[Ran Morrissett]

...under In My Opinion.

Sir Peter Allen start to his Royal Cinque Ports chapter - "If I had more one more round of golf to play on earth I would choose Deal as the links on which to play it" - made me track Deal's club history book even though I've never been there. Its hole by hole overview is unique and seems to live up to Darwin's high praise as well.

Noel's glowing account of his round there coupled with some excellent photographs further highlights RCP as the real deal  

Noel, I know you are a great fan of Royal Aberdeen - how would you compare the two? Which has the lumpier fairways? Better routing? Best holes?

Cheers,

[NAF]

Ran,

I prefer Deal to Royal Aberdeen...
They are very close in my estimation but the back 9 at Deal is what seals it.

The crumpling of the links at RCP is the key.  While the sand hills at Aberdeen are bigger and make you feel more insignificant, the movement is the fairways at RCP is greater.

There are so many bumps and pimples and mounds at RCP that you often feel like you are swiming thru channels in the ocean. It requires you notice your lie on every shot and factor that into the prevailing wind and pin position.  

I felt I was forced to think more at RCP than Royal Aberdeen and therefore felt that strategy was more in play.  The green complexes are definitely more intricate and full of contour that at RA.

I would rate the front 9 at RA an 8 and the back a 6..So a solid 7 overall..

I would give Deal's front 9 a 7 on the Doak Scale and the back a 9..So overall an 8..

Still I could play links golf with holes like #2 at RA or #3, 15-17 at Deal everyday..

[NAF]

BTW, Sir Peter Allen also said Deal was the greatest golf course in the world!!!

[Evan_Green]

I think Deal is quite a solid course- I know its not one of the great opening holes in the world, but i could help but think of #1 at St. Andrews when i played Deal's opener.

As far as the rest of the course- there are only so many pieces of ragged links property in the world- Deal's is a good one and should be enjoyed for what it is. Its nearby colleague in Sandwich it is not.

[George Pazin]

Every time I see photos like that I think two things:

1) Why don't we have more land like that in the US? (Or maybe I just don't know where it is?)

2) How many modern architects would bulldoze those contours away?

Great pictures, Noel.

[Rich Goodale (Guest)]

Noel

Great write-up.  Love the pictures of the 3rd and 4th greens.  They should be required viewing for any archies or their groupies who think that greens need bunkers or rough to be "complex."

When I played Deal in 1981, "sandwiched" (as it were) between Royal St. Georges and Rye, I found it to be very good, but a cut or two below its neighbors, lacking the majesty of Sandwich and the elevation changes of Rye.
I give Sandwich 3***, and 2** to Rye and Deal (with Rye more firmly in that group).  How would you rank the three?

Geroge P

That is linksland. No matter what the chambers of commerce in Southampton or Bandon or architectural writers or groupies may tell you, there is very little if any true linksland in America, alas.

[NAF]

Rich,

It is too bad RCP does not have the room and land Sandwich has because I think if they added 300 yards to the course it would be a tougher venue for the Open Championship than Sandwich..

On the Doak Scale I would give

Sandwich 9
Rye 8.5
RCP 8

Sandwich has the majesty as you said..There is no feeling of claustrophobia there and you feel as if it is just you and the linksland and no one else.  It reminded me of Portmarnock.  It is a sanctuary of sorts.  You should see the back tees that are being put in for the open.  One thing though, Sandwich will be affected by a seawall at some stage..The impact on the course is yet to be determined.

Rye-Like Pac Dunes, I have a better opinion of Rye now that I have not played it in a while.  I miss it.  The par 3s here are the best in links golf to my knowledge (imagine a a quintet as good as Whinney Brae).  The dunescape is just plain amazing at parts like the 4th or the Alps hole on the back 9.  I played Rye when it was extremely burnt out and you could not stop the ball at all.  I would like to see it in the fall or winter when you are ment to play it. I give Rye an 8.5 on the Doak Scale

RCP- A solid 8 as I said.  I found it more fun to play than Sandwich.  While it is less snug as Donald Steel said than Sandwich it is the one you must bring your A game to.. Your A driving game and putting game.  It really doesn not blow you away (maybe on 15 and 16) as Rye and Sandwich do a parts but it never gets weak either.  

I must also thank Chris Hunt for his pictures of RCP as mine did not come out very well due to fog..his pics really show off the course.

[brad_miller]

Noel, TY for the great write-up, sure looks like a blast, what are the greens like, maybe a US or other better known UK example. Brad

[Slag_Bandoon]

Noel, thanks for the great effort.  It sure is nice to write and read about the things we love and get away from the arguments and deep discussions of what's right and wrong with golf.  Refreshing report. I'm sold.   Tom Doak gave it a 6... maybe instead of a "WW II" he shot a "Korean Conflict".  

