XXXI: Prince's (Dunes + Himalayas)
​Walking amongst the heart of London’s chaos, it would be fair to say that the sights, sounds and peace of links golf is the furthest thing from your mind. The crunch of firm crispy fairways, the puff of sandy fescue, rolling waves and long shadows creeping over the bumps and hollows – there’s a release that accompanies the linksland, a decompressing which can’t be replicated. An hour and a half by rail from Central London, its this feeling of escape which provides Prince’s with its idyllic sense of place and its shimmering coastline, golden sands and burnt-out fairways make it destination golf in the purest and most convenient sense of the word.
It's hard to believe Prince's lies an hour and a half from London
Of the trio of famous championship links littering Kent’s coastline, it would be fair to say Prince’s is the least spoken of and most overlooked. Flush up against the towering dunes of Royal St George’s, Prince’s occupies a sprawling, less dynamic property which deals in the subtleties of lumps, bumps and ridges. Whilst perhaps less striking and memorable than the overwhelming drama of the sandhills next door, Prince’s terrain is perfectly busy for golf, nothing feels overcooked or out of place as the ground moves with efficiency- the impact of each rise and fall maximised to compel and confound.
Routed in three nine-hole loops which seamlessly weave through a variety of golfing eco-systems, there is no shortage of diversity throughout any of the 18-hole configurations.
The ripples and low-lying undulations of the Dunes 9
The Dunes
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Routed as an anti-clockwise loop, the Dunes traverses the heart of the property’s most compelling and attractive linksland, loaded with the distinctly random fairway contours which bring links golf to life. The first eight holes of the Dunes loop uphold a level of quality which far outweighs Prince’s reputation, with golfers’ decision making constantly challenged by intelligent hazards and a set of intriguing green sites characterised by steep run-offs and deep swales pushing execution and creativity to the forefront.
The severe approach into the 1st green
Flashing early, the Dunes opens with the toughest and longest two-shotter on the property, stretching to 440 yards. Dominated by a heavily bunkered ridge running at an angle to the fairway swinging left, matching up the line and length of the tee shot is crucial and the mid-iron into the severely picked up and crumpled green site closes a pair of the layout’s most exacting shots.
At almost 300 yards shorter, the tabletop second green is no less demanding or attractive. When paired up with the wide, shallow and deep contours of the 8th, the Dunes loop makes for a wonderful introduction to Prince’s one-shot holes which may well be its most valuable asset.
The gorgeous one-shot 2nd
The heaving sleepered bunker rising from the left side of the fifth hole acts as a wonderful distraction from the challenge and quality of the diagonal approach to the dune-top green. The hilltop double-tiered green at the par five sixth follows a similar lineage, with the rumpled land short and terrifying run-off left only adding to its complexities. Bunkerless and dictated by the land, these back to back approaches illustrate the ethos of Prince’s – simple, uncontrived and honest lay of the land golf.
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With a natural diversity of questions and shots, pure and simple, in the Dunes nine, the links lover will find everything they yearn for.
The excellent angled approach into the raised 5th green
The Himalayas
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Over the last few years, the Himalayas nine has been transformed, benefitting from the work of Mackenzie & Ebert, evolving from what was perhaps viewed as the weak link of the property one which stands side by side with the Shore and Dunes.
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The routing navigates two distinct areas, beginning and ending in linksland, with a handful of holes weaving through the wetlands. Amongst the internal hazards of the wetlands, risk and reward golf is most prevalent in the heart of the Himalayas loop. The driveable 8th flanked by the swampland reaches the height of the drama, while the par-5 2nd swoops around the marsh, commanding three high quality, heart-in-mouth shots to reach. For its thrills, spills and variance in possible outcomes, the Himalaya’s delivers an exhilarating arena for matchplay.
Diving inland brings a distinct change in terrain
The Himalayas deals in a handful of memorable moments and raw and exposed, the sea-facing short par-3 5th is without a doubt the postcard of the loop, its gorgeous views and subtle run-offs beyond the sandscrape an idyllic corner of the property. The Biarritz style double green which closes the fourth and eighth holes is a nice feature, and its characterful short grass run-offs provide a wide range of recovery options.
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Akin to the fifth of the Dunes, the boarded-up bunker of the ninth cuts off the corner of the dogleg left, squeezing the narrow fairway even tighter and introducing an element of blindness to any approach from the left side – ensuring there is a better side of the fairway to attack the flag is central to the strategy of the Himalayas 9, whether enforced by slope or blindness.
The postcard 5th
Visually and strategically, the Dunes and the Himalayas ask entirely different questions – the Dunes pushing creativity to the forefront to navigate the rolling firm turf and pushed up greens, while the Himalayas dangles the risk-reward carrot and a ‘hit the shot or else’ spirit. Each loaded with their own challenges and identity, yet retaining Prince’s idyllic sense of place.
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Prince’s may lack the dramatic landforms which yield a handful of golf’s most iconic holes at the courses which share the neighbourhood, but it finds ways to maximise the ridges, micro-undulations and creeping wetlands to deliver an intriguing, thought provoking puzzle. When you combine three quality loops of different character, uncontrived and loaded with a simple integrity of golf you can’t go wrong. Beyond the shadows of its noisy neighbours, there is very little out of place at Prince’s.
The Himalayas' final approach