Royal Cinquw Ports Golf Club Review

The Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club -- a Members' Club founded in 1892 on the edge of the former port of Deal in Kent, England -- features an 18-hole championship links golf course, which is regarded as one of the finest links courses in the world. This course presents a classic links golf experience and aptly deserves its championship description. This club -- featuring excellent practice facilities, a driving range, putting green, chipping green and pitching greens - is open to visitors 12 months a year. It's worth noting that the Royal Cinque Ports GC (Golf Road, Deal, Kent) is often referred to as Deal, the same name of its local town.

MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS @ DEAL
Royal Cinque Ports GC (www.royalcinqueports.com) has been the scene of many of golf's championships, including two Open Championships in 1909 (won by J. H. Taylor) and 1920 (won by George Duncan).

Deal has hosted the British Amateur Championship on three occasions - in 1923, 1982 and 2013. The club was also one of four final Open qualifying venues from 2014-2017. Also, every year since 1924, this club has hosted the Halford Hewitt Public Schools Championship, the world's largest amateur golf tournament.
It also boasts Karen Stupples, the winner of the 2004 Weetabix Women's British Open, as one of its members.

It is safe to say that the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club is the real 'deal,' no pun intended.

THE DEAL APPEAL
Royal Cinque Ports head professional Andrew Reynolds says the setting for this golf course and the mindset of local residents help add to the allure of Deal.
"After forty years here as head pro, I reckon I know what makes this place tick," stated Reynolds. "We know we have a good course that is pretty much always in good condition, but it's really the whole atmosphere of the area that helps create the love that both members and visitors seem to appreciate."

Reynolds says the weather at Deal is conducive to year-round play. Plus, the local members don't mind playing in adverse conditions -- when the wind picks up and the temperatures begin to drop.

"East Kent is the area with the best -- sunniest and driest -- weather in the U.K. and the town of Deal is a wonderful old place with a cosmopolitan group of people from every conceivable background," added Reynolds. "Like all seaside towns, the inhabitants are mostly 'outdoor' active people who seem to want to be outside. Those that enjoy the links are outdoor, competitive souls that really don't mind getting beat up by the course. They play all year round in every weather and just want to be out there doing whatever they can to have some fun."

According to Reynolds, the setting for Royal Cinque Ports can remind you of what you see in Montana and many parts of America's wild, wild west.

"Years ago, an old member said to me the course always reminded him of the film The Big Country -- 360 degrees of sky," recalled Reynolds. "So that's really it -- a big course with a big sky and some big members battling the course. It's a good place to relax and spend some good leisure time."

Reynolds is quick to give credit to where credit is due. His maintenance staff do a great job of keeping the course in tip-top shape throughout the year.

"We have a terrific course manager whose team also plays golf -- proud men that do all they can to ensure the course is at its best nearly all the time," continued Reynolds. "The grasses are predominantly fescue which is drought resistant and seems to thrive at this part of the country. We work hard collectively to keep everything up to scratch."

Added to many of the appealing aspects of Deal is its close proximity to three other great links courses in the county of Kent. Royal Cinque Ports is less than an hour's drive from Littlestone GC (to the west) and less than a 10-minute drive to Royal St. George's GC and Prince's GC (to the east).

ROYAL CINQUE PORTS: A CLASSIC TEST
Five-time Open champion James Braid once referred to Royal Cinque Ports, as "the best course in England". At Royal Cinque Ports, all 18 holes are in close proximity to the English Channel, though you don't get a full view of the sea until you step on the 4th tee to play the shortest par three on the course.
The degree of difficulty of this mesmerizing layout is largely tied to the intensity and direction of the winds off the nearby English Channel. Yes, the wind is an ever-present component of the Royal Cinque Ports experience.

"We just get used to it as it just goes with the territory, golfers here don't 'not play' because its windy," added Reynolds.

The holes are designed in a northeast-southwest type of format; basically, eight holes flow in a northeasterly direction, eight holes trend in the opposite direction (to the southwest), and two holes - the 10th and 11th - are designed like a circular U-turn, completing the transition from the 9th green to the 12th tee. The entrance to nearly every green is protected by bunkers and fiercely rolling terrain.

DEAL'S KEY HOLES
At the par-four opening hole, be aware of the small stream that crosses the front of the green, which is the biggest putting surface on the course.
The green complex at the par five 3rd hole is uniquely designed, to say the least. A two-putt on this green is a significant achievement. You have to see the size and shape of this green in order to believe it. It has been referred to as one of Mother Nature's masterpieces.

Your tee shot from the afore-mentioned 4th tee is struck from an elevated tee box, with the English Channel in glorious full view, to one of the smaller greens on the course.

The shortest par four is the left-to-right dogleg 6th hole with a short approach to a raised, plateau-like green. Your approach to the 6th green is often struck into the wind, so the correct club selection is critical.

When you play the 7th, the back tee is actually on the shingle beach - just a stone's throw from the edge of the English Channel. As you play from tee to green, avoid the eight bunkers that are strategically placed along the edges of the hole with the middle of the fairway the only safe place to land.

The 8th is a classic links par three. Depending on the wind direction, you might only need a wedge whilst on other occasions, you may require a wood to reach the green, which is protected by six pot bunkers.

When you complete the front nine, there's a halfway hut located to the left of the 9th green. Take advantage of this chance to refuel with the necessary food and drink. The back nine awaits.

When you step foot on the 12th tee, it will represent the first of seven consecutive closing holes, which are often played into a stiff wind. Of those final holes, six of them are par fours with the long par-three 14th the exception.

The design and contours of the 12th green have never been modified by mankind. On the 13th, avoid the three large cross bunkers that stretch across the fairway, 100 yards short of the green. As you play the par-four 16th, take notice of the defense shelter in the right rough, left over from World War II. When hitting your tee shot on the 17th hole, aim for Vardon's Parlour, located in the right-center of the fairway. From there, it's a short distance to one of the smaller greens on the course, but make sure you avoid two of the bigger and deeper fairway bunkers that are placed short of the green. The 18th hole is a slight right-to-left dogleg par four. Your approach shot must carry over a small ditch that crosses the fairway. Take one more club than you think you need on your approach to the 18th green.

DOWN THE STRETCH
If you can play bogey golf over Deal's final seven holes, that's acceptable. Anything better is impressive, especially when the wind is in your face.
"If the prevailing wind is blowing, there is no tougher back nine anywhere in golf," said Neil Hodding of Carbis Bay, Cornwall, England.

Throughout your round at Deal, do your very best to keep the ball in the fairway. Finding your ball in the knee-deep rough and then having to hit your ball out of the rough are two totally different experiences. Avoid the rough at Deal. The fairway is pleasant and the rough can be penal.

Before departing Deal for your next links golf experience along the coast of Kent, take a tour through the original clubhouse (opened in 1892). The interior of the clubhouse exudes golf history and the terrace on the first floor offers spectacular views over the golf course and the English Channel, where on a fine day, you can see France. If only the walls of Royal Cinque Ports could talk!

So, if you are seeking a true links golf experience on a course that truly has championship caliber, then make the trek to England's Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club.
"We want everyone that comes here to have an urgent desire to return and we hope, too, that they will spread the word on what we have here," said Reynolds.

You won't be disappointed at Royal Cinque Ports because it's the real 'Deal.'