off Guilford Rd,
Sandwich, Kent CT13 9PB
Office
+44 (0)1304 613 090Pro shop
+44 (0)1304 615 236Fax
+44 (0)1304 611 245Website
Visit websiteGolf pro
Justen Fiddler (Head Professional).The Course:
18 holes. Seaside links. Gently undulating terrain - easy to walk.
Surroundings:
Coastal duneland.
Designer:
Original design by Dr Laidlaw Purves (1887); later revisions by Dr Alister MacKenzie (1924).
51.273891
1.366446
15 miles N of Dover
From the centre of Sandwich (Bell Hotel) follow The Quay for 100 yds before turning sharp right, and after another 150 yds sharp left. Follow Guilford Road south out of Sandwich for 1 mile. Royal St George's golf is on your left (before the toll gate).
Royal St George's Golf Club: "Sandwich" as it is usually called, is one of the royal standard bearers for seaside links golf in England. This Open Championship venue is a course to relish on your first and subsequent visits. Always presented in excellent condition, and providing a true test of links golf, the layout weaves its way across wonderfully natural and open links terrain.
At times resembling a turbulent sea, the fairways pitch and roll across the grassy undulations, with occasional towering dunes also present. The constantly shifting direction of the holes ensures a continually changing wind direction for your tee shots. The challenge from the tee and around the greens is further reinforced with a threatening array of classic revetted (sod-faced) bunkers. Many of the deepest greenside bunkers have steps leading down into them; this is also the case at an extravagant pair of railway-sleepered bunkers buried into a large dune at the tough par-4 4th hole.
When bunkering is not making its presence felt, deep rough generally lies in wait beyond the good-width fairways. On one or two holes, and most notably at the testing par-5 14th, OB also has to be reckoned with.
Frequent views onto Pegwell Bay and the North Sea enhance the natural beauty of the layout. For anyone setting out to play the great links courses of Great Britain and Ireland, Sandwich should certainly be high on your list.
Visitors welcome on weekdays; no outside visitors on weekends. Two-ball (singles or foursomes) is the normal format on all days except Tues.
Must book in advance. Maximum handicap: 18 (men & women). Proof of handicap required.
Credit cards accepted (not Amex). [Last updated: 2019].
Players generally walk this course. Golf carts available only for certified medical reasons. Caddies available if pre-booked.
Good
Royal St George's has hosted many top-level competitions during its illustrious history. Several Open Championships, Amateur Championships, Walker and Curtis Cups have been decided on the links of 'Sandwich' (see our Tournaments section >by Venue >Royal St George's).
Three renowned golf courses that sit cheek by jowl along this stretch of Kent coast have hosted The Open Championship: Royal St George's, Royal Cinque Ports and Prince's. Only Royal St George's is on the current Open Championship rosta.
Edward VII conferred the Royal prefix on St George's GC in 1902. By royal prerogative, 19 English golf clubs use the "Royal" title, namely: Ascot, Ashdown Forest, Birkdale, Blackheath, Cinque Ports, Cromer, Eastbourne, Epping Forest, Household (Windsor Castle), Liverpool (Hoylake), Lytham & St Annes, Mid-Surrey, North Devon (Westward Ho!), Norwich, St George's, West Norfolk (Brancaster), Wimbledon, Winchester, Worlington & Newmarket.
World: 33rd best course in the world (GOLF magazine, 2020/21).
GB&I: 10th best course in Britain & Ireland (Golf World, 2020/21).
England: No.1 course in England (Golf World, 2021).
Prince's Golf Club, Prince's Drive, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9QB
+44 (0)1304 611 118
Visit websiteFeaturing 38 bedrooms with en-suite facilities, lounge, bar, terrace and snooker room, The Lodge at Prince’s also offers modern, contemporary dining in The Brasserie on the Bay. Guests are provided with fantastic views of Prince’s Golf Club, Royal St Georges Golf Club and across Pegwell Bay to the White Cliffs at Ramsgate.
Prince's
Royal St George's; Royal Cinque Ports.
North Foreland; Walmer & Kingsdown.
Sandwich, Kent
+44 (0)1304 613 388
Visit websiteThe Bell Hotel has been welcoming guests to stay and dine in Sandwich since Tudor times. A Bell Inn has existed on The Quay, adjacent to the Barbican Gate and Toll, overlooking what would have been the harbour, now the River Stour, since about 1300. The present listed building is mainly 19th century. The hotel offers 37 ensuite bedrooms, a Georgian Regency room catering for up to 100 guests, the Old Dining Room restaurant and two bars.
No
Royal St Georges; Prince's.
Royal Cinque Ports; North Foreland.
Tournaments:
European Tour: 2021 marks the 50th and last season of the world renowned European Tour, launched in April 1972 at the Spanish Open. From 2022 the Tour will be sponsored by Dubai-based global supply chain and ports operator DP World, and will be known as the DP World Tour.
South African Open: December 2021 events in South Africa have again been impacted by the Covid pandemic. The South African Open (Dec 2-5) will no longer be played as a DP World Tour event, and the Alfred Dunhill Championship (Dec 9-12) has been cancelled.
Who's Who:
Bernhard Langer: at age 64, Langer collected a record sixth Charles Schwab Cup, the only player to have won the season-long points chase more than twice. He also topped the PGA Tour Champions money-list for the 11th time out of a possible 13 since 2008.
Carlota Ciganda: the five-time Solheim Cup star was delighted to record a fourth Ladies European Tour win in her home national championship, the Ladies Spanish Open.
Lee Elder: Trailblazer, Ryder Cup player, four-time PGA Tour winner and eight-time Senior PGA Tour winner, Lee Elder died on November 28, aged 87. In 1975 he became the first African American golfer to play in the Masters tournament, and in so doing provided one of the pivotal moments in the history of professional golf.
Golf World Top 100: Best Golf Courses in Europe. From France to Spain to the Netherlands and Norway, the Golf World Top 100 panel reveals the places you have to play (published 20 October 2021).
New 27-hole golf complex to be built in southern Belgium
A new golf complex in southern Belgium, close to the border with Luxembourg, will start construction in June 2021.
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club "makes its tournament debut with the hosting of the Italian Open on the European Tour" by Richard Humphreys
Gamble Sands opens short course:
David McLay Kidd’s 14-hole QuickSands short course has opened for play at Gamble Sands in Brewster, Washington.
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