was competing in the British Isles. A renowned brilliant putter in his day, the South African would surely have approved the excellent greens that are in play today at Addington Palace.