Prince's, Royal St Georges and Royal Cinque Ports thoughts?

NorthernHills · February 20, 2018

I have a group of friends that go on two or three golf weekends a year. We tend to do the classic weekend break locations, (The Belfry, Celtic Manor, Forest Pines, The Warwickshire covering the last 4) this year however a number of us are hitting a landmark age so fancy doing something a bit special. We've been considering Ireland and Scotland, but I've spotted that you can do a package to play all 3 of the courses above. Has anyone done this/got any thoughts to how they compare to some of the classic Scotland/Ireland itineraries?

As most of us our London based, the reduced travel is very appealing!

Your-away! · February 20, 2018

They look stunning places to play but... go to St Andrews and get 3 day tickets, if you have never been before you have got to do it at least once, there is a reason so many people from all over the world go, it really is a golf mecca

Ty_Webb · February 20, 2018

I have a group of friends that go on two or three golf weekends a year. We tend to do the classic weekend break locations, (The Belfry, Celtic Manor, Forest Pines, The Warwickshire covering the last 4) this year however a number of us are hitting a landmark age so fancy doing something a bit special. We've been considering Ireland and Scotland, but I've spotted that you can do a package to play all 3 of the courses above. Has anyone done this/got any thoughts to how they compare to some of the classic Scotland/Ireland itineraries?

As most of us our London based, the reduced travel is very appealing!

RSG is spectacular. Wonderful golf course. Hard. Layout is varied, but also evenly paced and has just lots of great holes. Bring a jacket and tie and have the carvery lunch. One of the best golf club lunches you'll get anywhere.

RCP is very good. It's a little more out and back than RSG. Last 7 holes are joke hard into the wind (which is normally the case). It's a lot more quirky than RSG and has some quite unusual holes on it (3, 6 and 16 spring to mind). It also has some really good holes on it, though not quite as many as RSG IMO

Prince's is not bad. It's not as good as the other two. They have 27 holes there and I would suggest being sure to play Shore and Dunes and skip Himalayas.

NorthernHills · February 20, 2018

I have a group of friends that go on two or three golf weekends a year. We tend to do the classic weekend break locations, (The Belfry, Celtic Manor, Forest Pines, The Warwickshire covering the last 4) this year however a number of us are hitting a landmark age so fancy doing something a bit special. We've been considering Ireland and Scotland, but I've spotted that you can do a package to play all 3 of the courses above. Has anyone done this/got any thoughts to how they compare to some of the classic Scotland/Ireland itineraries?

As most of us our London based, the reduced travel is very appealing!

RSG is spectacular. Wonderful golf course. Hard. Layout is varied, but also evenly paced and has just lots of great holes. Bring a jacket and tie and have the carvery lunch. One of the best golf club lunches you'll get anywhere.

RCP is very good. It's a little more out and back than RSG. Last 7 holes are joke hard into the wind (which is normally the case). It's a lot more quirky than RSG and has some quite unusual holes on it (3, 6 and 16 spring to mind). It also has some really good holes on it, though not quite as many as RSG IMO

Prince's is not bad. It's not as good as the other two. They have 27 holes there and I would suggest being sure to play Shore and Dunes and skip Himalayas.

Thanks, very useful maybe if we are going to be taking a few days off work, we do Scotland for this landmark trip and try and sneak in RCP & RSG over a couple of days another time!

Ty_Webb · February 20, 2018

I have a group of friends that go on two or three golf weekends a year. We tend to do the classic weekend break locations, (The Belfry, Celtic Manor, Forest Pines, The Warwickshire covering the last 4) this year however a number of us are hitting a landmark age so fancy doing something a bit special. We've been considering Ireland and Scotland, but I've spotted that you can do a package to play all 3 of the courses above. Has anyone done this/got any thoughts to how they compare to some of the classic Scotland/Ireland itineraries?

As most of us our London based, the reduced travel is very appealing!

RSG is spectacular. Wonderful golf course. Hard. Layout is varied, but also evenly paced and has just lots of great holes. Bring a jacket and tie and have the carvery lunch. One of the best golf club lunches you'll get anywhere.

