Tony, There was a second course at Sandy Lodge, but it was very much a second course for ladies and children and it didn't survive the Second World War. The club still owns that land and it is overgrown. There does not seem to be any enthusiasm to restore it. It lay to the south of the main course and is now partly occupied by the extensive practice facilities. At various time it had 9 or 11 holes. A couple of holes were incorporated into a composite course used for a big professional tournament not long before the Second World War because the short 18th would not have been a good finishing hole as it would be impossible to squeeze spectators into the tiny corner of the grounds that this hole occupies.
Tom, Sandy Lodge was the brainchild of James Francis Markes. When we researched the archive material and old publicity material for the centenary book it became clear that the routing, layout and detail design were very much the work of Markes, not that of Vardon, who as a friend often assisted Markes and rubber stamped his decisions. When the course was under construction (on land rented from the Moor Park estate) the landlord changed the parcel of land being made available to Sandy Lodge and it was Markes who rerouted the course because Vardon was not available to consult. Markes also made drainage diagrams and was from the start the club's proprietor, secretary, manager, treasurer, greens chairman and all else. He was bought out not long after the Second World War. In fact Markes ran every aspect of the club and kept it alive during both World Wars. He had seaside grasses imported from North Berwick and Le Touquet and they flourished on the deep sandy soil. He had heathers brought in from Royal Estates in the Windsor area. It is quite a story and I'm happy to lend my copy of the centenary book to anyone who promises to return it. It was the Second World War which messed up the courses simply because they had neither the finances not the labour to maintain it a a treeless inland links. Weeds and trees soon began to grow and were in little time too well established to eradicate. After the War the membership was low in numbers, the club desperately short of funds and there were a number of changes of ownership which threatened the club's survival. You'll have to read the book to get the full story, but, essentially it only became a members' club in the early 80s. At one point it looked as though the club would be sold for its extensive mineral rights.
Tree growth had changed the playing of the course and in 2000 some alterations to the course were made by the club professional Jeff Pinsent. Mainly these were to improve visibility and safety and to remove one or two features that were now outmoded. Public safety, unfortunately has led to the remodelling of one or two holes along the boundary to try to prevent legal action when someone misdirects a tee shot or two.
Markes had strong opinions about every aspect of the club. He thought of it as a place to play golf, not to socialise. The clubhouse today is a place to socialise, but its design and fabric are going to keep making serious demands on the club's finances. I don't think the club could consider restoring the course to what it was pre-WW2. But then, you are a persuasive man, Mr Doak!
When it opened Sandy Lodge caused quite a stir as there was nothing like it elsewhere in London, particularly its links-like soil and turf. Markes was an imaginative publicity man and he had well-placed friends and allies in the press and in the City. There was rarely a week in which one or other of the main national newspapers did not carry some article or other, some news of an event, or even the results of that weekend's competitions. Markes lavished a great deal of time and energy on the construction of the course. He was out there on his horse while the men dug and scraped into the vast sand bed below the course. He took immense care of the bunkers in particular. For instance the club still has the inclinometer Markes used to angle precisely the sleepers in the green-front bunker on the 2nd hole so that no ball hitting the sleepers could escape yet the player was unlikely to be hit by the ball bouncing back into the bunker.