Barton on the Sea Golf Club

About the course

Barton-on-Sea Golf Club sits on the cliffs of the Hampshire coast between Highcliffe and Milford on Sea, with the sea directly below several holes. The cliffs here are high and soft, and their steady erosion has shaped the club’s history, forcing it to give up ground at the edge and to look inland for new land.

Golf began here in 1897 with a nine-hole course on the clifftop near the Barton Court Hotel, played mainly by hotel guests. The course that forms the basis of today’s layout was largely rebuilt by Harry Colt in 1932, at the same time as an Art Deco clubhouse was built. In 1956 the members bought the club to protect it from development. As the cliffs retreated, the club acquired the neighbouring Becton farm, and J. Hamilton Stutt completed a new 27-hole design in 1992. The Stroller nine takes its name from the Olympic show-jumping pony Stroller, which is buried on the property.

The usual eighteen combines the Becton nine, built entirely by Stutt, with the Needles nine, which keeps a run of Colt holes from the 2nd to the 8th. The ground is fairly flat and the holes are generously wide, so the difficulty lies mainly in judging distance, with club selection changing constantly as the holes turn back and forth. A strong short par 3 at the 3rd on the Becton loop stands out, and an island green par 3 close to the clubhouse provides a memorable finish to one of the loops. The greens run fast, especially in summer.

Why we recommend it

Barton-on-Sea is a clifftop course with views across Christchurch Bay to the Needles and the Isle of Wight from much of the round. Its three loops of nine, Becton, Needles and Stroller, mix classic Harry Colt holes with later additions, and the natural drainage keeps it playable all year. The sea breeze is often the main defence. On the edge of the New Forest, it combines well with the Bournemouth heathland courses for a south coast trip.

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