Park Pale,
Rochester, Kent ME2 3UL
Office
+44 (0)1474 823 411Pro shop
+44 (0)1474 823 658Fax
+44 (0)1474 824 446Website
Visit websiteGolf pro
Warren Wood (Head Professional).The Course:
18 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Gently undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb (more so on the back-nine).
Surroundings:
Woodland.
Designer:
Original design by Charles "Hugh" Alison of Colt, MacKenzie & Alison (1920s). Significant redesign and incorporation of seven new holes by Donald Steel (1997).
51.393976
0.428477
6 mi W of Rochester.
Rochester & Cobham
Rochester & Cobham Park Golf Club: challenging the renowned coastal courses in eastern Kent, the north and west of the county is home to several excellent parkland courses. Amongst the flag-bearers is Rochester & Cobham Park, kept good company by the likes of Knole Park and Wilderness near Sevenoaks. Located on the opposite side of the River Medway to the historic town of Rochester, the predominantly open terrain of Cobham Hall's former deer park is home to this excellent Charles "Hugh" Alison design, one to test all facets of your game.
Built on an easy-draining base of Kentish chalk, the course plays on either side and through a relatively shallow valley. This absorbing and predominantly open parkland layout is based on two nine-hole loops, with a flatter front-nine, and more elevation change on the inward holes. There's no water to fear, but in spring and summer the rough beyond the fairways will help focus your straight-hitting from the tee.
Rochester's expansive layout offers plenty of space between the holes, with good-width fairways leading to subtly sloping greens, some large, some small. The pleasantly undulating and natural terrain is bounded by a wonderful variety of trees, including some seriously gnarly ancient oaks.
Other notable features of Rochester & Cobham Park include its large and (on the inside) baronial style clubhouse, excellent practice ground, and welcoming ambience to visitors. A not uncommon breeze blowing across the course may add an extra soupçon of challenge to you golf on any given day.
Pick of the holes: the risk-reward short par-4 17th, part of an excellent closing trio, encourages long hitters to have a tilt at the green, with substantial bunker defences awaiting anything hit short or offline.
Visitors welcome on weekdays, and after 1pm on weekends.
Must book in advance.
Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2022].
Players generally walk this course. Golf carts available for hire.
Excellent
Rochester Golf Club began life in 1891 with a nine-hole course in nearby Higham. A change of land ownership in 1919 threatened the club with closure until it was rescued by The Honourable Ivo Bligh (lord of the Manor of Cobham, captain of the England cricket team in its first ever Ashes series against Australia, and later the 8th Earl of Darnley). Bligh offered the club a lease of part of the deer park at Cobham Hall.
From the opening holes, you'll see Cobham Hall, one of the most important former stately homes in the county of Kent. This grand Elizabethan house was formerly home to the Cobham family (Barons of Cobham), the Stewart family (Earls of Lennox) and the Bligh family (Earls of Darnley). Today Cobham Hall is a private boarding school for girls.
The original golf clubhouse was transported from Higham to the new site, but was separated from the course by the A2 road (originally an old Roman road known as Watling Street). In 1992, when the Government unveiled the route of the Channel Tunnel rail link, it was clear the the track would run straight through the clubhouse and affect several holes on the course. This resulted in a major revamp of the layout by Donald Steel, and the opening of the present course and clubhouse in 1997.
The Masters: The 88th Masters Tournament at Augusta National sees LIV golfer Jon Rahm defend his title against the world’s best. Pressing hard will be world No.1 and 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler and world No.2 Rory McIlroy (April 11-14).
Chevron Championship: the women’s major championship season gets underway for the second year at its new Carlton Woods home outside Houston, Texas. World No.2 Lilia Vu defends (April 18-21).
Nelly Korda: records a perfect start to 2024 with five wins out of her last five starts on the LPGA Tour. Winning the Chevron Championship also brought the second major championship win of her career.
Scottie Scheffler: narrowly missed out on matching Nelly Korda's five wins in five starts, when he placed second at the Houston Open. Either side of that, he won The Arnold Palmer, The Players, and then The Masters and The Heritage.
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.
Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.
Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.
Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available
You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.
