Kings Hill - Kent - England
Fortune Way,
Kings Hill,
West Malling,
Kent,
ME19 4GF,
England
+44 (0) 1732 842121
2 miles S of West Malling
Welcome - contact in advance
Melanie Drake
David Williams
Chris Pearson
One of several new villages built in Kent since the Second World War, Kings Hill lies on land previously occupied by RAF West Malling, which closed as an operational air station in the 1960s. The former Officers’ mess is now used as the Council Chamber and the old control tower (which is also a listed building) has been restored as a coffee shop.
Kings Hill Golf Club is located adjacent to this housing and business mixed development, with a David Williams-designed course winding its way along south facing slopes through a magnificent mature landscape. It’s a sporting amenity that was constructed in the mid-1990s for American shopping mall and community developers Rouse and Kent County Council.
Today, the course extends to 6,622 yards, playing to a par of 72, with two nines that return to the same double green in front of the clubhouse. Feature holes include short par fours at the 7th and 15th, along with the shortest of the par threes at the 159- yard 17th, where two pot bunkers protect the front left and a large bunker guards the front right of a long, narrow green.
Reviews for Kings Hill
I’ve played here 3 times now, and today was probably the last time!
A lovely clubhouse and good looking facility including a grass driving range, but it’s all downhill from there I’m afraid. I’ve never played this course in anything but poor condition, and it’s also a fairly forgettable layout. I normally remember every hole of every course I play, and there were multiple holes which I forgot even existed!
2 is a good strong par 4, 7 is a nice short par 4 with a green framed by a nice wall feature, 12 is a great par 4 - the rest of the course is just so so forgettable, and for £60 it’s just not worth the money, and the greens and fairways were just dreadful today - and I’ve never seen them better than mediocre in general.
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Kings Hill is located right in the heart of Kent and has the feel of a US style residential course with houses, businesses and other amenities surrounding it. The club has excellent facilities with a decent range, short game area and clubhouse. On the whole the course at Kings Hill is interesting enough with decent elevation changes, a mix of short and long holes, risk/reward holes and dogleg tee shots to keep the player thinking. There are a few fun holes such as the 3rd a downhill par 4 where you can either layup to the top of the hill or attempt to drive the green….the green is two tiered but cleverly the tier falls away from the player. Hole 8 is another drivable par 4 with a very narrow entrance to a long undulating green…miss right or left and par is very difficult. Hole 10 is a double dog leg par 5 to another interesting green which has many ledges and slopes. The 15th another short par 4 plays between two bunkers and banks of heather….if you can thread the tee shot through the gap the payer can reach the green which again is very undulating. I have always felt with Kings Hill it could be so much better, the greens are interesting and there are a number of fun holes. The issue is that it gets incredibly bouncy and the bunkers are terrible…anything running in will end up against a lip and if the ball flies straight in it will more often than not plug. One of the plus points is that it rarely floods so is playable all year round. There are many better courses in Kent but with some investment in conditioning and in particular the bunkers Kings Hill should be nearer the Top 15.
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