published: Dec 9, 2025

Could this course host The Open for the first time since 1932?

With so few Open venues in the south of England, there have been calls for the championship to be staged further down the country – Princes may be the ideal venue.

National Club Golfer and National Club Golfer magazine

Are we being nostalgic or should The Open really return to Prince’s Golf Club after a near 100-year absence?

The Open has only ever visited Prince’s back in 1932, when Gene Sarazen set a new scoring record of 283.

It’s a Championship remembered for the birth of the sand wedge, and the layout of the course was a lot different. It was redesigned following damage during World War Two.

As we approach the 100^th anniversary of that Open, does Prince’s really have a case to host the world’s oldest major once again?

Speaking on the NCG Top 100s Podcast, Tom Irwin said he loved playing there. “My appreciation for Princes has developed over a number of years,” he explained.

“That has tied in with the work they have done which has improved the property immeasurably. What I have also begun to learn is how many different factors go into a venue holding an event like The Open.

“I was there at the back end of last year and I remember thinking that there is so much scope for that particular property.

“To start off with, there’s so much space and these days The Open is such a huge commercial entity with hospitality tents and lots of people visiting. Princes has literally got a course and a half to host that.”

A big hurdle courses must overcome to host a modern Open is the space and infrastructure it needs.

But Irwin believes this is one of Prince’s key strengths. “I think the nature of the golf course is very Championship in nature,” he added.

“The holes are all out in front of you and a lot of the intricacies and difficulty come around the greens. It feels to me that there are huge amounts of flexibility in terms of teeing areas, lots of dotted tees all over the place. There is also scope to move them back in a lot of areas.

“It just feels to me like the sort of property that could host a big scale event, if you could get people in. It’s also in the south of England and there currently isn’t many Open venues in the south of England.”

Have you ever played at Princes Golf Club? Do you think The Open should return to Princes? Let us by leaving a comment!

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About the author

Max Mcvittie

A bit of a late bloomer to the game of golf, Max fell in love with the sport when he attended Saturday coaching sessions down at his local golf club after being inspired by friends and family members.

Max has remained a member of Eden Golf Club in Carlisle for a number of years now as he looks to get his handicap down into single figures. Most of his golfing career has been spent battling a permanent slice off the tee, which has led to some ugly rounds.

Having studied at the University of Sunderland, Max is starting out his dream career in sports journalism. During his time at university, he picked up valuable work experience at Reach PLC, BBC Radio Cumbria and GiveMeSport, whilst also getting work published in the Teesside Live. He also spent time working at a local weekly newspaper, Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser, as a general news reporter partially covering some local sport just north of the border in Langholm.

Max has just started his journey with the NCG working as the assistant equipment editor. He looks forwarded to reviewing the latest golf equipment, taking up an interest in reviews when buying his first golf club, a Cleveland RTX wedge.

With his bag not going under too many changes throughout the last few years, Max carries an M3 driver, Titleist GT3 Fairway Wood, M2 hybrid, a set of M2 irons, Callaway Jaws wedges and a TaylorMade Spider putter. And yes, Max is a bit of a self-proclaimed TaylorMade fan boy.