The Addington

Overview: The Addington is a wooded Surrey heathland course on the hills above Croydon. Its par 69 layout measures about 6,300 yards and uses steep slopes, ravines, sandy ground and heather to create a compact sequence of demanding shots. The course is less about length than about finding the right side of ridges, hollows and elevated greens.

History: J.F. Abercromby developed the project with Harry Colt, and the course was officially opened on 18 October 1919. The collaboration is unusual because it joined Abercromby's design ideas with Colt's architectural practice. After wartime occupation and the loss of the New Course, the surviving course later became overgrown before a restoration programme began in 2020 under Clayton, DeVries and Pont.

Did You Know? The original clubhouse was destroyed by fire in 1952, taking the club's records and trophies with it. A few years earlier, in 1937, King George VI granted royal patronage to the club, which was informally known as Royal Addington for a period.