Mad Swans on the South Downs will offer modern cabin stays at around £200 a night, cheaper hotel rooms and two restaurants
‘Mad Swans in the South Downs’ will open for the first time on June 1(Image: Mad Swans)
There is a new player coming to Surrey and Hampshire’s golf club landscape. The team behind the award-winning Beaverbrook Hotel is now claiming to be offering a “new way to play” golf come June.
‘Mad Swans in the South Downs’, as the name suggests, will be nestled in the chalk hill landscape which is just a short drive from Guildford, Godalming and Farnham.
A 12-hole golf course, padel and pickleball courts, two restaurants and overnight stay cabins is among the itinerary from June 1, when the duo behind the Beaverbrook Hotel in Dorking will open their newest venture.
This is not the first Mad Swans golf club, instead marking Joel Cadbury and Ollie Vigors’ second venture into the industry. The duo opened their first rendition of the Mad Swans last October in the Mendips, Somerset.
The 12-hole course has been designed by Mackenzie & Ebert, the team behind the transformations at Royal Portrush, Royal St George’s and Turnberry (Image: [c]2025 Andy Hiseman. All rights reserved.)
In Alton, Hampshire though the 12-hole course is designed by internationally renowned architects Mackenzie & Ebert, who have worked as advisers to eight of the ten Open Championship venues.
The Mad Swans claim to have turned the previously ‘wet site’ course into one which can be played all year round. Bringing entirely new tee complexes, bunkers, irrigation systems and overhauled drainage to the South Downs.
They hope the designs of some of the holes will become “real talking points” and flaunt that the 12-hole course is “as enjoyable to play as it is visually striking”.
According to their website, it will cost around £31.55 per person on each full round of the course in the morning. With this price declining into the afternoon and evening.
The ‘Swing Barn’ is where “golf meets socialising”, the Mad Swans say. It is a fully covered driving range, not too dissimilar to others in the region, where each bay is its own private hangout with sofa seating and food and drink on offer. This will cost £20 per hour during peak times.
Inside the Potting Shed restaurant, where menu options will include Roasted Suckling Pig with Roasted Apple, Fennel Slaw & Sage Jus and Crispy Cornish Squid with Chipotle Aioli & Lime(Image: Mad Swans)
The new club also boasts two restaurants with creative input from multi-Michelin starred chef, Ollie Dabbous. One for ‘countryside classics’ and another, for quicker bites or some cocktails.
Really pulling the Mad Swans in the South Downs away from just a golf course and more into a full-on ‘destination’ is the eco-cabins which offer “simple, restorative” stays. Options include twin and double cabins and will set you back around £200 per night.
The Lodge hotel also features twin and double rooms. These are set to cost around £100 per night and offer views over the South Downs.
There is also a mini golf course, two padel and pickleball courts, a darts area and even shuffleboard. The Mad Swans boast that their Alton-based club has been designed for a wide range of ages and sporting abilities.
The Hangout serves house-made pizzas from £12, ice-creams and desserts, and a range of alcholic drinks(Image: Mad Swans)
Mad Swans in the Mendips has been described as an “absolutely brilliant place” by TripAdvisor reviewers. With a “very relaxed” golf course which offers “stunning views” and many suggesting it is “very family friendly”.
The venture is led by Joel Cadbury and Ollie Vigors, who have been described as veterans in the hospitality industry. They will be most known in Surrey for transforming the former-Cherkley Court estate in Dorking and turning it into the Beaverbrook hotel, which is one of the world’s best hotels according to the Conde Nast 2026 Travellers Guide.