Crowborough Beacon Golf Club Top 100 Review

Crowborough Beacon Golf Club is an 18-hole heathland course situated near the town of Crowborough in East Sussex, set on the southern slopes of the High Weald at around 800 feet above sea level, making it one of the highest points in the county. Golf was first played here in October 1895, when nine holes were laid out on the Alchorne estate, with the course extended to 18 holes in 1905. The original designer is unknown, but Dr Alister MacKenzie was commissioned in the 1920s to redesign eight of the holes, for which he was paid £700. The course measures 6,319 yards from the back tees and plays to a par of 71, with a slope rating of 133 reflecting its genuine difficulty.

The layout is characterised by undulating terrain, mature heather and gorse, oak, birch and pine woodland, and relatively small, subtly sloping greens. Natural hollows and grassy run-offs are as prevalent as sand bunkers, and the course rewards accuracy and course management over length. The layout follows a broadly out-and-back routing with some of the finest holes found around the turn. The par-three 6th, known as The Speaker after a former club member who served as Speaker of the House of Commons, is widely regarded as the signature hole, requiring a carry across a wide gully to a well-guarded green. The 18th is considered among the most demanding finishing holes in Sussex, a right-to-left dogleg of 443 yards lined with heather that plays gently uphill to the clubhouse.

The club holds a notable literary connection: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes and a local resident, served as club captain in 1910, and his wife and son were also members. Golf writer Bernard Darwin, writing from the clubhouse terrace in 1926, described the panoramic view across the South Downs as among the finest in all of England. The course sits within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has changed relatively little over the past century.