Royal St George's - One of the strongest layouts in the UK and Ireland, it’s a challenging yet fair windswept links offering a thorough examination of ball-striking and strategy.
Royal St George’s Golf Club Course Review
Top 100 Ranking 2021/22 – 11
Previous Rankings
2019/20 – 13
2017/18 – 10
2015/16 – 7
2013/14 – 6
2011/12 – 6
2009/10 – 12
Summer Green Fees
Round – £250
Visitors: See website for details
Medal Tee: Par 70 – 6,630 Yards
Changes since previous ranking
Preparations and improvements with the forthcoming Open Championship in mind. Improvements to bunker definition, many have been raised to enhance visibility from the tees.
The 6th at Royal St George’s
Royal St George’s Golf Club Course Review
Playing host to The Open Championship this July for a 15th time, Royal St George’s climbs two places on the ranking for 2021/22.
Royal St George’s is a challenging track. With its undulating terrain, dunes and deep bunkering, a premium is placed on accurate hitting and steady driving. Set over a beautiful tract of unspoiled seaside land, every hole is distinct.
The 5th. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
The course is consistently good, making it difficult to single out individual holes but a couple of stand-outs include, on the front nine, the testing par-4 4th where you must drive over one of Britain’s tallest bunkers and, on the back nine, the brilliant par-5 14th where out-of-bounds all down the right side, a stream bisecting the fairway and perfectly positioned bunkering demand absolute precision.
Related: Top 100 golf courses UK and Ireland
Founded in 1887, Royal St George’s was the first English course to play host to The Open Championship, which it did in 1894. The club has welcomed golf’s most prestigious tournament 14 times in all, with Darren Clarke the most recent Open champion at St George’s, in 2011.
A great feature at St George’s is the fact the holes all point in different directions, so the background is always changing, so too the wind direction. Picking an aiming point from the tee is crucial.
On approaches, anything hit towards the sides of the putting surfaces will fall away. On the greens there are subtle breaks but there’s less borrow than there first appears. The surfaces are always magnificently prepared and presented.
The par-4 10th. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Assessor Feedback
I have always considered it one of the finest all-round venues in golf. There is often a misconception of stuffiness with this venue, but the staff could not be more accommodating in making visitors feel at ease.
The test of golf at Royal St Georges is immense. I love the green complexes, with large undulations and vast run off areas requiring strategic and precise ball striking to access the pins.
Constant changes of style and direction provide a world class challenge which tests every shot in the book.
The par-4 finishing hole. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
GM Verdict
One of the strongest layouts in the UK and Ireland, it’s a challenging yet fair windswept links offering a thorough examination of ball-striking and strategy.