Came Down Golf Club

The Came Down Golf Course was established on 180 acres leased from Lord Portarlington after play at the original site, Broadway Farm—known as 'Lorton Links'—ceased in 1895. Tom Dunn of Bournemouth designed the inaugural 9-hole course spanning 3,620 yards with a small pavilion, and it officially opened as the 'Dorchester Golf Club' on March 2nd, 1896.

Expanding to a premier 18-hole course, the original 9-holes were redesigned by J.H. Taylor in 1904, who saw the potential in the existing location north of the Ridgeway. The course, extended to 6,090 yards, relaunched as 'Weymouth, Dorchester and County Golf Club' on May 15th, 1906, inclusive of a new clubhouse and a nearby railway stop at Monkton for improved accessibility.

In 1923, the club was renamed to 'Came Down Golf Club,' which coordinated with the fame of the resident Whitcombe brothers and their association with Samuel Ryder. Harry Shapland Colt, a renowned golf course architect, was commissioned in 1927 to execute substantial course alterations, contributing to the strategic and visual appeal of the course.

The Whitcombe brothers, who played key roles at Came Down Golf Club, all served during World War I and returned with distinctions as well as physical and psychological impacts from their military experiences. Ernest Whitcombe, at one point, nearly secured the title of Open Champion, narrowly missing the triumph by a single stroke to Walter Hagen.