TIn 1899, a band of intrepid local residents founded a golf club in the grounds of the local “Porters” mansion. This became one of the earliest courses to be established on the north side of London.

In 1902, it took the name of Porters Park Golf Club and quickly became established as a leading venue for amateur and professional events. The clubhouse began as a small wooden hut, being considerably extended in 1903. The names of the members and staff who fell in both wars are commemorated on an oak panel in the lounge.

Obstacles from World War II still survive on the tenth hole and the remains of a fortified hexagonal pillbox can be seen next to the path down to the fourteenth green.

Famous past members include Samuel Ryder, creator of the Ryder Cup, and two past Walker Cup players, Brian Chapman, and Peter Townsend.  Visitors have included a number of sports, film, and show business personalities including Sean Connery, Henry Cooper, Des Lynam, and Gary Lineker.

The land on which Hadley Wood Golf Club now stands was once part of the Ancient Manor of Enfield, which then became part of the Enfield Chase in 1421, a royal hunting ground, in the reign of Henry V.

In 1776 the Crown gifted 152 acres of this land to Francis Russell, the Crown Surveyor, as a reward for his work in surveying the land, and in 1781 he constructed the Russell Mansion which is now the Clubhouse.

In the early 1920s some of the land, which then totalled 265 acres, was sold off for development but it was the inspiration of Sir Frederick Lewis (later Lord Essendon) and Walter Warwick, both of whom are memorialised within the Club, which led to the construction of the golf course, which was opened in 1922.

In 1976 the freehold of the land was purchased by the Members of the Club and since then the facilities have been constantly improved to create what is one of the finest golf venues in the South of England.

84 ^th in top 100 courses – https://www.top100golfcourses.com/golf-course/hadley-wood