Southeast England
Getting There
Day 0 – Depart home for the UK
Evening flight, which gets you across the pond by the early morning.
Day 1 – Arrival & Royal Cinque Ports
Welcome to England!
After arriving at the airport, you’ll be met at Heathrow and transported to the furthest SE corner of England, specifically the town of Deal, about 15-minutes from Sandwich. You can choose to heli like originally planed – which will be a 45-minute trip – or if you arrived at 6:30am like your 2020 itinerary did, you could opt to drive the 2hrs.
Your tee time today for the opening round of the trip at Royal Cinque Ports is at 11:30am. We are happy to make this adjustment to the trip, as it allows you to play all together as Mondays and Thursdays are 4-ball days. RCP, or “Deal” as it is commonly called, is a must play and is on Golf Magazine’s list of the “Next Fifty.”
After golf, you will head to the Bell Hotel located in the middle of Sandwich. This is a change to the original itinerary as The Salutation is now in receivership.
Fetching directions......
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Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
Deal, England
Royal Cinque Ports is a Championship Links course with a classic out and back layout. Its fast rolling fairways and superb greens have stood the test of time and provide a stiff challenge to lovers of links golf. In a prevailing wind, the last seven holes at Deal, as it’s widely known, are reputed to be amongst the toughest in the UK.
The original Clubhouse was built around 1892 following the birth of the Club. The original Links, constructed by Henry Hunter as a 9-hole layout, had the same greens on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd as exist today, although the tees were further forward and the holes therefore shorter.
Deal was added to the Open Rota is 1907, after it was decided that the pool of course – which at the time were Prestwick, St Andrews, Muirfield, St George’s and Royal Liverpool – was too favourable to Scottish golfers. It’s thought that Royal Cinque Ports was selected because of its length – it was, at the time, the longest of the Rota courses – as well as it’s design layout as a ‘true links’.
Today, the course remains a challenging test, and is still a final qualifying course for an Open at Royal St George’s. It’s clubhouse, that which was built in 1892, is a great one with an atmosphere that is friendly and relaxed, the staff smiling and helpful and the quality excellent. The course (and the 19th) are well worth the visit.
Course Fast Facts:
Year opened: 1898
Yards: 7,367
Designer(s): Henry Hunter, James Braid, Guy Campbell
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The Bell Hotel
Sandwich, England 
From the moment you step through the Edwardian revolving doors at The Bell in Sandwich, a delightful, traditional hotel greets you, brimming with character and a touch of chic, modern magic.
Set in an enviable spot overlooking the River Stour, The Bell has been welcoming guests to Kent since Tudor times, and despite extensive refurbishment in recent years, the hotel has retained many of its charming period features.
In the restaurant you’ll find the kind of upscale-rustic farm-to-table cooking of the sort for which the best British inns are rightfully famous.
We have booked you all Superior rooms.
Day 2 – Royal St George’s
Very simple day logistically today. You’ll have a 5-minutes drive (or 20-minute walk) to your tee time at Royal St George’s, still home to the next Open, now in 2021. After golf, it is back to The Bell Hotel in Sandwich.
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The Royal St. George’s Golf Club
Sandwich, England 
Originally named after the town in which it lies, but eventually honouring the English patron saint, Royal St George’s dates back to 1887. Only seven years after its opening, the course hosted its first Open Championship in 1894 – the coronvirus pandemic pushed it’s 15th occasion hosting the tournament into 2021. The 1894 tournament marked the first time the tournament was held outside of Scotland.
The course is laid out in a similar style to Muirfield, which is to say that it’s not a traditional out-and-back links. Instead, the front and back nine are broadly circular figure eights.
Royal St George’s is an immensely natural course – in fact there is nothing artificial about it. The course does an incredible job of beautifully blending into its natural surroundings, offering view of the white cliffs of Dover from many of its holes. Given this impeccable design characteristic, it’s no surprise that RSG perennially finds itself in the World Top-100.
