England has no shortage of golfing hotspots.
During my time filming the 48 Hours In series for the NCG Top 100s YouTube channel I have come to discover as much.
The Surrey heathlands have long been considered to house some of the finest and best inland golf courses found anywhere in the country. The north west is plagued with an abundance of Open Championship venues. Yorkshire and Norfolk are two phenomenal places to play the game as well.
But if I could only choose one area to go for a golf trip, I’d choose the south east of Kent everything single time. Specifically, the extraordinary trio of Royal St George’s, Royal Cinque Ports and Prince’s.
My time playing in the Hagen 54, for the second year running, has solidified that. Experiencing these courses back-to-back removes any doubt I had about the quality of golf on offer in this part of the world.
It is a continuous 54 hole loop of Royal St. George’s, Royal Cinque Ports, and Princes. It’s a unique golf challenge and was first started in 2025 to celebrate one of golf’s greats; Walter Hagen.
Hagen, who won the 1922 Open Championship at Royal St George’s, famously played all three links courses as he practised ahead of golf’s oldest major two years prior to his victory.
And in my mind that stretch of golf he played over century ago still remains the best in England.
Sure you can argue that the Heathlands in Surrey, and the 3Ws in particular, are superior with the quality of inland courses on offer. They too offer a unique and cool way to play golf in a fantastic part of the country.
But despite that, I’d bypass it all and head for Kent without a second thought.
Why is the Hagen 54 such an outstanding day of golf?
Royal St George’s is the crown jewel for me. It’s my absolute number one in England, by a mile. There is a very natural feel to the set-up of the place, [it] fits into the ground extremely well, and I always think it has just the right amount of quirk.
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Then there are the iconic championship holes. It’s a place that wastes no time in making an impression, with the first being a real showstopper. It’s an incredible way to start a round of golf.
Royal Cinque Ports has, for my money, one of the finest closing sequences in English golf. A stretch of holes from the 15th onwards that ranks amongst the best anywhere. In fact, I’m not convinced there’s a better par four in England than the 15th at Deal. It’s an absolute worldy of a golf hole.
Prince’s also delivers an outstanding level of golf with three separate and differing nine hole courses. Take the 5th on the Himalayas. It is a beautiful little short par three and is followed by an even better long par five.
It’s a demanding hole that is sandwiched between two short par threes, which leads to a short four. [That’s] Another brilliant golf hole.
It really is an outstanding area to play golf in and you really must check it out.
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NOW HAVE YOUR SAY
What do you think about south east Kent having the best stretch of golf in England? Do you agree? If not, which area of the country is best for a golf trip? Let us know in the comments or by getting in touch with us on X!
