Kent lies to the southeast of England and it acts as something of a “buffer zone” between London, the capital, and the continent of Europe. Millions of passengers pass through the county each year as they travel to and from France via the Channel Tunnel which links Calais to Folkestone in the UK.

Founded in 1925 when 20 clubs decided to affiliate, Kent Golf Union organises annual competitions at Junior, Youth, Gents, Senior and Veteran levels for eligible golfers who are members of a county club. The Union also participates in the round robin league for unions in the southern section of the South Eastern Group, along with Surrey, Sussex, Dorset and Hampshire.

Kent County Ladies Golf Association was founded in 1900 as Kent County Club, with eight clubs affiliated to the organisation. In its inaugural year of operation, a representative team of female golfers from the county played matches against Devon, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. The first County Championship took place twelve months later and from that point on there was no stopping the female golfers of Kent. Today, there are 80 clubs affiliated to the county association, representing more than three and a half thousand lady golfers.

There are almost 100 courses in Kent so there’s plenty of choice when it comes to playing in “the garden of England”. Of course, the very best of these layouts are the three that have hosted the Open Championship down the years: Royal Cinque Ports (1909 and 1920), Prince’s (1932) and Royal St George’s (1894 then 13 times since).

Our Kent Best in County rankings were updated in November 2019. Click the link to read the story.