Royal Blackheath - Kent - England
Court Road,
Eltham,
London,
SE9 5AF,
England
+44 (0) 20 8850 1795
2 miles SE of Blackheath
Welcome midweek - contact in advance
Gordon Hogg
Unknown
Matthew Johns
Visit Golfbreaks.com for a golf holiday at Royal Blackheath
Royal Blackheath Golf Club appears in our ranked list courtesy of Golf World. They published a curious list – Top 100 Golf Courses of the World – in their November 2005 edition. They made it clear that their ranking was not based purely on the merits of the course, it was much more about the experience and they went on to say: “England’s oldest club has a stunning clubhouse and a fascinating museum containing hundreds of years’ worth of golfing memorabilia which is worth the visit alone.” We could leave it at that, but we think we’d be doing you and Royal Blackheath an injustice. It is thought that the Scots formed the Society of Blackheath Golfers in 1608 after James I reunited the thrones and, there is no reason to doubt this, but it’s difficult to substantiate. Records were destroyed in a late 18th century fire. The earliest remaining facts point to a silver club that was presented to the Honourable Company of Golfers at Blackheath in 1766. “Now I come to the course of the Royal Blackheath Golf Club, the premier golf club of the world,” wrote Bernard Darwin in his 1925 book The Golf Courses of Great Britain, “and I come to it with a heavy heart because this historic club plays no longer on its historic heath. Hordes of vandal boys playing football have kicked the sacred turf to pieces and made golf impossible. The holes are now no longer cut and the club has moved to Eltham. The Eltham course is in a pretty, park-like spot with admirable greens and a fine old club-house, but it is of course not the heath.” Blackheath was originally a 7-hole course with competitions usually consisting of three rounds, over 21 holes. As traffic built up on the main A2 road into London, it became impractical and dangerous to drive tee shots across the road. In 1923, the club amalgamated with Eltham Golf Club and it has remained there ever since. The 17th century Eltham Lodge is a worthy and fitting clubhouse for Royal Blackheath Golf Club, providing a decorous ambiance for such a historic club. You may visit the museum for approximately £10.00 per person and it’s probably the finest club museum anywhere in the world. |
Reviews for Royal Blackheath
greens for the time of year were superb, running very true and quick enough for the tricky pin positions! The course itself is relatively short by today’s standards and only a Par 70 but to give you some idea the CSS’s for our event were 73 and 73 reductions only proving that a course does not have to be overly long to be tough. There are some tough par 4’s notably the 1st and 17th which require accurate tee shots and approaches to small tricky greens and the 2 Par 5’s, although short, require some thought. The Par 3’s are a little uninspiring but overall the course is a delight to play and I would recommend anyone in the area pays it a visit. I am lucky enough to play all over the UK at some of the top ranked courses and I think a few courses have a high ranking on name alone – RBGC is a unique place to go and play golf. Once there, you would not believe you are in London only a few miles from the centre of the capital. The clubhouse is very grand and the only downside for us was the attitude of some of the members of staff. We did find them a little “gruff” to say the least but not enough to ruin our day.
ninety years of history after the move from ‘the heath’ to Eltham, something to do with the opening of the A2 road into London. The course cannot be called one of the greats but it is certainly enjoyable but if I am honest there are a lot of holes that can be seen on parkland courses all around the country. The 3rd hole is a strong par-4 at around 420 yards with a hedge across the fairway and probably the best hole on the front nine. The back nine probably just edges the front in terms of being stronger but I am sorry to mention the 16th; a 150 yard par-3 with a massive green and that is about it, where is the trouble? The last two holes are the best on the course by far, the 17th is uphill, with a slight left turn and 420 yards long add in a bank 20 yards short of the green and a par is a tough ask. The closing hole is only 265 yards long and offers an obvious birdie chance, watch out for another hedge and bunkers 60 yards short of the green though. For the experience, this was a 5-ball opinion for me – but for the course, an average 3-ball.
