Sitting as very close neighbours to each other on this stretch of Kent coast (Eng) are three golf courses which have hosted The Open championship - Royal St Georges, Royal Cinque Ports and Prince's. Only Royal St Georges is on the current Open championship rosta, but the other two golf courses are still wonderful exemplars of English links golf. Royal St George's Golf Club one of the top rated links courses in England, and certainly a course to relish on your first and subsequent visits. Frequent host to the Open Championship, the golf course is always presented in immaculate condition, and provides a true test of links golf. Hazards come in the form of the subtlety of the layout itself, numerous pot bunkers, and some very memorable sand traps, not least the deepest bunker in UK golf, which looms large from the tee at the long par-4 4th hole. Deep rough lies in wait beyond the good-width fairways and on one or two holes, notably at the fabulous par-5 14th, OB also has to be reckoned with. For anyone wanting to play the great links courses of Great Britain and Ireland, this is one not to miss. Royal St George's was the Open Championship venue on 12 occasions and host to numerous other big tournaments including Walker Cups and Curtis Cups. In 2004 Golf Monthly (in association with HSBC) ranked this golf course the 17th best course in UK & Ireland while Golf World ranked it the 12th best course Where2Golf.com lists this course amongst the Top Golf Courses in the UK. Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, or Deal as its also known, is one of England's most authentic and natural links. The flattish terrain is full of bumps, mounds and hollows (not least on the fairways), creating interest on every hole, as well as a few blind and semi-blind tee and approach shots. Digging your way out of the rough is difficult enough, while avoiding and escaping from the numerous steep faced bunkers will thoroughly test your course management and golfing skills. With wonderful greens and sea-views on the front-nine, this is a fabulous golf course for all links enthusiasts, although perhaps a tough one for higher-handicappers. Royal Cinque Ports was a former Open Championship venue on 2 occasions (1909 and 1920). In 2004 Golf Monthly (in association with HSBC) ranked this golf course the 117th best course in UK / Ireland while Golf World ranked it 44th. Where2Golf.com lists this course amongst the Top Golf Courses in England Prince's, on offer at Princes are 27-holes of very good links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is the illustrious Royal St Georges course, but Princes is far from overshadowed. The gentle dunes, fine layout of the 3-nines and usually excellent greens will bring a smile of satisfaction to all links golfers, although the general maintenance of the tee-boxes and fairways are not quite on a par with the Royal neighbour. The Shore and Dunes nines seem to fit together the best, although many officianados advocate the Shore-Himalayas combination. Our view is the Dunes is perhaps the most interesting layout, with an excellent and challenging first hole and many fine links holes after that. Probably best to fit in all 27 on your visit ! Views of the English Channel and Pegwell Bay are "complemented" in the other direction by the nearby (but disused) power station and Pfizer's UK research headquarters. Prince's has been a former Open Championship venue on 1 occasion in 1932 (winner : Gene Sarazen). Curtis Cup venue : 1956 (GB&I 5, USA 4). |
