Established 1890
A South Devon golf club, one hundred and thirty five years on.
Our Story
From late Victorian beginnings to a course of national reputation.
Sitting on the headland between Brixham and Paignton, Churston Golf Club has been part of South Devon life since 1890. Generations of members and visiting golfers have walked these fairways, played in the coastal wind, and looked out across Torbay from a course that remains one of the most scenic settings in English golf.
1890
A nine hole course on coastal farmland.
Nine holes was the modest start, in keeping with most clubs of the era. The site quickly attracted local businessmen, naval officers, and holidaymakers drawn to the English Riviera. Membership grew faster than the original plan had allowed for.
Churston opened in 1890, one of the oldest golf clubs in Devon. The original layout sat on farmland above Torbay and offered something many inland courses could not match: dramatic sea views and clean coastal air.
Early 20th Century
Routed by Harry Colt into a full eighteen holes.
As demand grew, additional land made an 18 hole course possible. The new routing was the work of Harry Colt, one of the most influential golf architects of the modern era. Colt’s name sits behind some of the finest courses in Britain and Europe, and his routing at Churston gave the club the parkland character it carries today.
Undulating fairways, strategically placed bunkers and beautifully manicured sloping greens to make a course that asks thoughtful questions of a player. Several holes look out across Torbay, and the views from the higher ground are widely held to be among the finest in English golf.
1895 to 1911
The woman who helped shape women’s golf in Devon.
Long before women’s sport received the recognition it enjoys today, the Honourable Barbara (Lois) Yarde-Buller was quietly helping to shape the future of ladies’ golf in Devon. At a time when opportunities for women in sport were still limited, she showed the vision, leadership and commitment that would establish a legacy lasting well over a century.
The records show that Lois joined the Ladies’ Golf Club at Westward Ho! in 1895, having helped establish the ladies’ section here at Churston, five years before the formation of the Devon County Ladies’ Golf Association. Her experience and organisational ability made her the natural choice to become the Association’s first President when it was founded in 1900, a role she held until 1911. In 1903 she captained the Devon county ladies’ team to victory in the Ladies’ Field Challenge Cup, effectively the County Championship of its day.
What makes her story compelling is that it was never about personal recognition. A century after the Association was formed, the foreword to its centenary publication was written by her great nephew, Lord Churston. Rather than imagining that Lois would have revelled in the anniversary, he believed she would simply have regarded its success as “the mere fulfilment of her instructions”. It is a wonderfully understated tribute to a woman whose sense of duty clearly outweighed any desire for acclaim.
Her pioneering work came years before the suffragette movement would capture public attention. It is difficult today to comprehend the barriers she and her fellow golfers faced simply to organise, compete and lead, yet through quiet resolve they laid foundations that continue to shape women’s golf more than a century later. For Churston the history carries added significance, as the Yarde-Buller family has long been intertwined with the heritage of Churston Court and the surrounding estate.
More than 125 years on, her influence can still be seen in every county competition, every young girl taking up the game, and every woman representing Devon with pride.
1914 to 1945
A club that carried on through two world wars.
The First World War took members and staff into the armed forces. The course remained open where possible, though competitions and maintenance were stripped back through the years of conflict.
The Second World War brought sharper disruption. South Devon was strategically important in the build up to D-Day, and golf activity was limited across the period. Churston survived because of the commitment of members and the wider community, and the club came out of the war ready for a new chapter.
January 1943
The day a B-17 came down on the fairways.
Of all the stories attached to the course, none is stranger than the morning an American bomber landed on it. Flying back from North Africa, a B-17 of the 427th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, became lost over occupied France. The crew found their way across the Channel but ran out of fuel, and on 12 January 1943 they put the aircraft down wheels up on Churston Golf Course.
Everyone walked away. What the crew remembered afterwards was not the landing but the reception. Radio operator George W. Ashworth described the greenkeeper sprinting towards them, coat tails flying, one hand clamped on his cap, arriving not to check on the airmen but to complain about the state of his golf course. The anti aircraft crew stationed nearby had other priorities. They were busy gathering up the oranges that had spilled from the nose of the aircraft, cargo the crew had carried back from North Africa.
The repairs took rather longer than a divot. Next time the greenkeeping team mention pitchmarks, it is worth remembering they once had a four engined bomber to work around.
1945 Onwards
Rebuilding, modernising, opening the doors wider.
The decades after the war brought steady growth. The clubhouse was upgraded, the greenkeeping team modernised, and the practice facilities expanded. Improvements in turf management kept the course in good condition through the coastal climate, including the winter wind that can hit the headland hard.
Churston became an active part of county and regional golf. Through the second half of the 20th century, the club built a reputation for the things members still recognise today.
Churston Today
Over 6,000 yards of South Devon golf.
Today the course measures over 6,000 yards and offers a fair test for golfers of every level. The clubhouse is a social hub as well as a sporting one, hosting member competitions, charity days, corporate fixtures, weddings, and evening gatherings.
A Lasting Legacy
A living piece of South Devon.
For more than one hundred and thirty five years Churston has remained quietly itself. Heritage, scenery, and sport sit together on a headland above the bay, the same as the day the first nine holes opened.