RCP is very good. It's a little more out and back than RSG. Last 7 holes are joke hard into the wind (which is normally the case). It's a lot more quirky than RSG and has some quite unusual holes on it (3, 6 and 16 spring to mind). It also has some really good holes on it, though not quite as many as RSG IMO

Prince's is not bad. It's not as good as the other two. They have 27 holes there and I would suggest being sure to play Shore and Dunes and skip Himalayas.

Thanks, very useful maybe if we are going to be taking a few days off work, we do Scotland for this landmark trip and try and sneak in RCP & RSG over a couple of days another time!

People do RSG and RCP in one day. Play RSG in the morning, have lunch and play RCP afterwards. Great day out and if you live in London you can do it from home

jdpilot · February 21, 2018

I have a group of friends that go on two or three golf weekends a year. We tend to do the classic weekend break locations, (The Belfry, Celtic Manor, Forest Pines, The Warwickshire covering the last 4) this year however a number of us are hitting a landmark age so fancy doing something a bit special. We've been considering Ireland and Scotland, but I've spotted that you can do a package to play all 3 of the courses above. Has anyone done this/got any thoughts to how they compare to some of the classic Scotland/Ireland itineraries?

As most of us our London based, the reduced travel is very appealing!

RSG is spectacular. Wonderful golf course. Hard. Layout is varied, but also evenly paced and has just lots of great holes. Bring a jacket and tie and have the carvery lunch. One of the best golf club lunches you'll get anywhere.

RCP is very good. It's a little more out and back than RSG. Last 7 holes are joke hard into the wind (which is normally the case). It's a lot more quirky than RSG and has some quite unusual holes on it (3, 6 and 16 spring to mind). It also has some really good holes on it, though not quite as many as RSG IMO

Prince's is not bad. It's not as good as the other two. They have 27 holes there and I would suggest being sure to play Shore and Dunes and skip Himalayas.

I played these courses last year and pretty much agree with Ty_Webb's assessment. I would only say that Prince's was a little underwhelming to me when compared to the other two magnificent courses. My group stayed at The Apartments at Prince's and we all enjoyed the accommodations and meals. I would make one suggestion - if you have time, make the drive further south and also play Littlestone - it's an absolutely great golf course and the greens there were superb.

duffer987 · February 22, 2018

NH - I keep putting off the Kent courses until I can drag my mate over to play... I may stop waiting at some point :)

If you were looking for something packagey, not too far from London, and featuring fantastic courses for a special long weekend, here's an option: http://www.atlantic-links.co.uk/

I actually booked separately when I played, as I was a single, but Saunton, RND, and St. Enodoc have all the fun and challenge this golfer needs. Lots of good pints and food options down there too

NorthernHills · February 27, 2018

NH - I keep putting off the Kent courses until I can drag my mate over to play... I may stop waiting at some point :)
If you were looking for something packagey, not too far from London, and featuring fantastic courses for a special long weekend, here's an option: http://www.atlantic-links.co.uk/

I actually booked separately when I played, as I was a single, but Saunton, RND, and St. Enodoc have all the fun and challenge this golfer needs. Lots of good pints and food options down there too

Thanks hadn't even looked in that part of the world but definitely going on the list now!

North Butte · March 2, 2018

I like flying into London (Gatwick if possible), taking the train out to the town of Deal, checking into a nice B&B then taking a taxi each day to Deal, Princes and/or Sandwich for golf. Plenty of nice places to eat, the golf courses collectively are out of this world and it's all just two hours on the train from the airport.

imakaveli · March 5, 2018

I have a group of friends that go on two or three golf weekends a year. We tend to do the classic weekend break locations, (The Belfry, Celtic Manor, Forest Pines, The Warwickshire covering the last 4) this year however a number of us are hitting a landmark age so fancy doing something a bit special. We've been considering Ireland and Scotland, but I've spotted that you can do a package to play all 3 of the courses above. Has anyone done this/got any thoughts to how they compare to some of the classic Scotland/Ireland itineraries?

As most of us our London based, the reduced travel is very appealing!

RSG is spectacular. Wonderful golf course. Hard. Layout is varied, but also evenly paced and has just lots of great holes. Bring a jacket and tie and have the carvery lunch. One of the best golf club lunches you'll get anywhere.

