New membership options Addington palace

[James.mcgee]

Hi every one

I got back into golf after a 20 year hiatus at the end of 2022 and im now looking in to membership options. I played almost weekly last year at public pay n play course and im now scoring low 90s and had a couple rounds in the high 80s. Ive played most of the course local to me in crystal palace and narrowed it down to addington palace as its the layout i prefer most of all the surrounding courses and ticks the boxes geographically and financially.
My question is, can anyone comment on what the club is like for members, pariculary for a high handicapper looking to get involved in roll ups etc.

Thanks in advance

 

[Bratty]

Only thing I know for a fact about Addington Palace is the greens were in a shocking state mid last year and the concern was they may never recover. A lot of high praise for it as a members course, but be sure to check the greens before joining.
Picture and more details can be found here:

Golf Clubs South London

Hi all, I have fairly recently moved to Kennington, London, and trying to decide which golf club would be best to join. I am happy to be fairly flexible on price without it being ridiculous; I also drive and closest course is around 35/40 mins on a good run so happy to look up to around 50...

forums.golfmonthly.com

 

[James.mcgee]

Only thing I know for a fact about Addington Palace is the greens were in a shocking state mid last year and the concern was they may never recover. A lot of high praise for it as a members course, but be sure to check the greens before joining.
Picture and more details can be found here:

Golf Clubs South London

Hi all, I have fairly recently moved to Kennington, London, and trying to decide which golf club would be best to join. I am happy to be fairly flexible on price without it being ridiculous; I also drive and closest course is around 35/40 mins on a good run so happy to look up to around 50...

forums.golfmonthly.com

Thanks bratty, yeah i heard about the greens. I played there in october around the time the greens went bad and i have been told they are recovering. However, ill wait untill spring amd go look for myself before committing to a membership. The greens issue is a real shame.

 

[Oddsocks]

@James.mcgee , it depends what you’re after from a club. Being in selsdon I know most of the clubs well, some have great atmospheres and some have great layouts.

What’s more important?

 

[James.mcgee]

@Oddsocks Thanks, layout and friendliness to new comers but the social side of things is not as important to me. I also like to play Saturday/sunday mornings.

 

[Oddsocks]

In my current experience.

Farleigh (currently a member),
Very welcoming to newbies and a consistent swindle on Saturday / Sundays when there is no comp. However the course is exceptionally busy and unless you enter a comp or the swindles it’s almost impossible to get a tee time. This is the main reason I’m leaving after being there 12 years. It’s a shame as the course dries well and is in great condition. Best clubhouse in the area both facility and atmosphere wise. Just too much pay and play traffic.

Croham
I was a member there aflyer covid for 18months and it was pretty good, plenty of swindles that were welcoming and the club integrated new members with inter club matches etc well. Clubhouse lacked the atmosphere though.

Palace,
I loved the layout and condition and the group I played a trial round with were very nice. Members only at weekends with guests after 11.30 kept course traffic to a minimum. Again the clubhouse lacked a bit of atmosphere but my trial was mid week. Like you I’m curious as to the recovery of the greens as this was top of the list for April.

Shirley park.
Played there loads as a kid and in a club match in 2022 the course has seen investment. I have a trial round there this Sunday as I know this is a club with a great social side and very welcoming members. Be aware they are introducing a membership fee as of June 1st which is going to be between £500-750.

 

[James.mcgee]

In my current experience.

Farleigh (currently a member),
Very welcoming to newbies and a consistent swindle on Saturday / Sundays when there is no comp. However the course is exceptionally busy and unless you enter a comp or the swindles it’s almost impossible to get a tee time. This is the main reason I’m leaving after being there 12 years. It’s a shame as the course dries well and is in great condition. Best clubhouse in the area both facility and atmosphere wise. Just too much pay and play traffic.

Croham
I was a member there aflyer covid for 18months and it was pretty good, plenty of swindles that were welcoming and the club integrated new members with inter club matches etc well. Clubhouse lacked the atmosphere though.

Palace,
I loved the layout and condition and the group I played a trial round with were very nice. Members only at weekends with guests after 11.30 kept course traffic to a minimum. Again the clubhouse lacked a bit of atmosphere but my trial was mid week. Like you I’m curious as to the recovery of the greens as this was top of the list for April.

Shirley park.
Played there loads as a kid and in a club match in 2022 the course has seen investment. I have a trial round there this Sunday as I know this is a club with a great social side and very welcoming members. Be aware they are introducing a membership fee as of June 1st which is going to be between £500-750.

Thanks for such a thorough response, this is so helpful. Shirley Park is the only one i haven't played so i will give it a trial round in the next couple of weeks. thanks for the heads up on the joining fee. let me know how you get on, I'll be interested to hear how you find it.

 

[Oddsocks]

From a social and welcoming side it was always great. My only caution is that as a junior of never drained well which I why I’ve waited for this weather to see how bad it now gets with the irrigation upgrades.

 

[James.mcgee]

How did you get on at Shirley Park @Oddsocks ? worth considering?

