Building Sandilands Golf Course

Sandilands was layed out and landscaped at the height of the golf course boom in 1901 and has remained a favourite holiday course ever since, surviving some turbulent times along the way...

In 1901 this was the perfect setting for the golf course, it was built around the natural contours so little earth was moved.

Apart from a minor change in the early twentieth century when the layout of a few of the original holes was changed, the course today is virtually unchanged.

Keeping Up With Technology

Additional bunkering and a few extra yards have been added over the later years due to the advance in equipment technology... we ensure that the course remains a challenge.

Sprinkler systems ensure that the greens are well watered and the addition of toilets and Halfway House at the 10th tee have further improved facilities for the golfer.

However, the greatest changes to the course and club have been enforced by nature... the sea.

The Flood at Sandilands

For decades, high tides threatened the golf course and the surrounding area, when finally in 1953 massive damage was caused by the floods, now known as 'storm surges'. Gigantic waves came over the dunes and flooded the land, the golf course was completely flooded, the clubhouse was washed away: The sea came inland and reclaimed the countryside for miles.

Rebuilding The Golf Course

The next two years were spent rebuilding the club by a community devastated by the flood. A new clubhouse was completed in 1955 and a new sea wall was constructed which extends along the length of the course. The Sutton On Sea golf club was renamed, Sandilands.

Sandilands - The Future

During the past eight years an operation of beach replenishment has been in place. Huge tankers remove sand from the sandbanks twenty kilometers offshore and then deposit it on the beach to hold the sea back. No flooding has occurred since this latest method of reducing coastal erosion.

The Golf Club

Sandilands was a members club until the late 1970s when it was bought by the council. It has changed hands three times since then, most recently in 2004. In a new era it is now owned by the Grange and Links Hotel, located just a minute's drive away.

The Club has produced some excellent players, and most notably is is the home club of former European Tour Professional Jim Payne.