Royal St George's Golf Club: Course Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info

The 5th green at St George's

(Image credit: Kevin Murray)

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By Fergus Bisset

published 29 March 2023

Royal St George's Golf Club Key Information

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Row 0 - Cell 0	Row 0 - Cell 1
Address	The Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent, CT13 9PB
Phone Number	01304 613090
Website	https://www.royalstgeorges.com
Email	office@royalstgeorges.com
Green Fees	£125 - £275
Visitor Times	Mon - Fri (limited times, see website for details)
Par	70
Slope Rating	133 (Medal), 129 (Weekday), 134 (Pinto)
Opened	1887
Designed by	Dr William Laidlaw Purves

Golf Monthly Verdict

Royal St George's provides 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. A course where you walk in the footsteps of golfing greats and feel that gravitas for the full 18 holes.

The course features great bunkering, excellent contouring and a highly challenging routing - pointing you in all directions to face all wind directions.

REASONS TO PLAY ROYAL ST GEORGE'S

– Historic location for first Open held outside Scotland

– Tremendous layout asking for complete control of the game

– Test yourself on the subtle contouring

RANKINGS

UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2023/24 - 11

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. It's one of England's best links.

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.

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 15 times in all, with Collin Morikawa the most recent Open champion at St George’s, in 2021.

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.

A couple more stand out holes include: the tough 15th; a 475 yard par-4 with bunkers left and right from the tee where you’re faced with a long approach to a tiny pear shaped green with cross-bunkers waiting just short then the excellent par-3 6th, an attractive short hole with bunkers surrounding the two-tiered putting surface. Selecting the right club is critical especially in windy conditions.

Royal St George's Golf Club Course Review — The 6th at Royal St George's

What The Top 100 Panel Said

Russ Groombridge

A truly wonderful golfing experience, windswept, rugged links at it’s best and an absolute joy to visit and play at any time of the year. I really enjoyed the routing on the course as, for me, I enjoy a links course that doesn’t play out and back as you generally get beaten up for 9 holes either way!

Richard Healy

A very difficult course, when the breeze picks up it makes the back nine far, far harder. The run offs and waiting hazards are a constant threat, the stern green complexes match and complement the design of each hole and the constantly switching hole direction means new challenges are constantly being presented. A glorious experience.

Royal St George's Golf Club Location

Royal St George's Golf Club Green Fees

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March 2023	£200
April - October 2023	£275
Replay Round (Same day)	£100
November 2023	£200
December 2023	£125

Contact the club via the Royal St George's website for more details

Best Courses Near to Royal St George's Golf Club

For more information on the best courses near to Royal St George's, check our guide to the best golf courses in Kent.

Best Places To Stay Near Royal St George's Golf Club

The Lodge at Princes Golf Club - book now at princesgolfclub.co.uk
Situated at the entrance of Prince’s, The Lodge, with two adjacent apartment blocks, has 38 bedrooms including two lavish Bay and Links suites, all with en-suite facilities with the modern essentials. There's a great restaurant and bar too.

The Royal Hotel, Deal - book now at Booking.com
Set on the seafront in Deal, (close to Royal St George's), the Royal is an 18th century hotel offering spacious rooms, good food and a lively bar.

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Royal St George's Historical Top 100 Ranking UK&I

2023/24 - 11
2021/22 - 11
2019/20 – 13
2017/18 - 10
2015/16 - 7
2013/14 - 6
2011/12 - 6
2009/10 - 12

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Royal St George's a Difficult Course?

It's a difficult course and one that only reasonably experienced and competent golfers will get round. The wind is a factor but the holes themselves are challenging. A course rating of 75.2 against a par of 70 off the very back tees, gives an idea of the challenge.

What handicap do you need to play at Royal St George's?

All players are required to have a handicap index of 18.4 or less, handicap verification is required upon checking-in on your date of play.

What is the dress code for Royal St George's?

Golfing attire is acceptable throughout the Club until 11.00am, after which jacket and tie is mandatory for gentlemen. Ladies are asked to dress appropriately, so as to complement the dress code applying to gentlemen

Gentlemen may wear tailored shorts on the course if accompanied by knee-length socks

Golfing attire is allowed on the terrace and in the Snack Bar throughout the day. Jeans and trainers are not to be worn under any circumstances.

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?