A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



first honorary secretary and treasurer of the club, 

 the expert professional advice of Taylor, Braid, 

 Rowe, and Rawlings being subsequently taken 

 for alterations and improvements. One in- 

 teresting feature of this club is that the ex- 

 cellent club-house, with its four or five bedrooms, 

 and the links themselves, are the freehold 

 property of the members. The holes, which 

 vary in length from 93 to 500 yards, are laid 

 out on forest land, belonging to the Manor of 

 Alchornes, the property of Earl De La Warr. 

 The numerous hazards, which are natural, are 

 varied. The turf is always in fine condition, 

 and as the course is situated on high ground, 

 with an admirable light sandy soil, the game is 

 playable all the year round, even after the 

 heaviest rains. The links are situated on Crow- 

 borough Beacon, 600 to 700 ft. above sea-level. 

 There is also a ladies' club as a branch of the 

 men's club, and the ladies use the same course. 

 In 1897 the De La Warr Club was founded ; 

 its membership is confined mainly to the local 

 community in the village. Sunday play is allowed 

 at Crowborough Beacon. 



The Worthing Club, founded in 1905 by the 

 efforts of Messrs. W. Field, F. C. Gates, E. C. 

 Patching, and W. S. Simpson, has a membership 

 of 210 gentlemen and 150 lady associates. The 

 courses of eighteen holes for men, and nine holes 

 for the ladies, are situated on the Downs, Broad- 

 water. The round of holes was originally 

 planned by H. Vardon, but a great many im- 

 provements were grafted on the scheme of the 

 professional by Dr. O. Gethin-Jones, one of the 

 local hon. secretaries. The course is laid out 

 over downland, presenting a fine variety of hill 

 and valley. One of the charms of this course is 

 the picturesqueness of the views obtainable from 

 almost every hole in the round, including 

 glimpses of the Channel and the Isle of Wight. 

 As the subsoil is of chalk the course is never 

 heavy, even in rainy weather, and it is therefore 

 essentially a winter as well as a summer course. 



house. The Royal Eastbourne Ladies' Club, 

 instituted in 1888, has a membership of 250. 

 The ladies play over a course of nine holes, the 

 lengths of which vary from 105 to 310 yards. 

 The restricted character of the ladies' course is 

 found by the players to be a great drawback, but 

 ladies with handicaps of ten or under are 

 allowed to play on the men's links on certain 

 days. 



The Willingdon Club, instituted in 1897, 

 play over a very interesting eighteen-hole course, 

 on the Ration Park estate at Willingdon, 

 2 miles from Eastbourne. The number of 

 members is 250 gentlemen and 75 ladies, and 

 those members who were mainly instrumental 

 in establishing the club were Mr. A. G. Paterson, 

 the first honorary secretary, and Mr. Freeman 

 Thomas, M.P., president and landlord of the 

 ground. The links consist of undulating chalky 

 land close under the Downs, and there are 

 plenty of natural hazards. The principal natural 

 bunkers are a chalk pit and a plantation, but 

 a good deal of diversity has been imported into 

 the play by the construction of artificial hazards. 

 Though the spring and the autumn are the best 

 seasons for the game here, golf is perfectly 

 feasible all the year round. When the club 

 was originally started the round consisted of 

 nine holes, and these were designed by J. H. 

 Taylor, the subsequent nine holes being added 

 by him several years later. The honorary secre- 

 tary is Mr. John Cuming, M.A. A good new 

 club-house has been built. The club-house and 

 links are open on Sundays. A ladies' club was 

 instituted in 1897. 



The Brighton and Hove Club was instituted 

 in 1888, and has now its full limit of playing 

 members, namely, 375. The eighteen holes are 

 laid out upon the Hangleton Downs, and the 

 club has a private platform on the Dyke Rail- 

 way close to the club-house. It has a course 

 which has all the varied characteristics of the 

 Sussex Downs ; the quality of the turf is very 



The holes vary in length from 106 to 530 yards, fine, and the greens are excellently kept. The 



the total length being 6,136 yards, or very 



nearly 3^ miles round. The hazards are both 



natural and artificial, and in addition to cut 



bunkers there are whins and bushes, a ravine, 



and pit-like hollows. Douglas McEwan, late 



of Musselburgh, is the club professional. 



The Royal Eastbourne Club, founded in 

 1887, is one of the most important golfing 

 organizations in the county. It has a member- 

 ship of 450, and its links are leased from the 

 Duke of Devonshire. The holes vary in length 

 from 120 to 488 yards. The round has lately 



second hole, nearly 500 yards in length, is a 

 very interesting one to play, the approach being 

 over a pond on to the putting green, which is 

 well guarded by whins. The hazards are both 

 natural and artificial, consisting mainly of whins, 

 ponds, banks, and sand ditches. The natural 

 undulations of the ground, notably at the ' Down 

 the hill ' hole, whose putting green, 323 yards 

 away, may be reached in one shot, afford severe 

 tests of skill. The Brighton and Hove Ladies' 

 Club, instituted in 1892, plays over a course of 

 nine holes, varying from 92 to 352 yards. 



L >j i J y "fe **v"i y^ *.\j Si-* yciius. 



been considerably lengthened by the inclusion These links are near the Devil's Dyke The 



some 25 acres. A new club-house, costing Southdown and Brighton Ladies' Club, formed 



it /, 4,000, has lately been erected, and from in 1891, plays over a course at Burgess Hill 



can be had a commanding view of the about 9 miles from Brighton, 

 icturesque undulations of the course. The The course of the East Brighton (late Kemp 



hole is immed,ately in front of the club- Town) Club, which was instituted in October, 



478 



