This course is in our GSPro library — pull it up in any bay and play it wall to wall.

"Uneven, tumbling fairways create awkward stances constantly; caddies help pick landing zones that leave a flat lie. Trivia fix: 'Suez Canal' is the 14th hole, not the 4th — the 4th's claim to fame is the huge dune bunker, often called the UK's tallest. Appears in GSPro under its real name."

Dr. William Laidlaw Purves founded St George's in 1887 to give the south of England its own St Andrews, and in 1894 it became the first course outside Scotland to host The Open. Fifteen Opens later — most recently Collin Morikawa's ball-striking clinic in 2021 — it remains England's premier championship links: huge rumpled fairways over Sandwich duneland, blind shots, wicked bounces, and the towering fourth-hole bunker cut into a sandhill. Royal status came in 1902. It's golf at its most gloriously unfair, and the pros grumble about it every time.

Open Championship romantics, links purists who accept the bad bounce as part of the game, and anyone ticking off the Open rota — this is the English cornerstone of it.

The par-3 6th ('Maiden') beneath its great dune; the 4th with the tallest, meanest bunker in championship golf staring down your drive; and the 14th ('Suez') where out-of-bounds right has flipped Opens. Each is famous because it can wreck a card in one swing.

Not beginner golf — wild bounces, blind shots, cavernous bunkers, and relentless wind. But the fairways are wide, and playing it badly is still a memorable day. Manage expectations, not your score.

In GSPro — a community recreation of the Open venue is available and it's a proper test: firm, humped fairways and pot bunkers that punish anything loose. Ideal for Clubhouse members running an Open-rota series or anyone who wants to feel what Morikawa tamed in 2021. Play it with wind on.

Private but genuinely visitor-friendly on weekdays: unaccompanied play Mon/Tue/Thu with handicap limits, booked well ahead. Green fees sit in the £200+ tier — Open rota pricing. Weekends are members-only.