Malden Golf Club

About the course

Malden Golf Club was founded in 1893 as the Raynes Park Golf Club. The original course was required for development so the club moved to its present site in 1926. It was opened by the President of the day Colonel Sir Augustus Fitzgeorge and was followed by an exhibition match between Abe Mitchell, Harry Vardon (6 times Open winner), Alex Herd and Ted Ray, four of the great professionals of the time. Alex Herd had advised on the layout of the course.

The beautiful parkland course at Malden provides a stern test for golfers of all abilities with a combination of tree lined fairways, carefully positioned bunkers, deceptive greens and natural water hazards.

It was originally laid out in 1926 with the help of Alex Herd, one of the leading professionals of the time. The course now measures 6,295 yards, a yardage that is made all the more difficult by the natural brooks which meander through the course and dictate how certain holes are played.

There are two distinct nines. The first half is played on the “low” part of the course where the brooks either cross or border seven of the nine holes. Selecting your strategy from the tee is important, particularly if you have to make some allowance for any breeze blowing between the trees. Quite often you will find you will have to hit a long second shot to the green to give yourself a good chance of getting a par. The “top” nine is more undulating. With three par fives, it will encourage you to take out the driver but trees and bunkers will catch any misdirected shots. And with some testing par threes and fours that skirt the edge of the golf course, scoring can still be tricky.

The land which now forms the course was originally part of the Coombe Manor Estate which had been acquired from Queen Elizabeth I in 1579. In 1753 the land was bought by John Spencer who became the 1st Earl Spencer (the same Spencer family as Princess Diana). In 1837, the 3rd Earl Spencer sold the land to Prince Adolphus Frederick, 1st Duke of Cambridge and seventh son of George III. When he died in 1850, his son George, the 2nd Duke of Cambridge, inherited the estate and it was his younger son, Colonel Sir Augustus Fitzgeorge KCVO CB who became President of the Club until his death in 1933.

One of the distinguished members in the early 1900’s was Wing Commander Frank Brock OBE RNAS. He was a member of the Brocks Fireworks family which had developed pyrotechnics for use in military raids. One such “raid” was at Zeebrugge in 1918. Wing Commander Brock went as an observer on HMS Vindictive but was killed in an attempt to silence the German guns. To this day the club plays for the Brock Cup each Armistice Sunday in commemoration.

Some of the club’s more famous sporting names include Jack Hobbs, the cricketer, Joe Davis, the snooker player, Micky Stewart of Surrey & England cricket all of whom were keen members. Dai Rees, the nine times Ryder Cup player was an assistant professional for a short while as was Peter Coleman who caddied for a long time for Bernhard Langer. Other famous golfers to play the course include Gary Player and Bing Crosby.

George Howard served as professional from 1953 until his retirement in 1990. During his career George Howard had numerous golfing achievements including a top 20 finish in the Open. He went on to captain Surrey PGA and became it’s President in 1991. He was succeeded to the role of club professional by the current pro/golf manager Robert Hunter.The current professional/golf manager Robert Hunter succeeded him in 1990.