West Kent

Club members and Artisans worked hard to establish the position of the fairways and greens, with work parties formed every weekend to restore the course back to its former glory. And it was certainly a course worth bringing back to life as it had been designed in 1925 by Herbert Fowler and John Abercromby, renowned golf course designers at the time.

Both architects had notable individual projects to their name – for instance, Fowler designed Delamere Forest and the two courses at Walton Heath while Abercromby had laid out the first course at The Addington and Worplesdon – but they also collaborated on a number of other designs along with business partners Tom Simpson and Arthur Croome.

Almost a hundred years have passed since the holes were first set out at West Kent, but the original classic layout has changed very little down the years, apart from the growth of the many mature trees that now line the fairways of this rather splendid parkland track. The club has invested heavily in recently with irrigation enhancements, particularly around the greens, and there’s an ongoing programme in place to improve drainage in certain areas.

The modern day layout extends to 6,427 yards from the back tees, playing to a par of 71. Routed across gently undulating terrain, the fairways run in a generally north-south direction, alongside the single runway of London Biggin Hill airport which lies immediately to the west of the property. Once an RAF station, the airfield now services occasional business flights.

There are only two par fives on the card, the 495-yard 7th, doglegging right to a 2-tiered green, and the 551-yard 12th, with out of bounds lurking beyond the putting surface. Both have a low stroke index but they’re eminently birdieable holes. Indeed, the stretch from holes 9 to 12 probably offers the best chance of picking up strokes against par during the round.

The toughest hole on a course isn’t always the obvious one (rated stroke index 1) and many think the 398-yard right doglegged 2nd hole is a difficult beast of a hole to tame, playing uphill as it does all the way from tee to green. Arriving so early in the round, the second of six straight par fours, it’s a hole that can make or break your round so be well prepared for it.