Croham Hurst - Surrey - England

Croham is a pleasant old parkland with a few less than memorable holes but enough variety and hills to maintain interest and make it worth a visit.

Greens don’t roll entirely with these slopes, generally they are subtle but there are times when you will leave yourself a 10+ foot second putt if you’re not careful. So I think it would stand up to repeated plays, particularly with how firm golf courses are presently.

There are couple of standout holes, the 10th (first picture) is a downhill par 5 with a blind approach where my lay up went about 80 yards further than planned. If the surly ‘gentleman’ who then threatened me ever reads this (not a CH member)… Please let me know if that was a 7 or 8 you made on the 18th.

Despite this I enjoyed my time at Croham. It is also one of the more accessible Croydon and Surrey courses, not just because they permit weekend visitors but it’s a quick train from London Bridge then one mile walk.

Croydon has a surprising number of good, if similar, golf courses spread around its suburbs, and the course at Croham is typical.

Created over100 years ago, Croham Hurst can best be described as gentle parkland. The fairways between avenues of trees are wide enough, the bunkers challenging if in poor condition, and the greens of a consistently high quality that are true and putt well. In the autumn sunshine today with the leaves on the trees a golden brown, the golf course is a stylish and quiet haven, away from the ever encroaching suburbia of houses and roads that is Croydon.

The holes are good if a little unimaginative and difficult to recall clearly, but sadly the course was very muddy. Autumn to date has been relatively warm and dry, but heavy rain in the last few days has shown up the underlying poor subsoil which hampers adequate drainage.

I particularly liked the difficult two opening holes, the open downhill 9th and the finish from the 15th. There is plenty here to test most golfers and for them to enjoy.

The star of the show however was professional Adam Aram who after ten years in the job has developed a wonderful welcoming style, laced with dry humour. The members of Croham Hurst have an honest, no frills and traditional golf course which probably plays a lot better in dry summer conditions than in the damp in winter-time.

Really pleasant surprise. Given where it is, it’s remarkably peaceful, and the course is decent and in good condition. Some lovely holes. They could do with clearing some shrubs and growth on the edges of the course but tee to green it’s in good nick. It’s fair value too, which is increasingly rare to find now particularly around London. I would happily return, and suspect it’s a few slots too low in the Surrey rankings.

Despite the worse rain ive seen in May for years I thoroughly enjoyed my round at Croham Hurst today. My wife joined me for the first 9 holes and then bailed as the rain didn't give in. A quick change of outfit after the 10th and I was back out and glad I did. The greens were in fantastic condition. Not a long course but very peaceful as not near any major roads. Great value too, I will definitely go back to play in the sun.

Played a number of times during summer and it's a real joy to play, fast greens and lots of undulations make it a really interesting course. The course has a range and good practice areas as well.