Littlehampton Golf Club Review — 135 Years of Links Golf. The South Coast's Best Kept Secret?
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
There are around 250 true links courses in the world. Littlehampton Golf Club has been one of them since 1889. It just hasn't told enough people yet.
An attractive three storey clubhouse. A friendly pro shop. A generous chipping green and practice area a short walk away, with practice nets sitting conveniently adjacent to the 1st tee. First impressions here are good. What follows is better.
Littlehampton doesn't need to manufacture a welcome. It has one. And unlike a lot of clubs that front-load the experience and disappoint on the course, this one gets better the further you get from the car park.
This Littlehampton Golf Club review is written from a December 2025 visit. As a scratch golfer who'd played over 60 courses that year, I wasn't expecting it to finish in my top three. It did.
The Course
Par 70, 6,226 yards from the whites, rated 70.30 with a slope of 130. Links arithmetic works differently to parkland. Don't let the numbers lull you.
The 1st is a proper opener, 421 yards, scenic and exposed, looking longer from the tee than it plays. Wide enough to encourage you, just enough camber to punish the complacent. A generous start that nonetheless means business.
The 3rd is stroke index 18. On a links course that tells you precisely nothing. At 159 yards it presents as a breather. Commit to the shot and you'll be fine. Mishit left or right and you're searching in gorse that has no intention of giving your ball back.
The 7th tee is where you stop mid-routine. The sea views from here are the best on the course, properly arresting, the kind of moment that reminds you why links golf exists.
The 10th curves gently around the dunes and shoreline, 368 yards off the whites, one of the most pleasurable holes on the card. I made birdie. I acknowledge this may have coloured my view. I stand by it regardless.
The 12th is stroke index 1. 406 yards, par 4, and it earns every bit of that billing.
Pot bunkers are deployed strategically throughout the round, never gratuitous, always in exactly the wrong place from your perspective, and the 12th gives you a proper taste of what they're capable of.
In October 2024, Golf World listed Littlehampton in their next 50 courses outside the GB&I Top 100 Links. Having played it, that recognition feels not just deserved but slightly overdue.
Conditions
December. After a wet autumn across the South. And Littlehampton was firm, fast, and impeccably presented.
The greens ran true at a pace that rewards proper putting and exposes the rest. Fairways firm throughout. While courses across the region were laying winter mats or closing entirely, Littlehampton was draining, drying, and getting on with it. Recent investment in bunkering and drainage is clearly doing exactly what it was supposed to do.
The greenkeeping team here are doing serious work. It deserves saying clearly.
The Facilities
Practice greens and chipping area are in excellent condition and conveniently located. The practice nets adjacent to the 1st tee are functional. The main practice ground is around 600 yards away and requires crossing fairways to reach, not ideal as a pre-round option.
The car park is a good size. No EV charging currently, which is an increasingly common expectation from visiting golfers.
The Clubhouse
Welcoming staff, good food, and views across the course and sandhills toward the Channel from the lounge and balcony. The hospitality matched the quality out on the course. That combination is rarer than it should be.
There are also two full size snooker tables on the top floor, which makes Littlehampton officially one of the more unexpectedly well-equipped clubhouses on the South Coast.
A Word on the Internet
One reviewer on Golfshake claimed Littlehampton is not a links course and that he never saw the sea once. The sea is visible from multiple points. The South Downs stretch behind you. The wind rewrites the course daily. The undulating terrain, strategic bunkering and exposed conditions have been doing exactly what links golf is supposed to do since 1889. Perhaps he wasn't looking up.
Littlehampton Golf Club Review: The ChippedIn Verdict
Littlehampton doesn't flatter you. It doesn't manufacture drama it hasn't earned. It tests accuracy, shot-making, course management and patience, in the best possible way, on one of only 250 true links courses in the world.
4.5/5. West Sussex's only links. Twilight rates at £40 and £45 and county card rates from £50 are a genuine bargain. Standard green fees at £65 weekday and £75 weekend are fair value for what you get, though on a busy Saturday factor in the pace of play.
COURSE DETAILS
📍 Littlehampton Golf Club, Rope Walk, Littlehampton, West Sussex BN17 5DL
🏌️ 18 holes | Links | Par 70 | 6,226 yards | Course Rating 70.30 | Slope 130
🏛️ Founded 1889 | Golf World GB&I Next 50 Links (2024)
💷 Weekdays £65 | Weekends £75 | Twilight from £40 | County Card from £50
🚗 Off the A259, easily accessible from Brighton and Chichester
⛳ One of only 250 true links courses in the world. The wind decides the rest
🌧️ Outstanding drainage, firm and playable when the region is underwater
⭐ ChippedIn Rating: 4.5/5 — West Sussex's finest links secret
Have you played Littlehampton? Tell us in the comments, and if you have a course we should add to The 1000, drop it below.
Comments