"There's no denying the truth that score effects our approval rating unless one is in denial." NP  

[NAF]

Brad,

They are definitely the fastest links greens I have played and they were in perfect shape..They undulate a great deal and are full of contour but it is the trouble that surrounds them if you miss that is really scary, i.e. the complexes.  No real comparison came to mine when I played it, they were somewhat unique..At times they resemble Sand Hills' green complexes in spots but there are no elephants buried in the greens, only in the fairways!!

[Slag_Bandoon]

Thank Noel for reporting quote by Colin Hammond of Deal.  I just added a variation on the theme.    

[Craig Disher]

I wonder how many days it took to get the beautiful cloudless skies?   Every time I've played RCP, it has rained at some point in the round - which leads to my complaint. With the heavy use of fairway irrigation and the frequent rain, the course doesn't play like a true links. Sandwich also has fairway watering but it's used more judiciously - and it doesn't have that lush green color shown in Noel Freeman's pictures. Take away the wind, and it can be target golf. The same can't be said of Rye which at times is so parched that the club closes the course. Even in the driving rain, I've never had mud on my ball there.

Wonderful pictures!

[RJ_Daley]

NAFFER, your article certainly paints an alluring picture.  One question about how you approached your round.  Did that rascal JR lead you to the town to uphold that age old marine tradition you described of plunder and pillage the night before the round, or did you guys wait till afterwards this time?  

[Tom MacWood (Guest)]

Noel
Sounds and looks wonderful. How does the terrain at Deal differ from Princes and Sandwich? Didn't something catastrophic happen to Deal in the 20's or 30's?

[Paul Turner]

Thanks Noel.  It's one of the hardest inward 9s anywhere.

Deal didn't have any fairway irrigation a few years ago when I played it.  It was definitely the fastest course I've ever played.  Now it has irrigation, I hope it's not being over watered as CDisher suggests.  (I bet it was a bit slow last year because it was so wet in general).

I haven't played Princes.  But I don't think it ever gets the fairway movement that Deal has.  It's more rippled than lumpy.  (There are a few nice pics of Princes in Michael Fay's new book).

[Evan_Green]

I heard that Princes was used as a practice bombing range during the WWII era so that may account for some differences between it and Deal.

[RT (Guest)]

The club installed the irrigation system in an effort stop the desiccation of these numerous exposed hump tops, even some found in close proximity (as in part of the greens surface contour meld) to the greens edges.  The club secretary, and head pro, explained to us that there were years previous that the summers would be so severe the top of the humps turf cover would actually die off, leaving the underlying fine beach sand.  So in order to help alleviate this situation, and in order to keep the grass in a "healthy" state, an irrigation system was installed, but the goal was not to produce "green" turf', just healthy turf.  Those glorious pictures with blue cloudless skies might have been taken after several days of rainfall.  These clubs have no interest to put on any more supplemental water than necessary.  They pay for the water and their operation budgets are tight.

[NAF]

RJ,

That rascal Reilly and I had a few bottles of wine the night before in Sandwich but we didnt paint the town red.  I later saw Jim out on the links that night doing some voodoo dance and noticed he had a small effigy of me that he burned.  I think he is getting serious for our upcoming Crystal Downs/Muirield match.

CDhisher
In all seriousness to all, those pictures are the handiwork of Chris Hunt who took them this past winter.. As you all know, the winter is the wetter time down in Kent so it is greener as is Rye at that time of the year.  When I played Deal it had a much more yellow/green look to it as you would expect and it plays fast and furious.  Perhaps it all depends what time of the year you get out there. RT's comments are very valuable in explaining some of the issue the course faces.

Tom MacWood-I only got to see 2 holes at Princes and it looks very low profile as the dunescape there borders the flatter/plains area around the Suez hole at Sandwich.  

[Craig Disher]

Don't get me wrong. Deal is one of the strongest links courses in the UK and if you're in the area, you shouldn't miss it. The inward nine playing towards a 20mph wind is the most difficult golfing experience (and the most humiliating) I have ever had. But last summer I played Rye, Littlestone, Deal and Sandwich. The playing conditions at Sandwich were nearly the same as at Rye and Littlestone, neither of which have fairway irrigation. Deal was just wet, even spongy in spots.

Princes shares a border with Sandwich but didn't get any of the interesting topography. I believe the current course is played over most of the original land but after the course was closed during WWII and later rebuilt, it lost much of its character. I've heard the club is renovating the old clubhouse which was still standing as of last year. I sure hope so.

[NAF]

Craig,

The old Princes clubhouse will be used as dormie accomodation for next years open..They can't tear it down b/c it is the perfect line (one of the chimneys) for the tee shot on #13 at Sandwich..

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