 

[Oddsocks]

How did you get on at Shirley Park @Oddsocks ? worth considering?

To be fair I was pleasantly shocked and a lot of good memories returned. It’s very hard to assess the course conditions as we are straight off the back off what has been a dreadful period for course's from torrential high rain fall followed by deep frosts, they were never going to deliver great conditions and what it did do was highlight how great condition wise my current course is. However, the condition isn’t why I’m leaving.

Anyway…. The rough in a few places was a touch soft / boggy and this was mainly at the bottom of 15/14 and between 1/18, but as I missed a few fairways it wasn’t overly bad. We were off 15/16 mats which while some may moan I actually support it. The mats were good quality, you can get a pink castle in there no probs and they were fluffy enough to hit irons off comfortably, this will leave great tees for the spring so I’m all for it. Bunkers were good and very consistent, plenty of work going on from tree felling, tree areas being cleared of shrubs/bushes to improve airflow, tees being relayed etc, there is plenty of off season improvements going in.

Pace of play was good, we had a very leisurely round following around 5 groups of 3 & 4 balls and we still go around in 3.30, we were told we could play through at any point if we wanted but we were in no rush. Kitchen staff, pro shop staff, half way hut staff all very polite… there really wasn’t a lot you could moan about.

The only potential critique was that greens were very soft and spongy, but given the recent deep frosts and a frost Saturday it will be good to see how they dry after what looks to be a warmish week. Most of the greens are surrounded with a form of trees and being sheltered on the north side of Shirley hills it doesn’t get the wind through it that palace, Croham & Farleigh gets so that will slow drying.

I’m going to have a walk through Sunday afternoon and just see how it dries with one mild week.

 

[Pants]

Talked to a London Cabbie yesterday who is a member there (as are many cabbies) and he likened it to a pub with a nice golf course attached. Speaks volumes Oh. And the club pro is good.

 

[Oddsocks]

Even the assist pro seemed a very likeable and helpful chap. Pro shop was very well stocked with some good deals too

 

[carldudley]

I haven't played Addington Palace but my former coach from Pitch is now head-pro and he is fantastic, I believe he's installed a golf simulator and completely redone the pro-shop. I would thoroughly recommend him as a pro, cannot comment on the course unfortunately.

 

[Oddsocks]

@carldudley - I’m trying to get a realistic estimate on the recovery time of the greens.

 

[James.mcgee]

To be fair I was pleasantly shocked and a lot of good memories returned. It’s very hard to assess the course conditions as we are straight off the back off what has been a dreadful period for course's from torrential high rain fall followed by deep frosts, they were never going to deliver great conditions and what it did do was highlight how great condition wise my current course is. However, the condition isn’t why I’m leaving.

Anyway…. The rough in a few places was a touch soft / boggy and this was mainly at the bottom of 15/14 and between 1/18, but as I missed a few fairways it wasn’t overly bad. We were off 15/16 mats which while some may moan I actually support it. The mats were good quality, you can get a pink castle in there no probs and they were fluffy enough to hit irons off comfortably, this will leave great tees for the spring so I’m all for it. Bunkers were good and very consistent, plenty of work going on from tree felling, tree areas being cleared of shrubs/bushes to improve airflow, tees being relayed etc, there is plenty of off season improvements going in.

Pace of play was good, we had a very leisurely round following around 5 groups of 3 & 4 balls and we still go around in 3.30, we were told we could play through at any point if we wanted but we were in no rush. Kitchen staff, pro shop staff, half way hut staff all very polite… there really wasn’t a lot you could moan about.

The only potential critique was that greens were very soft and spongy, but given the recent deep frosts and a frost Saturday it will be good to see how they dry after what looks to be a warmish week. Most of the greens are surrounded with a form of trees and being sheltered on the north side of Shirley hills it doesn’t get the wind through it that palace, Croham & Farleigh gets so that will slow drying.

I’m going to have a walk through Sunday afternoon and just see how it dries with one mild week.

Great thanks for the update. Sounds like it could be a really good alternative. Whatbdid you think of the layout compared to palace?

 

[Oddsocks]

If I’m honest I love the layout of the palace, but there is a difference between playing it weekly and occasionally.

As I always have with SP, I find 10/14 identical and a bit boring, the two holes I really like are 13 & 16.

With palace I can recall most holes and only played it once which says a lot.

 

[Bratty]

@carldudley - I’m trying to get a realistic estimate on the recovery time of the greens.

Couple of members told a mate that they're still awful, but time of year not helping anyway.
They haven't heard anything about a recovery plan either as yet.

 

[Oddsocks]

Couple of members told a mate that they're still awful, but time of year not helping anyway.
They haven't heard anything about a recovery plan either as yet.

Going to walk it in a couple of weeks, green keeper bills reckons they’d recover by end April no matter how bad.

 

[James.mcgee]

Ill leave it till march and have a walk myself and in the mean time trial SP. Hopefully theres some sign of recovery by then
In january the club told my the remedial work was working has they had gone fro.6 temp green down to 4. But that does say what actual state they are in.