Had the good fortune to play Royal New Kent a few days ago. We had the course
virtually to ourselves on a Sunday afternoon--hopefully because it was 101
degrees and not because that was a typical Sunday.
I had not visted RNK in 5 years and was curious if I would find it as fun as I
had then. I did. As always Stranz just makes things more interesting, bolder,
bigger. And yes, he will also leave you scratching your head at times as well
and not always in a good way. I wonder what a steady diet of Mike Stranz would
be like--I have played 5 of his courses but the 15 rounds have been spaced out
over a 7 year period. I have loved each round--would it still be fun to play
those courses (RNK, Tobacco Road, True Blue, Caledonia, Stonehouse) on a daily
basis?
Some glimpses of Royal New Kent:
The obligatory first tee snap. Like TR, an arresting start.
View from the landing area on 2 (537 yards), maybe 240 yards out. To hit the
green in 2, drive it closer to the chasm and then make the carry. I assume many
would compare this to 11 at TR, bending hard to the right and then the glorious
carry or fearsome failure. I suspect there is much more of the latter...
But don't despair, Stranz has given us mere mortals a safer route that will
enable us to play the hole with one ball. A layup to the left of the pit can
leave us woth nothing more than a 60 yard pitch.
Four is a lovely hole, 430 yards, driving into a valley and then turning right
to the green. Hard to see much from the tee because of the little hills, but
there is some fairway out there.
The view from 150 yards after a well-placed drive:
The 5th is a bit odd. You drive into the penninsula of fairway between the
hills/sand on the left and right and short of the 3 traps in the gap. Second
shot is then played blindly over the 3 Sisters onto the wide plain short of the
green. Not a compelling hole but the tee shot and view for the second are
unique.
The sixth is one of my two sleeper holes at RNK. To borrow a phrase I have
learned from Sean A., I have a lot of time for this hole. The hole plays 400
yards, with a string of bunkers cut into the hills left and a solitary, deep,
menacing bunker on the right. There is plenty of room to roam for a drive that
stays short of the right bunker, but those looking to sneak a bit closer to the
green for a shorter approach should maintain a healthy respect for that hazard.
The green can be seen just to the right of the of the left-hand bunkers.
The badboy on the right. It is deeper than it looks and balls rolling near it
will find it. Its possible to find the green from here, but your odds will go
up dramatically if you are not near the face.
The big reason to try to drive as long as you can is the green. It has a very
dramatic, Stranzian slope a third or so of the way into the green, and anything
that hits the slope is rolling all the way back.
No bunkers near the green, and certainly none are needed.
The 7th seems to be the 'signature' hole. Eh. 185 yards, green works away to
the left, and a stream guards the entire front--the further left you go, the
longer you need to carry it. Some pronounced slopes. When I have visited, the
green has always been much too soft here for a draw to run up the green
unfortunately. Perhaps it is always that way? This view is from the next tee,
left of the green.
I expect 8 is one of the favorites for many. Another 400 yarder, very
attractive. Drive out to a generous landing area and then make a sharp right
turn. However, it is best to leave the drive in a specific area or the
shortish second will be blind because of the hills. Do some think of this hole
as 'Irish' in some way?
This is what you see after a well-placed drive. The green and yellow flag can
be seen between the hills cutting in from the left and the right. Much of the
punch-bowlish green is still blind.
A closeup from the same general area:
And this is what you get after what you thought was a pretty good drive. Still,
it is not a very long shot from here--pick your line over the hill and then run
up the fairway to see the results.
The green from long and right. The big hill long and left will bring balls
back.
11 (401 yards) drives down into a valley between a mini-minefield of bunkers
and then swoops upward dramatically. Short and right of the green is a huge,
deep depression filled with large bunkers. (there is also a slew of homes left
and long on this hole that weren't there 5 years ago. Good for the owners, not
as good for us golfers
)
The green is quite large, much bigger than it appears standing down below in
the fairway. Has Stranz ever built a large green that
didn't have
dramtic slopes?
From the right:
12 is a guilty pleasure. Smarter fans than I may find this green a little
gimmicky, but I find that it plays well. Its a large hour-glass that pinches in
the middle. I imagine the difference can be as much as 50 yards between a far
back and far front pin. The yellow flag below is tough to see--its in the back
right corner, right of all the bunkers and left of the green bush on the hill.
There is more green back there, hiding behind the hill.
From over the green:
Number 13 is only 340 yards, and the green sits there tempting us (again, there
are now a number of homes behind the green that were not there a few years
ago). The temptation is strong to rip one over the line of bunkers--the green
seems almost within reach! But there is quite a lot of fairway off to the
left, and that is actually the better play. First, you aren't going to reach
the green anyway, and second because the angle is much better from the left and
less fraught with danger
This is what you see after a safe drive left, a wide and safe avenue to advance
straight up the length of the narrow green.
This view from over the green shows what the angle from the right side of the
fairway is like, hitting across the green and towards the ugly bunkers.
15 is a long (210 yards) par 3. A large green, so you know there will be some
slope. This beaut also comes with a large false front--I imagine when
conditions are right balls could run back off the green and then well down the
hill.
RNK closes with 2 holes that cause much hollering. I like 17 OK, but agree that
18 just does not fit. Not a horrendous hole but feels out of character to me.