A golf club is celebrating 50 years of welcoming players.

The West Malling Golf Club in Trottiscliffe Road was opened on June 4, 1974.

It was designed by former Open Champion and five-time Ryder Cup player Max Faulkner and plays more than 7000 yards.

Mike Ellis and Ernie Thompson took over the club in 1983 and went on to introduce a second 18-hole course.

Both courses, now known as the Spitfire and Hurricane, were named after the famed wartime machines which dominated the skies of Kent through the Second World War.

Ernie retired in 1995, leaving Mike to carry the club forward along with the help of his family before retiring himself in 2011.

Since then, Mike’s daughters Katie and Lara, and his grandson Greg, have continued running the golf club and tried to keep a family ethos about the place.

Along with two courses, it boasts two putting greens, a covered driving range, a pro-shop, bar, and restaurant.