A few brief thoughts before the photos….
Coming into playing Kingston Heath, I had just played RMW that morning, and I knew that it didn’t have the scale or the large traversing movement that I had just seen, but nevertheless, I was still extremely impressed with what I saw. Kingston Heath lays on a flatter piece of property than RMW, but the bunkering could not be more different in their respective styles and yet both are beautiful and strategic. The acreage is small (125?) and it’s very tightly routed and it seems like a course that would get better and better with each play. I like the fact that you can play the 6 hole loop back to the clubhouse, or start on 7 and play 8, then head to the closing holes if you so choose. It makes for a great course to play after work or in the late evening and at the same time it’s still a world-class test of golf.
Kingston Heath provides excellent risk/reward in relation to challenging fw bunkers off the tee to get the better angle for the second shot. Holes like the driveable 3rd, where the bold play will be to drive the green, but the green sits offset to the line of play with troublesome surrounds that creates an exacting recovery. The smart play is to challenge the left fw bunkering with a mid iron to get the unobstructed line and correct approach to the hole location.
Other highlight holes for me include the beautiful one shot 5th with the interesting humps short of the green. The par 5 7th is sure to bring some excitement with the summer winds and it being reachable for most. Depending on the hole location, trying to get your ball over or keeping it short of the horizontal ridge on 10 green keeps you on your toes with a short iron. Then, of course, you have the strong closing stretch of 14-17 traversing more of the elevation changes on the property with the par 3 15th as the standout shot up the hill. My host reminded me of how the original hole had the green situated down over the rise and used to play as a short 4. Dr. Mac then moved the greensite back up top on the rise and made it into the par 3 that sits there today.
People mention KH’s flatter property, but the ground itself is full of small humps and bumps that really play into the approaches and recoveries. It’s a course that moves extremely well throughout the holes and has excellent green to tee transitions. Combining the shotmaking demands off the tees, the beautiful and challenging bunkering, and the nicely moving putting surfaces, Kingston Heath is one of the world’s premier golf courses and experiences.
Here’s one shot per hole of my afternoon….
Over the fw rise on the first
Clayton’s 19th
Inside fw bunkering on the 2nd
Approach into the world famous 3rd
4 tee
Beautiful setting for the par 3 5th
6 green back towards the clubhouse
Approaching the fw bunkering on the par 5 7th aka the easiest hole in the world
Approach on 8 from the left
Short of the fw bunkering on 9
The all-world 10th
Looking back down 11 from 12 tee
Greensite on the 12th
Tee shot on 13
Bunkering down the right side of 14
Me up the hill on the 15th
Around the bend on 16
17 tee
18 greensite
