Club history: Littlestone Golf Club

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir October 13, 2018 19:39 Updated

The Kent venue was designed by a mixture of Alister MacKenzie, James Braid and William Laidlaw Purves, and was the host of the first ever Ladies’ Championship in 1894.

Littlestone Golf Club in Kent, which is to host the Junior Open in 2020, was also the venue for the first ever Ladies’ Championship in 1894.

The course is laid out on a stretch of land between the Romney Marsh and the English Channel where the sand dunes form natural, undulating ground ideal for links.

It’s one of the driest places in Britain, which means it has firm terrain that produces hard and fast fairways that are beautifully defined by the natural dunes.

Together with the thick, wild rough and classic deep pot bunkers, the course demands accurate ball striking, well thought-out course management and speed control on the greens, making it a challenging test of golf.

William Laidlaw Purves (the designer of Royal St George’s) and David Herd were behind the design of the course, which opened in 1888, while James Braid, then the professional at Walton Heath, was brought in to place bunkers on what was mostly a bunker-less course.

His improvements can still be seen on several holes and include the great fairway bunker on hole 12 while the array of cross bunkers on the 16th are also fine examples of his work.

In 1924 the club approached Alister MacKenzie for his ideas on further improving the quality of the course. He duly presented the club with an extensive list of improvements, some of which were implemented immediately whilst others were gradually put in over the years.

To this day, much of the strength and greatness of the course is directly attributable to his genius, namely the two excellent par threes at the 6th and 17th, the greens on the 5th and 18th holes, and the 8th hole. The course has remained virtually unchanged since MacKenzie’s adaptations with the exception of some tee relocation to give some added length in 1997.

Reminders that the course has been there over 100 years abound such as evidence of the time when the area was at the heart of the Second World War. Incredibly a section of the Mulberry Harbour, which did not make it across the Channel following the D-day landings of June 1944, is still visible from the 17th tee.

Since the start of this century, the club has continued its association with women’s and junior golf: It hosted the Ladies’ Championship in 2002 and 2007, the British Ladies Amateur Championship in 2005, the Senior Women’s English Amateur Championship in 2010 and the 2011 English Girls Open Amateur Stroke Play.

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir October 13, 2018 19:39 Updated
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