Royal New Kent Golf Club

Playing a Mike Strantz course is extremely challenging, even from the member tees which have a slope of 134. You have to work back from the pin positions to determine how to position your drive for the best angle to attack the pins. If you are not relatively close to the pins you are in for a long day and plenty of 3 putts, or worse on these fast and sloping greens. Bring your "A" game!

Any golfer will love the challenge of playing this course! Being a Stranz course there are so many interesting angles and different shots he builds into his layouts that you can play on his courses 10 times and never have an identical shot. If you’ve played Tobacco Road before, you will notice some similar features included on Royal New Kent’s layout. The course itself was in beautiful condition. Greens ran true and were receptive but not soft. The rough is killer, so if you land in it you’ll have to punch out or layup rather than have a chance of a full shot. The views were amazing on the course. A lot of elevation changes and fall leaves made for a truly memorable round. I won’t waste too much time describing them because my words wouldn’t do it justice.

If you find yourself lucky enough to be around the area, make sure you make the trip to play this course. The GM Mike has done a great job with the course. The only negative I found was that after the round the selection of gear at the pro shop was lacking in really good options. I would have gladly spent more in their to get some cool hats and shirts, but I couldn’t find a lot that I liked. That could easily just mean they were just low on stock the day I went, and who really cares if the golf itself is incredible?

Amazing golf course. A tremendous experience. Ay it if you have the chance!

Fabulous overall experience. Huge greens with lots of challenging reads, carry off the tee was manageable and shots to the greens seemed to play longer than the yardage. Slope ratings don’t lie, this course is very difficult!! But fun to play. Forget the score, enjoy the scenery!!

The course was in very good shape. It was my first time there and being a "links course", its different from most other VA courses. It was difficult, but fair. I used a lot of fairway woods and gave the driver the day off. The rough is NO joke. But the experience was excellent.

Bring your A game to Royal New Kent. Challenging layout around a beautiful course. Start to finish a great experience. Bag Drop, Front Desk & Starter couldn’t be more friendly & helpful. Course was in great condition & Pace of Play was 5 stars in spite of the challenge. Will certainly return.

first time playing since new ownership. course was in fantastic conditions. if you get the chance I highly recommend playing.

I chose this review title because of the way that my two friends reacted to this course! For me, Royal New Kent is simply the most beautiful course in the area, but for someone who has never played this course before, it is like being in a different world! My only negative was that I was forced by the pro to share a cart with an individual who has not been vaccinated!

Hot take! I know , but hear me out. Royal New Kent does not pretend to be someone it isn’t , in fact embedded in its story lies the character of the hard working people who make it possible and those who dare to tee it up staring at its massive dune on the first tee. Royal new Kent was basically abandoned , until someone saw its potential, a Mike Strantz masterpiece could not be forgotten. I am aware of the great public golf in the northeast and beyond, as someone who has spend a lot of time and money playing most of those courses I can tell you that pound for pound RNK can be in the conversation with 90% of them. Although it doesn’t quite reach the elite status of Pinehurst 2 nor the greatness of Bethpage Black it does make you pay with great conditions and undulating greens that are faster than the aforementioned courses year round. I could go on and on, but I won’t, instead I’ll tell you this, GO ! PS. Bob in the pro shop, You are a gentleman and every time I drive the 2 hours to RNK I make a point to have a conversation with you as you are what the world needs more of.

Ps. I didn’t mention Tobacco Rd ( another Strantz masterpiece ) because Tobacco Road is on a whole different dimension