Hill Barn Golf Club

Hill Barn Golf Club

Hill Barn Golf Club is a distinctive downland and parkland course overlooking Worthing on the West Sussex coast. Opened in 1935 and designed by Fred Hawtree, the course sits among the rolling chalk hills of the South Downs, with elevated tees providing views across Worthing, the English Channel and, in clear conditions, towards the Isle of Wight. Its combination of undulating fairways, sloping greens and more than 100 bunkers makes Hill Barn considerably more challenging than its modest overall length might suggest.

Hill Barn began life as a municipal golf course and was officially opened on 10 July 1935. Contemporary newspaper reports described Worthing as having set a new standard for municipal golf, with the new course having cost local ratepayers around £16,000 to construct. It was an ambitious project for the period and helped establish affordable golf on the northern edge of the town.

The original design came from Fred Hawtree, part of a family that would become closely associated with British golf course architecture. Rather than forcing a layout onto the landscape, Hill Barn makes extensive use of the natural slopes of the South Downs. Drives are regularly played from elevated tees, fairways move across the contours and approaches can be complicated by uneven lies and greens that rarely feel completely flat.

The course is a par 70 and combines parkland features with traditional downland golf. Its chalk-based soil provides particularly good drainage, helping Hill Barn remain playable through periods when heavier inland courses can become waterlogged. That makes it an attractive option for golfers looking for year-round golf on the Sussex coast.

One of the defining features of Hill Barn is its bunkering. More than 100 bunkers are spread across the course, influencing both tee shots and approaches. Golfers who simply aim for the centre of every fairway can still find themselves with awkward routes into the greens, while more accurate players can use the contours to leave better angles for their next shot.

Hill Barn also has a surprisingly strong connection with professional golf. During the 1960s, three-time Open champion Sir Henry Cotton played the course and is recorded by the club as describing the 17th as one of the finest par-three holes he had played. Future Open and U.S. Open champion Tony Jacklin also competed at Hill Barn early in his professional career, with the club recording that his first professional tournament victory came here before he became one of Britain's most important golfers of the modern era.

The club's tournament reputation grew further when Hill Barn hosted the Penfold Tournament in 1969. Professional events returned during the 1970s, and the 1974 edition attracted some of the largest crowds the course had experienced when local professional Tommy Horton won the title. That period became something of a golden age for Hill Barn, when the course developed a reputation well beyond its municipal origins.

Its history has not always been straightforward. During the Second World War, golf continued on a much reduced basis as players left for military service and golf balls became difficult to obtain. Defensive structures and tank traps also appeared around the surrounding area. After the war, additional land was incorporated into the site and the course gradually returned to normal use.

Another major moment arrived on the night of 16 October 1987, when the Great Storm devastated southern England. Hill Barn was hit particularly badly. Club records state that around 600 trees were destroyed, with approximately 95% of the trees between the 9th and 10th fairways lost and more than 80% of those around the practice area blown down. The course reopened after only a short closure, but repairing the damage took years. Golfers can read more about that period in the club's history of Hill Barn.

A new chapter began in the early 2000s. Sally and Richard Haygarth approached Worthing Borough Council about taking over the course, and from 2003 significant investment was made into restoring Hill Barn. The club records more than £750,000 of investment, including a new irrigation system, greenkeeping equipment, clubhouse improvements and upgraded facilities. A new greenkeeping compound followed in 2018 as work continued to improve the condition and presentation of the course.

For golfers today, one of the strongest reasons to play Hill Barn is the combination of scenery and strategy. The course climbs high enough above Worthing to produce wide coastal views, while the natural contours mean there are frequent changes in elevation. On parts of the course golfers can look east towards Brighton and the Seven Sisters, across Worthing and the sea, and west towards the Isle of Wight on especially clear days.

That elevation also affects how the course plays. Downhill tee shots can gain considerably more distance than expected, while uphill approaches often require an extra club. Wind coming in from the coast can change those calculations again, so judging the effective playing distance is often more useful than relying on the number alone.

The layout contains several shorter par fours where longer hitters may be tempted to play aggressively. Those holes create genuine risk-and-reward decisions because a successful drive can leave a very short approach, but the large number of bunkers means an inaccurate attempt can quickly turn an apparent birdie opportunity into a difficult recovery. Hill Barn's current management specifically highlights these reachable par fours as one of the features that makes the course enjoyable.

The course is therefore particularly well suited to golfers who enjoy thinking their way around. It does not rely on extreme yardage to create difficulty. Instead, slopes, bunkers, elevated greens and changing lies mean golfers need to decide when to attack and when simply finding the correct section of fairway is the better option.

Hill Barn is also approachable for a broad range of handicaps. Higher-handicap golfers are not faced with relentless long carries, while better players still need to control distance and position if they want to score well. The chalk-based ground and strong drainage are another advantage, particularly for golfers looking for dependable playing conditions outside the main summer season.

For golfers visiting Worthing or the wider Sussex coast, Hill Barn provides something very different from a modern resort course. It has genuine municipal golf history, a Fred Hawtree design, associations with Henry Cotton and Tony Jacklin and a landscape shaped by nearly a century of change. The devastation of the 1987 storm and subsequent rebuilding also form an unusual part of the course's story.

Hill Barn Golf Club is ultimately worth playing because it combines accessible golf with far more character and history than many golfers might expect. The elevated South Downs setting, coastal views, extensive bunkering and natural contours provide the golfing challenge, while its 1935 opening, professional tournament history and remarkable recovery from the Great Storm give the course an identity of its own. For anyone playing golf around Worthing and West Sussex, Hill Barn deserves to be considered as much more than simply a former municipal course.