Is Cowdray Park one of Sussex’s new golfing gems?
By Matt Coles
Originally known for its polo, renovations to the course could thrust Cowdray Park into the golfing limelight in Sussex…
Are things about to change dramatically at Cowdray Park and the outstanding home of polo in Sussex become better known as an exceptional golf venue instead?
It’s entirely possible, as over £1m has recently been spent improving the 18-hole golf course and creating a brand new five-hole par 3 course.
Around for over 100 years, there is nothing unusual about golf being played on this glorious corner of the county just up the road from Petworth and about a dozen miles north of Chichester. What has changed, however, is the course itself.
In need of a bit of a makeover, it has been dramatically improved by a series of alterations that have seen: the bunkers reconstructed, reshaped and integrated into the landscape; the restoration of the former double green shared by the 7th and 14th; the introduction of more native grasses; the removal of non-British trees and their replacement with native species and the installation of pathways made from recycled rubber.
Together with the spectacular views over the Sussex Downs, the improvements are dramatic and considerably enhance the pleasure playing this wonderful old course. The members certainly approve and were supportive throughout.
Part of what makes it so special are the undulations and elevation changes that are such a distinctive feature. Together they ensure players rarely have a completely flat lie and are always having to factor in an allowance for the changes in height. The elevated tees also enhance the visual appeal by affording golfers exceptional views over the adjacent 16,000-acre estate and beyond.
Although it’s only been open a short while, the five-hole Academy Course has already witnessed a remarkable clutch of five holes-in-one. Built, not so much to create opportunities for aces so much as to give beginners the opportunity to take up golf, the Academy Course is very much the younger brother to the main course and mirrors many of its features.
Not content with what they have achieved so far, the management team at Cowdray Park have more plans to further improve the golfing experience. Watch out polo, you have been warned.
Have you ever played at Cowdray Park? What did you make of the experience? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