RCP is very good. It's a little more out and back than RSG. Last 7 holes are joke hard into the wind (which is normally the case). It's a lot more quirky than RSG and has some quite unusual holes on it (3, 6 and 16 spring to mind). It also has some really good holes on it, though not quite as many as RSG IMO

Prince's is not bad. It's not as good as the other two. They have 27 holes there and I would suggest being sure to play Shore and Dunes and skip Himalayas.

I played these courses last year and pretty much agree with Ty_Webb's assessment. I would only say that Prince's was a little underwhelming to me when compared to the other two magnificent courses. My group stayed at The Apartments at Prince's and we all enjoyed the accommodations and meals. I would make one suggestion - if you have time, make the drive further south and also play Littlestone - it's an absolutely great golf course and the greens there were superb.

Agreed, Littlestone is great fun, don't miss it! Also, they have an italian chef in the clubhouse! ;)

cguerin3 · April 10, 2018

I like flying into London (Gatwick if possible), taking the train out to the town of Deal, checking into a nice B&B then taking a taxi each day to Deal, Princes and/or Sandwich for golf. Plenty of nice places to eat, the golf courses collectively are out of this world and it's all just two hours on the train from the airport.

Visiting a buddy in London in August and was hoping to make the trip out to play RSG one of the days. How difficult is navigating the train out that way, with clubs, duffel, etc., for someone who has never been to London before?

duffer987 · April 18, 2018

So my 'keep putting off' turned out to really mean this past weekend. So excuse my mini-review in this thread, but it seems better than starting a new thread.

It wasn't my best golf, as hitting balls at the range in Burges Hill on Friday was the first time I swung a club since Feb 4th.

Saturday's round at Royal Ashdown, was my first round since then, so low expectations were reasonable and while I played poorly, Royal Ashdown is a fantastic heathland course with loads of variety, elevation changes, up and down shots, some nice short holes and some very strong long ones, but since this is a Kent thread I'll leave it at that. If you are in the area (heck if you are visiting from outside the country and like golf) it is definitely worth a play.

So Sunday afternoon, I played Deal, and thankfully after being able to hit balls off an actual grass range, it was much better than the previous day. Which was important as with the wind, solid driving was a must. It really is a 'traditional out and in' design and is lots of fun. Definitely need to make your score on the way out and hang on coming in. My 4 over through 10, followed by 7 over on the last 8 matched those expectations :)

The rippling and undulating nature of the greens and fairways is difficult to see via the pics, but once out there it's quite something. It really gives it that old, old school feel, with a number of open fronted greens for rolling the ball on. Condition was good for mid April. Certainly not as quirky as RND or TOC, but it did remind me more of those courses than others. Top tier track.

Monday brought 36 holes at Royal St. Georges and talk about your top tier tracks :)

Awesome course. Worth the accolades. 2-10 through the best of the dunes, with the direction changes, and varied lengths, strikes me as one of those Ballybunion/RCD 9 hole stretches that is about as good as it gets. Once you tee off on 12 you might largely be done with those dunes, bar a green sighting on 16 and 17 tee box, but the closing holes are still strong, varied, and fun. Wind picked up as the day went on and the two par 5s - both measuring 500yds on the day - going different ways really highlight that, as the one was Driver-5i and the other Driver-3W-7i.

Was first off for the opening round of the day and got around in 2:35hrs, just me, caddie, and grounds crew, which might have thrown off their North American golfer calculations, but they were nice enough to get me back out before a few groups of tourists and member times and well ahead of my scheduled replay time.

I got eaten up by a couple bunkers during the day at Sandwich, but otherwise Royal St. Georges and Deal are eminently playable courses - as I didn't lose a ball between my 3 rounds there - that do a great job of combining fun, interest, and challenge. I'll try and post up a few pics later.

North Butte · April 18, 2018

I like flying into London (Gatwick if possible), taking the train out to the town of Deal, checking into a nice B&B then taking a taxi each day to Deal, Princes and/or Sandwich for golf. Plenty of nice places to eat, the golf courses collectively are out of this world and it's all just two hours on the train from the airport.

Visiting a buddy in London in August and was hoping to make the trip out to play RSG one of the days. How difficult is navigating the train out that way, with clubs, duffel, etc., for someone who has never been to London before?

