6 Royal St George's
2010 Top 100 Golf Course Rankings: Royal St George's, number six
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6 Royal St George's
Architect: Purves
Stats: 6,630 yds, par 70, SSS 72
GF: £70-£150
Visitor information: Visitors welcome Monday to Friday. Three and fourballs permitted on a Tuesday (two-ball all other times). Course recommends using regular weekday tees but guests can play from the Championship tees by prior arrangement
W: royalstgeorges.com
2008 Ranking: 12 (Up 6)
Improvements since 2008 Rankings:
Course: Major bunker work ongoing in preparation for 2011 Open Championship
Clubhouse: None
Gallery: Royal St George's pictures
Towering dunes and imposing bunkering, savage rough and greatly undulating fairways delivering cruel bounces and awkward stances, Royal St George's on the Kent coast is a fabulously challenging links course with a long and distinguished history.
Royal St George's is not an out-and-back links, in fact almost no two holes point in the same direction. It means the wind affects the ball differently on each one.
As the course winds through, over and round the dunes it becomes clear that no respite will be offered by this testing Open layout. The 496-yard 4th, where a huge bunker is set into the dune immediately ahead of the tee, and the 15th, with bunkers left and right from the tee and a tiny pear-shaped green, are two of the most difficult.
The par-5 14th, ‘Suez', is a long straight hole which at first glance appears relatively innocuous. But out of bounds hugs the entire right side and the ‘Suez Canal' crosses the fairway 200 yards from the green. In the 1993 Open there were 22 scores of seven or worse here.
The club was established in 1887 by a Scotsman, Dr Laidlaw Purves. Apparently he climbed the tower of St Clement's Church in Sandwich to scour the coast for a suitable spot and his eye came to rest on the stretch of duneland where Royal St George's now sits.
Just seven years later, in 1894, St George's played host to the first Open Championship to be contested outside Scotland. Fittingly, it was Englishman JH Taylor who ran out the winner. Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen, Bobby Locke, Sandy Lyle and Greg Norman have all lifted the Claret Jug at Royal St George's. In 2011 Royal St George's will welcome the Open Championship for the 14th time. It's a great layout for spectators with numerous natural vantage points along the dunes.
Quality of test and design: This is one of the most testing links in the country. From the championship tees the par is 70 with just one par 4 - the 12th - coming in at under 400 yards on the card.
Presentation: Flowing through wonderful duneland, the links has a very natural feel. The course has evolved with the game and new tees and bunkering maintain the exacting challenge for the modern player.
Visual appeal and enjoyment: There are views to the sea and over the surrounding dunes. The distant cooling towers at the disused Richborough Power Station provide a useful and unusual focal point as the layout spins around.
Ambience: Visitors are made very welcome midweek, especially on Tuesdays when the two-ball regulations are relaxed. The clubhouse is steeped in history and packed with character and tradition.
Panellists' comments: "There is a real feeling of space, remoteness, and tranquillity here"; "There aren't many holes where an easy par is available"; "The higher dunes early on create some wonderfully enclosed holes such as the 3rd, 6th and 8th"
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Reader comments
Add your commentsNovember 19 12:59
Jonathan Langridge
I had the pleasure of playing here a couple of years ago with two friends. The course is beautiful with the undulating fairways, immaculate greens and sea views. We were very fortunate that the wind did not blow and all enjoyed respectable rounds and I personally shot well below my handicap and the personal highlight being my second to the par 5 14th rolling just past the pin to leave me an eagle attempt. Unfortunately nerves prevented the putt from sinking.
Everyone at the club was very welcoming and the day could not have been better.
I urge you all to play here at least once it is well worth the green fee and if like when we played it is deserted you will feel like it's your own private slice of golfing nirvana.
December 04 09:09
Steve White
I played here on a balmy summer's day in July this year and the course was simply stunning. It is everything that you could want from a links course, with hard and fast fairways and gorgeous greens that were as true as any I've putted on.
There is always something to challenge your game and you have to think your way around the course. Any errant shots are suitably punished either by the penal rough, or the clever bunkering. Such magnificent surroundings can only inspire and the highlights of my day were 2's at the 6th and 16th on my way to 39 points!
The Club made us very welcome and the lunch was a sumptuous buffet, beautifully presented and prepared to the highest of standards.
A course that simply must be played and I look forward to returning soon!!
January 05 10:29
Tom Metcalfe
I have played a number of times at Royal St. George's, last in the summer of 2009, when I and a group of colleagues played 4 consecutive rounds on this fabulously challenging layout. We were very lucky to have wonderful weather on all 4 rounds, with the only drawback being some see mist when the tide was in. I have played all the great links courses in the UK and Ireland and Royal St. Goerge's is right up there in terms of the challenge, conditioning, layout and quality of the greens, certainly top 5 in the UK and Ireland, if not top 3. You have to think your way around the course and the shot values from tee and fairway are very high on most holes and every hole is memorable. When we played in 2009 there was very little wind, but I've played before when the wind is up and the course can be very difficult in those conditions. We were made very welcome by the club and the catering between rounds was excellent. The green fees for a day's golf are expensive, but are worth every penny if you enjoy quality golf - especially if the weather is kind. We also had the course largely to ourselves, which resulted in a magical experience.