Following the successful staging of The 148th Open at Royal Portrush, Golf in Kent has declared itself «Open for Business» now that Royal St George’s Golf Club is the incumbent host of next year’s edition on the east Kent coast from 12-19 July 2020.
In addition to Royal St George’s Golf Club staging The 149th Open in 2020, the county will also welcome two of golf’s most prestigious amateur tournaments, The R&A Junior Open will be played at Littlestone from 13-15 July and The R&A Senior Amateur Championship takes place at Royal Cinque Ports from 29-31 July.
As a result the international golfing spotlight will be firmly set on the county over the next year. Giving the golf clubs in Kent the chance to benefit from the attention, and attract yet more golfers from around the world to this corner of England.
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Grab the opportunity to get to know other fine courses
Whilst golfers will no doubt be keen to experience the championship links at Royal St George’s prior to the staging of The 149th Open, Golf in Kent is looking to encourage golfers to stay another day or two and take the opportunity to play some of the other fine courses in the county.
In addition to Royal St George’s, often referred to as Sandwich, golfers can also play two other courses that have staged The Open; Royal Cinque Ports, another revered championship links just three miles down the road (the 1st hole pictured at top of the article, photo by Jason Livy), hosted The Open in 1909 and 1920 whilst Prince’s Golf Club, adjacent to Sandwich, hosted the Championship in 1932 when it was won by Gene Sarazen.
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On the other side of Dover, lies Littlestone, founded in 1888. This championship links can be found on a stretch of land between the famous Romney Marsh and the English Channel. Laid out on its own set of dunes ideal for links, the resulting terrain offers hard and fast fairways that are beautifully defined from natural dunes, thick and wild rough and deep, classic links pot bunkers.
The county also has an abundance of highly-regarded inland courses. Such as the parkland layout at CanterburyGolf Club, located on the outskirts of Kent’s medieval cathedral city, which is considered to be one of Harry Colt’s finest ever designs in England.
In addition to the great links, there are challenging clifftop courses at hand. Like North Foreland, itself a Final Qualifying host for The Open as recently as 2011, with its stunning views over the English Channel. Walmer & Kingsdown, known as «The Club on the Cliffs», also enjoys a dramatic position perched atop the iconic White Cliffs overlooking France.
An abundance of highly-regarded inland courses
Further inland still, there are two magnificent downland courses at London Golf Club, created in the early 2000s by the legendary Jack Nicklaus. It’s just 25 miles from the centre of London and set in an oasis of calm and tranquillity overlooking the rolling Kent countryside.
Meanwhile just down the road at Edenbridge in west Kent, Hever Castle Golf Club offers 27 holes in picturesque parkland set in the famous Hever Castle Estate. Which once was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.
Not far away in Lenham, an exquisite nine holes at Leeds Castle Golf Club offers golfers the experience of playing golf against the backdrop of one of England’s castles, known as «the loveliest castle in the world».
Off the course, golfers can combine a visit to Kent with a wine tasting or two at the Wine Garden of England vineyards, a cultural adventure that could include Canterbury Cathedral and Dover Castle. Or a gentle stroll around some of the county’s glorious gardens such as Sissinghurst, whilst also indulging in the many local gastronomic delights that the Garden of England has to offer.
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