I was going to leave this to some of the UK guys but outside of London proper, the trains are pretty manageable with a duffel and set of clubs. I spent a week living out of a carryon bag on one shoulder and taking my Swift-X style carry bag full of clubs (with rain cover on) with me onto an off trains, into taxis.

But if you are going to have to connect via the Tube, not sure I'd recommend it. As a small-town USA kind of guy, the whole Underground experience with just me and an umbrella seems a bit crowded and nerve wracking. No way I'd want to do that with a bag of golf clubs on my shoulder.

North Butte · April 18, 2018

So my 'keep putting off' turned out to really mean this past weekend. So excuse my mini-review in this thread, but it seems better than starting a new thread.

It wasn't my best golf, as hitting balls at the range in Burges Hill on Friday was the first time I swung a club since Feb 4th.
Saturday's round at Royal Ashdown, was my first round since then, so low expectations were reasonable and while I played poorly, Royal Ashdown is a fantastic heathland course with loads of variety, elevation changes, up and down shots, some nice short holes and some very strong long ones, but since this is a Kent thread I'll leave it at that. If you are in the area (heck if you are visiting from outside the country and like golf) it is definitely worth a play.

So Sunday afternoon, I played Deal, and thankfully after being able to hit balls off an actual grass range, it was much better than the previous day. Which was important as with the wind, solid driving was a must. It really is a 'traditional out and in' design and is lots of fun. Definitely need to make your score on the way out and hang on coming in. My 4 over through 10, followed by 7 over on the last 8 matched those expectations :)
The rippling and undulating nature of the greens and fairways is difficult to see via the pics, but once out there it's quite something. It really gives it that old, old school feel, with a number of open fronted greens for rolling the ball on. Condition was good for mid April. Certainly not as quirky as RND or TOC, but it did remind me more of those courses than others. Top tier track.

Monday brought 36 holes at Royal St. Georges and talk about your top tier tracks :)
Awesome course. Worth the accolades. 2-10 through the best of the dunes, with the direction changes, and varied lengths, strikes me as one of those Ballybunion/RCD 9 hole stretches that is about as good as it gets. Once you tee off on 12 you might largely be done with those dunes, bar a green sighting on 16 and 17 tee box, but the closing holes are still strong, varied, and fun. Wind picked up as the day went on and the two par 5s - both measuring 500yds on the day - going different ways really highlight that, as the one was Driver-5i and the other Driver-3W-7i.
Was first off for the opening round of the day and got around in 2:35hrs, just me, caddie, and grounds crew, which might have thrown off their North American golfer calculations, but they were nice enough to get me back out before a few groups of tourists and member times and well ahead of my scheduled replay time.

I got eaten up by a couple bunkers during the day at Sandwich, but otherwise Royal St. Georges and Deal are eminently playable courses - as I didn't lose a ball between my 3 rounds there - that do a great job of combining fun, interest, and challenge. I'll try and post up a few pics later.

Happy days! Brings back fond memories of a couple of my own trips there, nearly a decade ago now. Where does the time fly.

P.S. You'd lose a ball or two most likely if you played in July/August rough!

duffer987 · April 18, 2018

I like flying into London (Gatwick if possible), taking the train out to the town of Deal, checking into a nice B&B then taking a taxi each day to Deal, Princes and/or Sandwich for golf. Plenty of nice places to eat, the golf courses collectively are out of this world and it's all just two hours on the train from the airport.

Visiting a buddy in London in August and was hoping to make the trip out to play RSG one of the days. How difficult is navigating the train out that way, with clubs, duffel, etc., for someone who has never been to London before?

What part of London can make a difference, but assuming you hop in a cab and go to St. Pancras, it's a simple 90mins to Sandwich on the train. Royal St. Georges is only a mile and half from the station, you could walk if you want a leisurely stroll through the fields or hop in a cab.

TBH, with train delays being what they are, I'd go down one late afternoon, stay at a pub/hotel in Sandwich overnight have a few pints and a meal and know you've an easy journey to the first tee in the morning and can then take the train back up to London after your round.

cguerin3 · April 19, 2018

Thanks for all the great info! Still in the planning stages, but definitely would like to spend a night in Sandwich and get out first thing in the morning.