The five-bedroom period house is yet to find a buyer despite its status
A golfer’s dream home that has recently been named as one of the UK’s top properties is on the market for £2.25m. Golf coach Paul Foston and his wife Angela have spared no expense in merging their love for the sport with their 19th-century home in Kent.
The period property now boasts two greens, a splash bunker, a 6 foot high, St Andrew’s-style bunker, a short game area and a state-of-the-art indoor simulator. Since last summer, the couple have had the five-bedroom period house up for sale for £2.25m.
However, despite featuring in a Sunday Times list of the most ‘extraordinary’ homes for sale across the UK, the luxury property is yet to find a buyer. Angela suspects that the current sluggish state of the housing market might be the culprit, but she maintains that the property offers endless possibilities for various tastes and needs.
Paul was already a successful golf coach when they purchased the home in the late 90s, having guided several professionals to win 11 Open Tour victories, including Kent’s own Paul Way, who was part of Europe’s Ryder Cup winning team in 1985. After years of his lessons being regularly disrupted by the unpredictable British weather, he saw an opportunity to maximise the potential of his new home, transforming a Normandy barn on the property into an indoor practice facility.
“At a club, if you were coming for a putting or chipping lesson, I’d be sharing the green with everybody – it’s not very private and you wouldn’t be able to take your time in a public environment,” Paul said.
“Practice facilities have always been an afterthought when designing a golf course, never an integral part of the infrastructure. When we bought Appletrees, I just had this vision of what a fabulous place to learn. We thought it would probably just be a winter thing and perhaps a holiday let during the summer, but thankfully that was never needed.
“It was said at the time it would be a disaster coming off a golf course, but apart from on-course playing lessons, I haven’t been back since to teach – it’s been a huge success.” Paul went on to expand the site, adding several new amenities as part of his golf academy, including a 1,800 square foot green where golfers can practise shots from different positions within 50 yards.
Angela, a Tourism Development Consultant, remembers how they purchased the property in Chessenden Lane just 10 months after they first met in the late 90s. She said: “As I was moving from Hertfordshire, I wanted to be somewhere more rural than where Paul lived in Bearsted.
“Having seen a small ad for Appletrees, I went to view whilst Paul was working. Immediately falling in love with it, we placed an offer without Paul having actually seen it, for fear of losing the sale. It was like a little oasis, so quiet and in the garden it’s like you’re in the middle of nowhere, but you step out and there is village life on your doorstep.”
Nearly two decades since its inception, the venture continues to flourish with Paul conducting approximately 1,000 lessons annually and reaching a worldwide audience through an app he and Angela created during the Covid pandemic.
Paul explained: “It has 65 x 5 Minute videos which teach Golfers every shot they will experience on course, as well as learning Course Strategy & Developing Mental Strength. The App enables golfers to have a lesson with me 24/7, wherever they are in the world. It also brings international clientele to Smarden; we’ve had two from America over this month, I have one from Singapore next month, and last month I had someone from India.”
Despite the pair having relished their 24 years at Appletrees, Paul is scaling back from the demanding nature of his coaching work. “I will not stop coaching altogether, but it is time for me to work less, play more and travel a bit too,” he added. The pair intend to relocate to Berkshire to be nearer to family and friends.
Looking back on their time in the property, Angela said: “Appletrees has had just five owners since 1890 and we have all made significant, transformative changes that have made our home a wonderful place to live and work. For someone new, the world really is your oyster, the space could be used in a number of ways, it offers a perfect practice facility for a Tour Player, a fabulous teaching facility for a Coach or a sporting playground for a mad keen golf enthusiast.
“However, it could also be a place for multi-generational living or suitable for a completely different business or leisure initiative – it’s just a case of thinking outside the box. People need to have a specific desire either for golf, or to have a purpose for the 15th and 18th-century Normandy barns, whether occupational or simply for pleasure.
“We also have access to four different stations in London within an hour, and we’re 35 minutes from Camber Sands, which is a beautiful beach. We have pubs, butchers, art galleries and a post office nearby – there is so much going on.
“But now, it’s time to pass it on to someone else who can take their energy and put their stamp on it. It’s a house that when people come in, you almost feel the love for it, you just want to enjoy the splendour of it, but the fun of it as well – it’s brought a lot of happiness over the years.
“Who knows what the next 10 to 15 years may bring to this lovely home.”