Course Fast Facts:
Year opened: 1887
Yards: 7,024
Designer(s): Dr. Laidlaw Purves
Day 3 – Royal St George’s, Rd 2
Back to RSG for another round today, this time as two groups of two-balls, the only offering on Wednesday’s. The upside is that you will be finished quickly and able to hit the road back to the other side of London in Ascot.
Your home for the final four nights of your trip is the glorious Coworth Park, an excellent hotel with an ideal location for the best golf courses in Ascot.
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Coworth Park
Ascot, England
Located forty-five minutes outside of London and just twenty minutes from Heathrow, Coworth Park is a peaceful sanctuary removed from the chaos of England’s capital.
The property consists of seventy rooms: thirty in the main Manor House and the remaining rooms spread out over the Dower House, Cottages and Stables. The overriding aesthetic is contemporary elegance with many of the rooms in the Manor House featuring four-poster beds and high ceilings. For golfers, you are within 10mns of the great nearby courses, including Swinley Forest, which you play tomorrow.
Coworth Park will be your base for the remaining four nights of the trip.
We’ve booked you four Superior rooms.
Day 4 – Sunningdale Golf Club (Old)
After a nice breakfast at Coworth, you have a 5-minute drive down the road to the renowned Sunningdale Golf Club. We will hope to get you on the Old Course (ranked #29 in the world), but if not the New course is also ranked in the World top 100 at #73.
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Sunningdale Golf Club
It has been said that Sunningdale is the quintessential English Club and as close to Augusta National as any club in the British Isles. Together, the Old and New course make up one best the best 36-hole pair in the British Isles.
The Old Course
Sunningdale’s Old Course was designed by twice winner of The Open Championship, Willie Park Jr and opened in 1901. The land on which it was constructed belonged to St. John’s College, Cambridge and mainly consisted of heather, gorse and pine trees. There were no shops, no railway station, and no Ridgemount Road, merely a bridle path over the property running, as it still does across the 2nd of the Old and continuing across to the 9th green of the New Course. Willie Park Junior, was consulted and tasked with designing a course of exemplary character, for the price of £3000.
It opened to universal acclaim and was among the first successful courses located away from the coast, as many had believed turf would not grow well in such regions. The Course was considered extremely long and its popularity owed much to the development of the Haskell ball. Credit to Park Jr’s design, The Old Course has stood the test of time, and even now with the advance of modern technology, the course can be challenging to even the longest of hitters.
Many amateur and professional events have been played across the Old Course including the News of the World Professional Match Play, The European Open, Ladies Open Championship, The Walker Cup, Open Championship International Final Qualifying, and most recently the Senior Open Championship in 2009, 2015 and upcoming in 2020.
The Old Course is today considered one of the greatest courses in the World and is regularly found in the top 30 of the world’s rankings.
Day 5 – Swinley Forest
Another logistically simple, amazing day of golf today – your round at Swinley Forest is only a 10-minute drive to and from your home at Coworth Park.
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Swinley Forest Golf Club
Ascot, England 
A favourite of diplomatic elite and possibly the most exclusive golf club in all of London is Swinley Forest, another Harry Colt classic and an absolute gem. Swinley is a heathland course, and a classically laid out one at that – the course is in incredible condition, with fast and firm greens all year, beautifully landscaped from the 1st tee to the 18th green.
While Swinley is seen as being in the same league as the more well-known Sunningdale, it has historically been modest in its self-promotion and exposure – even the entrance to the club is quite covert. That said, once you’ve arrived, you’ll likely see Swinley as one of the more friendly courses in Ascot, and perhaps even all of Britain. Have your dog with you? They’re welcome. You’ll likely see of of the members’ K-9 friends out with them on the course.
Add in the great clubhouse, and your time at Swinley is sure is be memorable round, and a experience all-together.
Course Fast Facts:
Year opened: 1909
Yards: 6,431
Designer: Harry Colt
Tadworth, England