Royal New Kent Golf Club

Fun day at Royal New Kent. Course was in fantastic shape, greens were firm and running fast, but fair. It’s a difficult track, but you will enjoy the layout and would be hard pressed to find a similar course to play. If you’re on the fence about booking here, just do it, you won’t regret it!

Love playing RNK, always in good shape. You need

To be on top of your game every shot. Need a bigger challenge? Go back a set or two on the tees !

Everything about the course was awesome.

No cart on course and the wait to get food on the turn really needs improvement limited choices and the wait was way too long

Bring your A game to Royal New Kent. Friendly, helpful staff. The course was in awesome shape, with great pace of play. Will certainly return.

The shop manager said it was a tough walk and when I asked about cart use for handicap players and said stay on paths...not helpful...course was tricked up with hills and ravines...forced carrys and blind shots...and greens were recently aerated...never play it again

Probably the best designed and most natural beauty course I have played.

The course is beautiful. staff is excellent. course is severe target golf, I mean PINPOINT. If you're a great golfer, fine; but if you're an 85-100 shooter, add at least 10 strokes. Not a long course, but too tough for a 90's shooter.

Love the challenge of this course. Would be great if the sand traps were better maintained. Will try to play again on next visit to the Williamsburg area.

Great layout if you are a Strantz fan which I am. Course condition was a little rough but I would recommend playing there.

Entering a golf course which embraces the natural beauty of Virginia. The golf course holes were all separate from each other having their own identity. No houses on the course meant you could concentrate on the shot at hand. Course conditions were spectacular. The best and most interesting course I have played to date. Full pro shop, new gas carts and hallways are lined with original memorabilia from the golf course architect. Treat yourself and go play.

Played this course over 50 times and was a member years ago. This place has sky rocketed in price. The greens are made out like hard pan sod and brown in color super fast with several weeds growing through on certain holes. Not to mention they have fairway grass problems on 17. Bunkers are better then they used to be. I just don’t understand the price. This new ownership is driving it straight back into the ground because there is no way they are getting the play for the price unless they are more catering to out of towners or people that have never played it before. Why do you think Brickshires parking lot is so packed and when you ride by ? royal you see no one but a few cars. It’s the price and the conditions that sets them apart. This guy charges 98$ and has no deals after 12pm on any day. 9 holes is outrageous. It’s sad because at a decent rate that course would be booming. I’m sure they are looking to sell again or just trying to pocket as much as they can before they start to let it go and run out of money. It’s sad because it was a great place to play and it’s a challenge.

The overall traditional historical bent of the golf community, especially in the United States, has caused the country’s courses to skew a little safe and formulaic in their design, especially in the decades since World War II. That’s why it is so refreshing to play a course like Royal New Kent, which architect Mike Strantz used as a vehicle for thumbing his nose at the establishment. Inspired by the wildest Irish links, Strantz confronts golfers repeatedly with holes and set-piece shots that on first appearance look unplayable. From the ingenious first hole – a blind tee shot over heathery mounds followed by an approach up a steep hill to a huge two-tiered green in the sky – Strantz is bluntly saying that the meek need not apply; “Self-Confident Only Golfers Past This Point.” The rest of the front nine brings similar outlandish challenges, but those who embrace it will find that the fairways are wider than they often appear and there is practically always a side to miss on. No one would call Royal New Kent easy, but it is playable from the right set of tees, especially as the back nine eases off a bit.

Strantz’s confrontational approach to design here was ahead of its time; Royal New Kent alienated so many golfers in its first decade-plus that it eventually declined and closer for a period. Under new ownership and amid a climate where traveling golfers are increasingly adventurous – and likely more forgiving of its conditioning, which is a work in progress but continues to improve (the greens are particularly nice), it is poised to come into its own and continue to stand out. It’s worthy of a spot on any open-minded golfer’s bucket list.

What a hidden gem! Course and staff were both top notch!