Rye (Old) - Sussex - England
Camber,
Rye,
East Sussex,
TN31 7QS,
England
+44 (0) 1797 225241
A259 from Rye take Camber road to the coast
Limited availability - all play is in two ball format with foursomes preferred in the morning.
Jimmy James
Matthew Holland
Reviews for Rye (Old)
I could start off by stating the obvious: the 1st Colt course, the membership, the lunch…but that is not what the golf course is all about. This course is the epitome of match play golf. You won’t find a course better suited for the format. That’s why the members play foursomes only, 36 holes a day. Understand that each hole is fantastic, but Rye is not just a pretty course. Rye IS links golf in all of its intricacies (the weather, the wind, the putting from 50meters out etc.). I have no idea why it is ranked where it is, as in my mind, if I could play one match play round in England it would be at Rye. My answer would be different, though for medal play. Also, if you are making a day of Rye, you should start the day with 9 holes on the Jubilee, which is well worth it, certainly have lunch, and then play the 18 holes…I was forgetting try the showers! And just for the fun of it, have a drink in the armchair which once belonged to Charles Darwin.
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Any of the five par threes at Rye can ruin your score. The 5th is a wonderful par three. You hit over a valley to a green on top of a flattened dune. Anything short or left will run back down a steep slope. The 6th, index 1, is a very difficult par four of 468 yards. The drive is blind over a marker post on top of a high ridge. Four bunkers are at the narrow entrance to the green.
The 12th tee is right beside wetlands with the Rye docks on your right. Once you have driven over the rough, the hole is fairly straight forward. Thirteen is anything but straight forward. This is a long par four with a ridge of high dunes blocking any view of the green. When playing your second shot, you need to be aware that the green is more to the left than you may have imagined.
Fifteen is a demanding par four with plenty of rough and bumps and hollows. The 16th entails a blind shot over a ridge. Seventeen is the longest par three at 222 yards but it is the least attractive. The hole is flat with the only bunkers at the left of the green. The 18th is a great finishing hole, tougher than its index of 8. The clubhouse clock is your line for the drive. Severe trouble awaits any ball off line, especially down the right.
This review is an edited extract from Another Journey through the Links, which has been reproduced with David Worley’s kind permission. The author has exclusively rated for us every English course featured in his book. Another Journey through the Links is available for Australian buyers via www.golfbooks.com.au and through Amazon for buyers from other countries.
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One of my favorite parts of Rye Golf Club was the wonderful shaping of the greens. It of course helps that the course was in superb condition. I thought there was great mix of long and short par 4’s and pretty solid one shotters throughout. At a par of 68 you quickly learn that Rye is not a pushover by any means and on the back 9 you think back to the first hole and wonder why you didn’t take more advantage of the course’s only par 5. I understood that we played in opposite winds so a couple of the really long par 4’s were basically playing like par 5’s for us.
While I don’t remember the exact number of the hole on the back 9, maybe the par 4 13th, was really interesting, requiring a very long drive and then a blind approach over a dune to the green. Quite a rare and quirky set up but it works. A tough hole into the wind.
A day at Rye Golf Club is not complete without embracing club culture and sitting down to their traditional buffet lunch. Absolutely worth the recommendation! My only regret was not having time to go back out in the afternoon for another 18.
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