 |
| copyright © D. Sharp The West Hove Club House in 1911 which was demolished in the late 1980s, the area around the former Club House is now occupied by the Portslade Cricket Club's cricket ground. (Portslade Cricket Club moved from Victoria Park, Portslade to Benfield Valley in West Hove in 1996) |
 |
| copyright © D. Sharp
West Hove golfers on the 18th hole in 1911
|
 |
| copyright © D. Sharp
This photograph was taken in 1911, in the background are Benfield Cottages and farm buildings. |
Bert Pierce, a long-standing local resident, provides us with an intriguing anecdote. Apparently, the club secretary occupied a house adjacent to the course, and he liked to keep an eye on the ground staff by standing at a back bedroom window armed with a pair of binoculars.
 |
| copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove Brighton Herald 28 September 1912
James Braid (1870-1950) designed the West Hove Golf Course, he was a
Scottish Professional golfer who won the British Open Championship 5
times, he was the architect of 400 golf courses.
Edward Ray (1872-1943) won the British Open in 1912 and the United States Open in 1920, Ray captained Great Britain in the first ever Ryder Cup in 1927. |
On 30 June 1940 something more dangerous fell from the sky onto the golf course in the shape of two high-explosive bombs.
 |
| copyright © G. Osborne A 1930's view of the north section of the West Hove Golf Course from Foredown Hill in Portslade, in the background is Benfield Barn, which still survives today. The white line near the top of the hill is the route of the Devil's Dyke Railway. Much of this area is now covered by two major roads and a housing estate to the right of the Benfield Barn. |
Later History
Unhappily, from the early 1950s West Hove Golf Course existed under threat. Although it was still owned by the Clark family (Clark's Bread Company of Hove), Hove Council saw fit to ear-mark the land for a school, housing or allotments.
In 1973 Jack Clark sold 147 acres, including the golf course, to Wimpey, and R. Green Properties were also involved in the deal. However, the golfers continued to enjoy a round of golf because they were allowed to stay until the club’s lease expired in July 1991. This was not the only worry for golf officials because there was also the prospect of the Brighton By-pass cutting right through their course.
In May 1985 the Department of the Environment turned down the club’s plans for a new golf course because the clubhouse and car park were shown as being north of the by-pass on agricultural land. Club members were surprised at the outcome because they anticipated approval seeing as the application was for a renewal of earlier permission granted in 1976.
A fresh application was made later on in 1985 in which the clubhouse was to be situated south of the by-pass on a site known as the Horses’ Field, lying to the right of the 5th tee and by the walkway to the 15th tee. It was hoped to retain some of the holes already in place for future use, but the link road would take out the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th holes. The new golf course would be situated primarily north of Hangleton Lane, starting at what was then the 7th with twelve holes north of the by-pass and then returning to the present 14th as the finishing hole. Golfers would use the pedestrian bridge over the by-pass. At the same time, the club also held discussions with Wimpey.
In March 1987 Micky Phillpot, the West Hove captain, stated that the club had £100,000 put away towards the cost of creating a new golf course.
In April 1988 Hove Planning Committee recommended that the proposals should be given the go-ahead. There would be a new 150-acre course that covered some 50 acres of the present course, plus some land north-east of Benfield Hill. However, there was opposition from Wimpey and R. Green Properties.
Then John Vinicombe, who wrote for the Argus, could not help putting in some words of support for the old clubhouse. He wrote ‘it would be a crying shame if such a handsome building were reduced to rubble. I’d like to see it preserved for purely aesthetic reasons’. He added further comments (Argus 19 June 1989) ‘This fine manor-style building … will become rubble and nobody, apart from the golfers, seems to give a damn’. It was obvious that he had personal experience of the building. In April 1991 Vinicombe wrote sadly that when the clubhouse was demolished he did not want to be within miles of the event because there were too many memories of the happy hours spent there.
 |
| copyright © G. Middleton This photograph of the new golf house was taken on 20 April 2020 |
In March 1991 there was a row when it transpired that the clubhouse had been built nine metres away from the designated site, and in the process had flattened an unfortunate colony of glow-worms. Garry Peltzer Dunn, leader of Hove Council, said the club had behaved in a ‘totally immoral and unsporting manner’. The golf people retorted that the designated site had been too close to the soak-away of an old well or pond, and the new building would be no higher than the width of a couple of bricks. They would take the trouble to write to each councillor to explain the situation. Hove Council had requested them to plant some 4,000 trees, which had been duly carried out, and they would take care to avoid further disruption to the glow-worms.
On 7 September 1991 Councillor Audrey Buttimer, Mayor of Hove, officially opened the new clubhouse. The occasion was well attended with an estimated 800 club members present, not to mention VIPs and well-wishers. Apparently, the clubhouse had cost £1.2 million to build.
New Golf Course
It was created by Hawtree & Son, and was an 18-hole, par-71, course. It was claimed that the five last holes were the most challenging in Sussex, while the 18th hole had a yardage of 610, making it the longest in the county.
Frank Shannon, the club’s president and benefactor, was unable to be present at the opening on 7 September 1991 because he was in the USA. The honour of driving the first ball on the course therefore fell upon John Calnan.
The professionals at the club were David Mills and Jim Debenham, and there was also an 18-bay driving range.
Recent Times
The Evening Argus (22 August 1997) carried an article about the club. It stated that four months ago Bernard Martin, chairman, warned that the club could go into receivership because there were debts of over £1.7 million. Tom Quigly, a chartered surveyor, only became a member in November 1996 but it was through his efforts, in combination with the input of Keith Haste, former club captain, that the threat seemed to have receded. Quigley had arranged talks with NatWest about a loan arrangement. A new company would run the club with Quigley as non-executive chairman and managing director; he was the youngest chairman in the club’s history, being only 34 years old. The members, around 700-strong, agreed to a voluntary share scheme.
In June 1999 it was announced that thirteen fortunate club members had won £61,229 in the National Lottery with a lucky dip ticket. The winning numbers were 3, 7, 9, 12, 43, 44 with the bonus number being 45. It was quite a shock because the syndicate had only been formed a few weeks previously.
In 2001 it was announced that Keith Haste, a former club captain, had died at the early age of 54.
In July 2001 Megan Bibby was chosen to be the new general manager. She had been a club member for eight years, and was reckoned to be one of the best lady players; there were 70 female members out of a membership of 600.
In September 2002 West Hove Golf Club won the Davies & Tate Trophy for the first time, although in the 1980s they had been finalists on three occasions. It was the club’s 31st attempt to become the Sussex Inter-Club Matchplay champions.
 |
| copyright © D. Sharp A view from Foredown Hill, Portslade. This former north section of the original West Hove Golf Course survived the redevelopment of Benfield Valley and is now the Benfield 9-Hole Golf Course. On the left is the Brighton-by-pass |
Sources
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Evening Argus
Mr G. Osborne
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Copyright © J.Middleton 2025
page design and additional research by D.Sharp