Royal St George's

The title of the history book of Royal St. George’s is ‘A Course For Heroes!’. The landscape ensures that, such is the magnificence and expansiveness of the duneland over which the course plays.

The course has evolved significantly over the years with one recurring theme being to remove the blindness from many of the original holes. The most recent major layout change was to the 14th, carried out under the control of Donald Steel & Company, with the green being taken tight to the boundary and two central bunkers being added to add strategy required for the second shot.

More subtle changes were made for the last Open in 2011 by Mackenzie & Ebert and a thorough review has been carried out in advance of the 2020 Open. Work is now completed and this has included the restoration of the huge bunkers at the 4th and 7th holes, the reinstatement of a large bare sand area to the left of the 5th hole, conversion of two bunkers to the left of the 17th green into a swale and the reconfiguration of the bunkering at the 18th hole to offer more choices for the best players from the tee. In addition, target greens have been added to The Open Practice Ground and the Short Game Green has been rebuilt.