Home From Home - My Favourite Golf Resort In South-East England

Princes - Shore - Holes 4&5 — The Shore nine's new par-3 5th spotlights the sand scrapes that how adorn many holes

(Image credit: Gary Lisbon)

The Golf

Shore: par 36, 3,419 yards
Dunes: par 36, 3,436 yards
Himalayas: par 36, 3,376 yards
GF: 18 Holes: £175 Mon-Thu, £215 Fri-Sun
Stay & Play: packages available
W: princesgolfclub.co.uk

The east coast of Kent boasts an incredible five-mile stretch that is home to not one but three current and former Open Championship venues. Prince's achieved this honour back in 1932, since when it has hosted or co-hosted many top-level events, most recently the 2017 Amateur and 2023 Women's Amateur Championships. In four years it will be on the world stage again when the Walker Cup comes to town.

There are three loops of nine, and while it is the Shore and Himalayas that sit proudly in the Golf Monthly Top 100, the Dunes is really just as worthy. Extensive improvements and new holes, including two excellent par 3s, abound, with Martin Ebert upgrading all three nines to their fullest potential.

Princes - Himalayas - Hole 5 — The 5th on the Himalayas is Prince's second lovely new par 3

My advice would always be to try and play all three nines, and as someone who has been visiting on and off for more than 40 years, my view is that the whole set-up at Prince's Golf Club simply continues to get better and better over time.

The Lodge

The Lodge, just at the entrance to the Prince's estate, opened in 2012 to wide acclaim on the site of the original dormy house. There are three buildings offering a total of 36 very well-appointed and comfortable bedrooms along with two more spacious suites.

These have been specifically designed to cater for golfing groups and societies and even have bag storage areas. Also on site is the excellent 1932 Grill which offers a wide and very interesting menu to suit all tastes. Look out for the Collin Morikawa burger, named in honour of the American who stayed here when he won The Open at neighbouring Royal St George's five years ago.

Best Deal

The Summer Break Special from £275pp includes one night's bed and breakfast, a two-course dinner and two rounds of golf. This offer is based on two people sharing a standard room and runs from Sunday to Thursday night inclusive.

Rob has been playing golf for more than 45 years and been a contributing editor for Golf Monthly since 2012. He specialises in course reviews and travel, and has played nearly 1,300 courses in almost 50 countries. Last year, his tally was 77, 44 of them for the first time, which included his 1,000th in the UK&I. One of Rob's primary roles is helping to prepare the Top 100 Courses, of which he has played all, as well as the Next 100 where he is missing two in Scotland and four in Ireland. He has been a member of Tandridge for over 30 years where his handicap hovers around 14. You can contact him at r.smith896@btinternet.com.