Nearly a century has passed since Gene Sarazen lifted the Claret Jug at Prince’s Golf Club, and the Open Championship is still yet to make its return.
It was the first and only time golf’s oldest major was played on the Kent links. It’s a place that has changed an awful lot since 1932. Extensive work by Martin Ebert has transformed Prince’s into one of England’s finest championship venues.
The recent introduction of its composite course, The Laddie, has also reignited a debate as to whether major championship golf could ever return.
In the latest NCG Top 100s YouTube, hosts Tom Irwin and Mike Robertson aimed to create the ultimate Open Championship routing from Princes’ iconic 27 holes. Here’s the hole-by-hole layout they settled on.
Hole One
An Open venue needs a stern opening test and the first on the Dunes course provides exactly that.
“I think it’s a very difficult opening hole,” said Robert McGuirk, General Manager at Prince’s Golf Club.
“The prevailing wind means it should play into off the left which is a horrible start really. Still 440 (yards) from that back tea which is a decent start.”
Hugging the bunker opens up the best angle into the green, while a conservative line leaves a far tougher approach. All this makes it exactly the kind of uncompromising start you’d expect at a major.
“I think that is an absolutely phenomenal driving hole where you sort of asked to take on as much as that bunker as you want,” Irwin added.
Hole Two
The following stretch of holes is arguably the strongest on the property. Missing out the par three and moving straight onto the third on the Dunes course, this par five features one of the most unusual fairways on the property. They’re rumples across the entire thing that leave players struggling to find a flat lie.
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Out of bounds is a mainstay along the right side of the fairway, which creates a classic Hogan’s Alley decision off the tee.
For us club golfers it’s a solid par five test but for today’s top professionals, if this were to be played as part of the Open Championship, it’s likely the tees may be moved forward so it plays as a long par four.
Hole Three
The fourth on the Dunes is another strategic par four. Again, the challenge often lies in the approach rather than the drive.
The elevated green is guarded by deep bunkers, while anything slightly under-hit may have a tendency to run away from the hole.
“The challenge is in the second shot,” McGuirk explained. “The green set up above you with two very deep bunkers right to the right hand side.
“Catch that weak second shot. And then the green again set up and everything runs away from it.”
Hole Four
A hole that is all about getting your angles right.
Irwin explained how important it is to hug the right side of the fairway to open up the approach, when it comes to the fifth on the Dunes.
Go left off the tee and you’re in danger of finding the big, sleeper bunker.
Hole Five
“I think this is going to be the best hole on the whole course,” claimed Robertson. “Good driving hole. And then the green site is like absolutely epic.”
Like the third, the sixth on the Dunes plays as a par five for us regular folk but could become a par four for the tour pros. Oh and fellow Open Championship venue Royal St George’s looms in the distance.
Hole Six
Would it be an Open Championship without a drivable par four?
We saw Rory McIlroy driving the par 4, ninth at Royal Birkdale for the 2026 Open Championship and the seventh on the Dunes could provide a similar opportunity. Move the tee forwards and suddenly the green becomes reachable, but only through a narrow entrance. Risk and reward style hole.
Hole Seven
The first par three is a bit of a brute. Measuring at around 220 yards from the back tees, it provides a bit of antidote to some of the shorter holes around Prince’s.
Irwin pointed out: “I think it would lend itself in sort of championship golf that back left pin. No one would take it on, and everyone would be bailing out right and chipping and putting up.’
Hole Eight
Another hole that doesn’t lack length is the ninth on the Dunes course. At nearly 500 yards, it will keep even the biggest of hitters in check.
Hole Nine
The last hole on the front nine is a switch over to the first on the Himalayas course.
“The centreline bunker is the thing for me because it just creates all these strategic options on the tea to play left or take on the carry of a hole that’s under 400 yards and pretty flat,” Irwin noted. “I think it’s got potential to sort of create loads of options for different players.”
Hole Ten
The ninth on the Himalayas is one of the more iconic holes around Prince’s. The famous Sarazen bunkers dominate the left side, while the green is split across multiple levels with several bunkers sitting well short of the putting surface.
“I think it’s a it’s a really cool green complex almost into three levels with the Sarazen bunker to the left and you got the two or three bunkers that sit short the green which fall shorten it,” McGuirk explained. “So give an idea the bunkers are up against the edge of the room but actually 25 yards short.”
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Hole Eleven
“Almost worth bringing the open here for just for this hole really (eighth on the Himalayas),” Irwin believes. “It’s like when the US Open went mad and started doing things like having holes that were different pars on different days and had like lots of funky things. This would be like that.”
Depending on conditions, McGuirk is also under the impression that players could hit anything from a seven iron to driver from the tee, creating wildly different strategies each day.
Hole Twelve
One of Prince’s finest long par fours is the fourth on the Himalayas.
Playing into a fierce crosswind, the ideal tee shot favours a fade before asking players to shape a draw into the green.
Hole Thirteen
“When we first started this exercise, this was the first hole (fifth on the Himalayas) I wrote down,” said Robertson. “I really, really wanted to get it in. It’s like the signature par three at Prince’s. It’s got a great story behind it.”
It plays across the property rather than up and down it. The hole introduces a completely different wind direction and Irwin believes it asks a different question from everything else around Prince’s.
Hole Fourteen
Another mammoth of a par five.
The ideal drive hugs the left side, carrying the second bunker to open the hole up. Bail out right and the second and third shots become significantly more difficult.
Even at more than 600 yards, the team felt the sixth on the Himalayas could still be susceptible to modern power.
Hole Fifteen
“I think it’s (the seventh on the Himalayas) one of the best seaside par threes,” claimed Irwin. “Like completely bunkerless. It’s a brilliant hole.”
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Depending on the wind, anything from wedge to driver could be required. But one thing McGuirk notes that is for certain is that if you miss it to the right is a near impossible recovery.
Hole Sixteen
The routing moves over to the Shore course for the closing stretch. The second is another quality par five, which for this exercise we have lengthened by another 100 yards.
Strong driving is rewarded, while the green offers plenty of strategic interest for those attempting to reach in two.
Hole Seventeen
The third hole on the same course is a simple in appearance but brilliantly designed par three. Irwin notes that it’s similar to some of the other par threes on the property in that it is a great drone hole.
Hole Eighteen
Every great championship needs a memorable finish and the NCG Top 100s team picked out closing hole on the Shore course to do just that.
“The further right you can go is the easier second shot, but again you’re messing with some pretty nasty rough on the right hand side,” McGuirk said. “A wide fairway. It’s 360 yards wide.”
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NOW HAVE YOUR SAY
If the Open was to return to Prince’s, which 18 holes would you select? Could you see a world in which one of England’s great links hosted the oldest major again? Let us know by leaving a comment or by getting in touch with us on X!
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