There's nothing artificial about Royal St George’s Golf Club; there's a natural look and feel to the course that blends beautifully into its historical Sandwich surroundings.
Royal St George's Golf Club
There's nothing artificial about Royal St George’s Golf Club; there's a natural look and feel to the course that blends beautifully into its historical Sandwich surroundings.
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Bernard Darwin on Royal St George's "As nearly my idea of Heaven as is to be attained on any earthly links".
Walter Hagen summed up Sandwich with the following. "The first nine holes – tremendous fun, not very good golf. Second nine holes – tremendous golf, no fun at all." Who am I to disagree with Hagen? However, fun golf is great golf to me. The front nine does take you through the most rugged of the dunes but there is still plenty of contour on the back nine. There are a dozen world class holes out here and they are found on both nines. This is, to me, the best course in England and among the best links on Earth. When it comes to greens and surrounds, not many are in the same class as Royal St. George's. I played here twice back in 2024 and it would be the number one reason for a return to England.
The routing is not an out/back nor two loops of nine. It is a trek into and out of some of the best dune-land in all of England (it is probably closest to a figure 8). You are constantly changing direction so wind is a factor as it should be on any links. Holes have incredible variety and there are many that are unique to this course-that is a great thing as those holes are the reason to travel for golf. The land is firm/fast. You will need to calculate run out/line on tee shots. The bunkering is strategic and if in them quite penal-especially from the fairway. If off the fairways, the rough is thick and, if you can find your ball, difficult to advance a ball from with anything less than a short iron/wedge. Approach shots can use the air, bump/run and will call for shot-making as the fairways have the wonderful contours which means uneven lies. The greens are in the best places and a variety of types. They have great contour/slopes/ridges and are a test of one's short game and creativity. Recovery can be done with a putter or bump/run or flop-this is golf of the highest order.
There are many world class holes here:
The first hole is a great start-not many links have a quality opener but this is one of them. You drive over a valley. The green is protected by bunkers from center to left and an aerial approach is best. Mid to high handicappers will probably want to bail out right of the bunkers and do their best to get up/down from there.
The third hole is a long bunker-less par 3. 240 from the tips to a green which has three tiers. The first of a great set of par 3s.
The 4th is a slight dog left where you need to drive over a massive Himalaya bunker. If you bail out left, then you will run out of fairway and have a very bad angle in from junk. The further right leaves the best angle in to a multi-sectioned green. Recoveries can be difficult-especially from the left side where the slope is over 5 feet. Just a spectacular hole from tee to an absolute belter of a green.
The romp through the dunes continues with the 5th hole. This dog leg par 4 has a fairway that ends about 250 out. Your downhill tee shot needs to avoid running out as well as the bunkers protecting the left side of the fairway. Your approach is over dunes to a bunker-less green which still has contours/ridge inside of it to make the finish interesting.
The par 3 6th plays to a green surrounded by dunes left, long and right. The green is two tiered. Bunkers also surround the green. The second of the great set of par 3s.
There are only two par 5s. Both are great and the 7th hole is the first one. The tee shot is blind and up hill-bunkers are on both sides of the fairway. The hole dog legs left. If your drive can reach the top of the crest then your second isn't blind and you also have the green light to go for it. If not, then it is up to you to pick a line and cut off as much as you dare. The green is surrounded by bunkers but if coming in from the left you can bounce one on.
The ninth is most likely a drive then short iron/wedge. The humpy fairway is protected by center line bunkers about 70 yards short of the green. Laying up short of these leaves an approach to a thin green with bunkers left. It is best to come in from the left as the fairway is flatter on that side. The miss is right as getting up/down from there is easier than from the bunkers on the left.
The 10th plays uphill to an infinity/skyline green. It runs in the opposite direction as the 9th so you will get the bad part of the wind on one of these holes. The green is well protected by bunkers and a false front.
The 12th is the shortest hole. This is a dog right and you might not want to use driver. If you want to cut off the dog, then you might want to-options from the tee are plentiful. The green is protected by many bunkers short of it so you have to attack from the air. It is a thin green made thinner by the left side running off.
The 13th is a half par the other side of 4 and plays long (460 from the tips). It is a dog left with a blind tee shot. The fairway has humps/bumps and plenty of bunkers.
The 14th is the other par 5. The fairway is split by a burn. The safe route is the left side as OB is all along the right. The problem is that approaches from this side come to a green where the slopes will not help and you will have to carry bunkers. If you brave the thin right side, then your approach will not have bunkers to contend with and you can run one on.
The 16th is the last par 3 and it is surrounded by bunkers. Dunes short of the green obscure your view making it seem smaller than it is. Recoveries from the greenside bunkers are difficult to say the least as the slopes will release a shortish ball back down into them.
The 17th/18th are a great finish as, despite being out of the dunes, they have some of the waviest fairways on the course. The last chances to create shots from uneven lies to wonderfully contoured greens.
If you ever find yourself planning an English golf itinerary, this should be the first one on the list. It has plenty of challenge for the low handicap player but also plenty of recovery options and alternative routes for the mid to high handicap. This course is the least liked on the Open Rota by the pros. They are not fans of variability/randomness. I agree with Dr. MacKenzie who thinks that golf without those things is boring. The golf here can be summed up as life affirming or a slice of Heaven to paraphrase Darwin. It is worth the time/effort from anywhere on the globe-that is the highest compliment that I can give any course.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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