Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club
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About Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club
Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club in Sussex is home to two superb and varied 18 hole courses. They are both more than 100 years old and are very different in their approach to the game.
Famous for having no bunkers, Royal Ashdown enjoys a reputation as a true test of golf with its natural hazards of heather, narrow fairways, hollows and streams.
The Old Course at Royal Ashdown Forest in Sussex is rated 39 in the top 100 golf courses in the United Kingdom. It is an exacting challenge.
An example comes early in the game when you face the island sixth. Then there’s the 11th where you stand on an elevated tee with glorious views of the North Downs and stare down at a 249 yard par 3.
Royal Ashdown’s West Course was transformed into 18 holes in 1932 in time to host the English Ladies Championship, the same year that the Ladies Golf Club was given Royal status in its own right.
While the Old Course glories in its heathland setting, the West Course is surrounded by lovely woodland with ample heather.
A championship course in its own right, today the challenge lies, not in length, but in the demand for accuracy and course management. Golf writer Frank Pennink's belief that the West Course could equal the repute of the Old, in a different way, is now a reality as more discover its charm. It's a true test of golf.
- Stay at the nearby luxury Ashdown Park Hotel with its own 18 hole course
- Trolleys
- Buggies
- Club Hire
- Driving Range
- Play alongside Piltdown Golf Club
Our take
Not a single bunker on the property, yet Royal Ashdown Forest sits inside the UK's top 40, which tells you how well the heather, hollows and streams defend it.
- Serious golfersA rare study in defending par without sand. Heather, narrow fairways and streams do all the work, and the Old Course's top-40 ranking is deserved; anyone who cares about course design tends to leave a little obsessed.
- Higher handicapsThe heather is not decoration. Miss these narrow fairways and you are chipping out sideways all afternoon, so a wayward driver makes for a long day. Straight and modest beats long and hopeful here.
- SocietiesTwo courses on one site, each over a hundred years old and very different in character, make a proper 36-hole day simple to arrange, with no travel between the morning and afternoon rounds.
Tell us who’s coming and how you like to play, and we’ll shape the right trip around you.
The course at a glance
English Ladies Championship host
WHERE TO STAY
Places to stay while you play Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club
Base yourself near the course — every venue here includes Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club in your golf holiday.
Tap a hotel to open it, or zoom in on the satellite view to see how close each one sits to the first tee.
Where to stay while you play Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club
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The Griffin Inn
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