Royal St George's Golf Club
Kent, England
(31 reviews)
Royal St George's Golf Club overview
Royal St George’s was founded in 1887 and intended to be the St Andrews of the South. Located on Kent’s coast in the south-east of England, this is where the Open Championship was first played outside of Scotland in 1894 and has been hosted more times than at any other course south of the border.
Named after England’s patron saint and granted Royal patronage in 1902, Royal St George’s is consistently ranked the best course in England and top 30 worldwide. Princes and Royal Cinque Ports (or Deal) are also nearby, making up a formidable trio of past and present Open Championship courses to include on your visit.
Royal St George's Golf Course overview
A challenging par-70 and just over 7200 yards off the tips, Royal St George’s is not your traditional out and back layout, but more like Muirfield with two broadly circular nines loosely representing a figure of eight. All the holes are very different and memorable blending beautifully into the natural surroundings, which tends to be a true sign of a great golf course.
Over the year’s modifications have taken place to try and soften the number of blind shots on this original Donald Steel masterpiece, however, the severely undulating fairways, wild rough and penal bunkering make good scoring very tough indeed.
Signature hole
The par-4 496-yard 4th is one of the greatest holes in Open Championship golf. Faced with possibly the UK’s tallest and deepest bunker from the tee, it really is a very intimidating drive. The fairway beyond, for those that manage a successful carry, is called the ‘Elysian Fields’ and approach shots have to contend with a green cut at an angle. Accurate clubbing and shot-making are required, with anything short getting caught up by a Valley of Sin.
Did You Know?
Ian Fleming, the creator of 007 and the famous James Bond books, was a member at Royal St George’s. The golf scenes from the film Goldfinger were filmed at Stoke Park, just outside London, which was referred to as ‘Royal St Marks’ in the film, no doubt inspired by Fleming’s home club.
Accommodation near Royal St George's Golf Club
The Bell Hotel
A historic 37-bedroom hotel overlooking the River Stour in the center of Sandwich town, which is less than 5 miles from three past and present Open Championship golf courses. Easy access from London.
The Lodge at Prince's Golf Club
The Lodge at Prince’s offers 38 large suite-style rooms that have been built for golfers, along with multiple dining options and 27-holes of championship links golf.
