Golf on the Kent coast: A short distance north of the White Cliffs of Dover you’ll find three close neighbours that have all hosted the Open Championship. Royal St George’s (still on the Open roster), Royal Cinque Ports and Prince’s sit cheek by jowl on a dune-filled stretch of Kent coast between the towns of Sandwich and Deal.
Royal Cinque Ports and Royal St George’s are two of nineteen English golf clubs with a Royal prefix conferred by the sovereign. The oldest of England’s “Royals” is Royal Blackheath near London. Established in 1608 it lays claim to being the world’s oldest golf club, while Royal North Devon in Westward Ho! is England’s oldest golf course. All three courses are standard bearers for English links golf.
Make the most out of your golf trip to the Kent Coast. Look up the location of the golf courses on the map; it will help you with your planning to play the best during your holidays. To each golf course visited we have applied a rating. The scale, 5 (highest) to 2 (lowest), attempts to provide an indication of the golfing experience you can expect at each rated course. Hover your on-screen mouse pointer above the rating key hereafter to read our definitions.
Visitors welcome
London
Harry Colt
Visitors welcome
Dover
Current design by English course architect Harry Colt (1927).
Visitors welcome
Dover
Nick Faldo & Steve Smyers
Visitors welcome
Crawley
Original designer unknown. Dr Alister MacKenzie was commissioned to make substantial design improvements in the 1920s.
Visitors welcome
Brighton
The Dale Hill course (also known as the "Old course") dates from 1976. The "Woosnam course" was designed by Ian Woosnam (1997).
Visitors welcome
Brighton
American course architect Robert E. "Bob" Cupp designed the East and West courses.
Visitors welcome
Brighton
American course architect Robert E. "Bob" Cupp designed the East and West courses.
On application
Brighton
James Braid
On application
Brighton
Donald Steel
Visitors welcome
Crawley
Peter Nicholson
Visitors welcome
London
John Frederick "Aber" Abercromby.
Visitors welcome
Brighton
J.H. Taylor & Frederick G. "Fred" Hawtree (early-1920s).
Visitors welcome
Dover
Original design by Dr Laidlaw Purves (1888); later revisions by James Braid and Dr Alister MacKenzie (1924).
Private course
London
Jack Nicklaus
Visitors welcome
London
Ron Kirby
Rsrt guests only
Crawley
David Williams
Weekdays only
London
Paul Way
Visitors welcome
Dover
Main course: major redesign of the original layout by Herbert Fowler & Tom Simpson (1912).
Northcliffe short course: also designed by Fowler & Simpson (1920).
Visitors welcome
Brighton
Original design by Royal Ashdown GC professional Jack Rowe (1904). Later revisions by J.H. Taylor, Frank Pennink and club member Philip Russell-Vick.
Visitors welcome
Dover
Original course designed by Charles Hutchings & Percy Montagu Lucas (1906). Current 27-hole layout resulted from a significant post-war redesign by Sir Guy Campbell & John Morrison (1950).
Visitors welcome
Guildford
Tom Dunn is thought to be the original designer.
Visitors welcome
Rochester, Kent
Original design by Charles "Hugh" Alison of Colt, MacKenzie & Alison (1920s). Significant redesign and incorporation of seven new holes by Donald Steel (1997).
Visitors welcome
Crawley
Original design by brothers and founding members William R. and Francis A. Lee; some input from the two other founding members: Robert Birch and Rev A.T. "Archdeacon" Scott. Later modifications made by Harry Hunter and longstanding Ashdown professional Jack Rowe (1897); final significant changes made by Jack Rowe (1922).
Weekdays only
Dover
Original 9-holes laid out by Henry Hunter (1892), and extended to 18 (1896). Layout redesigned by James Braid (1919). Sir Guy Campbell restored the course after WWII, substantially retaining the earlier Hunter/Braid routing.
Visitors welcome
Brighton
Original nine-hole course designed by Horace G. Hutchinson and Charles Mayhewe (1887). Later extended and modified by unknown others.
Weekdays only
Dover
Original design by Dr Laidlaw Purves (1887); later revisions by Dr Alister MacKenzie (1924).
On application
Dover
Original design by English course architect Harry Colt and Scottish professional Douglas Rolland. Later revisions by Tom Simpson (1932), Sir Guy Campbell (1938), Major H.C. "Charles" Tippet (1947).
Visitors welcome
Brighton
Course designed by J.H. Taylor in 1907, when the club moved to its current Blatchington location.
Weekdays only
London
Harry Colt
Visitors welcome
Dover
Original design by James Braid. Restored and re-opened in 1948 after WWII (when the course was covered in barbed wire and defensive positions). Extended and improved by John Lawrie (1960s).
Wkends restrictd
Brighton
Original design by the firm Ferigna (Cecil K. Hutchison, Sir Guy Campbell & Col. Stafford V. Hotchkin).
Thurs only
London
Original design by an unknown professional golfer (1890); significant modifications by James Braid (1929). With the exception of the par-4 16th and 17th holes (created in 1969), the routing has remained relatively unchanged since Braid's day.
Chevron Championship: Carlton Woods near Houston in Texas provides the stage for the first women’s major championship of 2025, where Nelly Korda defends her title. (April 24-27).
Soudal Open: successor to the Belgian Open, the Soudal Open takes place on the quiet, wooded North course of Rinkven Golfclub. Belgian stars Thomas Pieters and Nicolas Colsaerts will be vying for top honours. (May 22-25).
Rory McIlroy: with his 2025 win in The Masters, Rory joined the pantheon of golfing greats who have achieved a career Grand Slam of men’s majors ... Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are the only others in this select band.
Bernhard Langer: he may have played in his last Masters Tournament, but the 67-year-old German will be trying to extend his own record, and win a 13th senior major title at the 36th Regions Tradition. (May 15-18).
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
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