The Addington's warm welcome should be the benchmark for any Top 100 course.
The Addington's warm welcome should be the benchmark for any Top 100 course
It's fair to say that members' golf clubs have a reputation for a certain degree of snobbery and elitism. It's a reputation that's not always wholly justified, but there are certainly plenty of instances where welcomes could be warmer. So it was with a certain degree of trepidation that I walked through the front doors of The Addington.
Located near to Croydon, approximately 10 miles south of central London, The Addington was founded and designed by John Frederick Abercromby in 1914. It's considered one of the UKs top 100 golf courses and ranked inside the world's top 31 by Tom Doak, the American course designer and author of the 'Confidential Guide to Golf Courses'.
I'm delighted to report that the traditional reputation of the stuffy golf club run by unwelcoming individuals couldn't have been further from the truth at The Addington. I was bowled over by the warm welcome received from Brian Green, manning the pro shop at the time, and the general manager on duty, Charlie Barber. Clutching a hot cup of coffee Charlie and Brian went to great lengths to talk me through the course guide, highlighting my best route around the course if I didn't want to play all 18 (it was a wet day). Nothing was too much trouble. Major tick in the box number one.
So, to the course itself. Sadly the day I'd chosen to visit was a particularly grotty one, which meant I probably wasn't going to appreciate the course in its full glory. Charlie had been very upfront at the beginning about which holes he considered the best ones, while not taking away from the quality of the rest. His suggestion, if I wanted to shorten the round, was to start at 6, and if I was only going to play a few, then at the very least to play 12-18. In fact I managed more and I'm delighted to report, I was impressed.
Warm-up
The first isn't exactly a jaw dropping start to the round. A shortish par 3 up the hill from the club house. Having said that it's certainly a good way to warm up the limbs, although hooking the ball off the tee to the left, only to see it ricochet even further left off the gravel path probably isn't exactly how it's intended to be played.
The course guide suggests a decent first shot may be rewarded with a birdie chance, sadly unless I chipped in from the adjacent green I now found myself on (the 5th I think) that was going to be unlikely. A decent enough chip though and then a monster putt from 30ft did at least save my par. The first and last I think, which is why mention of scores are likely to be few and far between in this review!
I could see that the rain clouds were closing in so took Charlie's advice and headed to the 12th. As it happens I got the chance to play 2, 3 and 4 later on (before the rain really started coming down). All excellent holes with their own challenges (never has a course guide been so useful - I'd suggest any first time visitor follows the pro tips to the letter). The twelfth onwards is where the jaw really starts to drop though.
The twelfth itself is a superb par 5 played blind from the tee, with only the course plan (suggesting a tee shot of 200yds down the right) to guide you. For once my golf shot followed my instructions and 200yds down the right it went. The fairway then falls away dramatically from beneath your feet before winding itself back up to an elevated green.
What the course guide didn't say from this pinpoint accurate position though was 'hook your shot left into the heather, take two attempts to get out before finally playing up onto the green'! Still, another monster putt and at least I limited the damage to a bogey. My putting appeared to be on fire, why was no one around to witness it?!
Signature hole
The next hole, the thirteenth, is the one most at The Addington would regard as their signature hole. And wow, what a hole. A par 3 that requires a driver from the whites, your shot is played across what can only be described as a ravine. It's a beautiful spot to take your tee shot from. That is until you try to take the skin off the ball in an effort to reach green (240 yards away) in one, and end up, instead, hooking your drive into the trees on the left. Oh dear. The hole suddenly lost its appeal.
The fourteenth's a great hole for being able to take a straight forward lash at the ball, with a fair amount of space to the right to accommodate my usual fade (for 'fade' read 'slice'). From there a decent 8 iron landed me on the back of the green and two putt netted me my second par of the day (I lied earlier - 2 pars, hooray!).
My par wasn't the only thing of note on that hole - as I putted out I heard an unmistakable voice to my right shout 'busy day?' from his golf cart. It was only Ronnie Corbett. Apparently a member at The Addington for the best part of 45 years Mr Corbett has lived in not one but two of the grand houses that flank a couple of the fairways. If it's good enough for Ronnie C then it's certainly good enough for me.
The fifteenth is another good hole (I didn't play a bad one to be honest) but the sixteenth is the next hole of note.
It was at this point that Mr Corbett and his playing partner were kind enough to stop for a chat. Ronnie and his friend, a club pro from Ramsgate, were very happy to talk me through the virtues of the course, they were both big fans. Ronnie was only mildly agitated that he hadn't been able to find a clear spot on the course yet (he didn't seem to have much interest in playing the holes in order). And, while by no means congested, The Addington was certainly pretty popular for a Tuesday. A good sign of a quality course perhaps.
Final flourish
The eighteenth at The Addington makes for a good finish. Not the most challenging in terms of its layout, it does however feel a good deal longer than its 432 yards (from the whites) would suggest. Although it doesn't look dramatically elevated, the green is certainly uphill requiring at least one club more than you'd think. And then there's the green. With the pin located on the front left anything hit beyond it requires a surgeon-like touch to judge the weight back down the gentle slope correctly. It doesn't look much but even at my second attempt (unable to believe how far my ball had travelled off my putter the first time) I still managed to send it racing off the green!
The members too seemed very friendly, and without exception were welcoming. Of course there's the usual dress code and mobile phone clamp-down but personally I rather like that. I'm only 32 so not exactly an old man but if I wanted to be surrounded by jeans and t-shirts I'd be at work!
There are currently approximately 300 full members at The Addington, that's up from 150 five years ago. Charlie explained the balance is difficult to get right, of course the current members would like lower fees and fewer members - the commercial reality, unfortunately, prevents you from having both. The fees aren't cheap, around £2350 per year, but 300 members seem very happy to pay it, and I can understand why. The club would like to increase its membership to around 350-375, and are currently waiving the joining fee in an effort to do so.
The course guide describes The Addington as a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. It's certainly a gem, personally I'm not so sure it's that hidden. I've a feeling Ronnie Corbett would agree with both sentiments.
