A parkland county at heart
Croydon's ten clubs sit across three towns — Coulsdon, Croydon itself, and South Croydon — and the numbers tell you what to expect before you've even booked a tee time. Six of the ten courses are parkland, which means tree-lined fairways, gentle contours and the kind of golf that rewards accuracy over brute distance. Only one downland course and one heathland course break up that pattern, and both are worth the detour.
Coulsdon Court is a good place to start, if only because it shows how good municipal golf can be. Harry Colt laid it out in 1922 on an ancient parkland estate on the southern edge of London, with woods, trees and a valley running through the routing. The men's club and the independently run Coulsdon Court Ladies Golf Club, founded in 1947, share the same Colt design but operate as separate clubs — an arrangement that's produced its own traditions, including members planting commemorative trees around the course over the years.
A short drive away, Addington Palace Golf Club occupies the grounds of the palace itself, ten minutes from central Croydon. Fred Hawtree and five-time Open champion J H Taylor designed the course, which opened in 1930, and its history has a theatrical streak: Bobby Locke played exhibition matches here, Lord Montgomery visited in 1949, and comedian Ronnie Corbett was once a member. Croham Hurst, in South Croydon, is older still — founded in 1911 to a Hawtree and James Braid design on rolling, densely wooded chalkland. Harry Weetman was club professional through the 1950s, Dai Rees warned of its hidden difficulties, and Colin Montgomerie has called it one of the nicest courses in the south east. Shirley Park, laid out by Herbert Fowler (who also worked on Walton Heath) in 1914, covers 130 acres between parkland and the wooded rise of Shirley Hills, and is known locally for its two testing par 3s at the 7th and 13th.
Where the mix changes
Purley Downs breaks from the parkland theme entirely. Designed by J H Taylor in 1903–4, it's a genuine downland course with sweeping natural contours and views across London that somehow don't dilute the sense of open countryside. The greens have a reputation for being fast and true, close to tour standard, and the club's history carries some serious names — Percy Alliss won the News of the World Matchplay Championship here in 1933, and exhibitions over the years have featured Harry Vardon, James Braid, Henry Cotton, Tony Jacklin, Gary Player and Vijay Singh.
The Addington is the county's one heathland course, and arguably its most historically significant. Abercromby and Colt designed it in 1913, it opened in 1919, and it's regarded as a Golden Age layout — undulating ground under mature pines, with the London skyline visible in the distance. King George VI granted it royal patronage in 1937. Its second course, the New Course, was compulsorily purchased by the government in 1945 and lost for good, which makes the surviving course feel like the remnant of something bigger.
Getting a game
For anyone who wants golf without club membership, Addington Court in Croydon runs as a pay-and-play centre with two 18-hole courses, a 9-hole Academy Course and a junior academy — a practical option if you're new to the area or just want to turn up and play. Green fees across the county start from around £175, so it's worth checking with individual clubs about visitor policies and timing. Between the Colt and Hawtree parkland courses, Taylor's downland at Purley, and the Abercromby-Colt heathland at The Addington, Croydon packs a surprising range of golfing character into a small corner of south London.