News:

Welcome to the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group!

Each user is approved by the Golf Club Atlas editorial staff. For any new inquiries, please contact us.


Wade Whitehead

  • Karma: +0/-0
Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« on: August 25, 2018, 03:25:45 PM »
Looks like Royal New Kent will be brought back to life in 2019, with some notable improvements and a return to some of its original design.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikmatuszewski/2018/08/24/mike-strantz-golf-course-saved-from-extinction-royal-new-kent-to-re-open-in-april-2019/#7b74722311b5


Really excited about this, as it's a course that has launched curiosity about golf course architecture for so many.

WW

Mike Sweeney

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2018, 03:33:07 PM »
Mike Whitaker - Dixie Cup 2019?
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us."

Dr. Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Michael Whitaker

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2018, 03:36:21 PM »
Barton Tuck lives in my home town of Greenville, SC and is a good friend of mine. We have talked a lot about this project. I can tell you Barton has the very best intentions for Royal New Kent fully intends to restore the course as close as possible to Strantz’ original design.

I can’t wait to see the finished product... and hope that there will be enough business to sustain RNK this time around.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2018, 07:38:27 PM by Michael Whitaker »
"Solving the paradox of proportionality is the heart of golf architecture."  - Tom Doak (11/20/05)

Jonathan Mallard

  • Karma: +0/-0

Jay Mickle

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2018, 09:56:35 PM »
And what has become of Stonehouse?
@MickleStix on Instagram
MickleStix.com

Tommy Williamsen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2018, 10:47:20 PM »
Well this is good news. I remember the first time I played it. I thought I was transported to a different planet and that Mork was going to play through. It was brilliant.
Where there is no love, put love; there you will find love.
St. John of the Cross

"Deep within your soul-space is a magnificent cathedral where you are sweet beyond telling." Rumi

Joe Bausch

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2018, 05:00:53 AM »
Very happy RNK is coming back and hope it is a successful comeback.  Photos from June 2007:


http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/RoyalNewKent/index.html
@jwbausch (for new photo albums)
The site for the Cobb's Creek project:  https://cobbscreek.org/
Nearly all Delaware Valley golf courses in photo albums: Bausch Collection

Carl Rogers

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2018, 07:15:47 AM »
I live 1.5 hours away, depending on how bad the traffic is on I-64.  Played RNK multiple times.


It would seem, to me, that new management will have to do something different than the old management. 


Have no clue what????  Does anyone know?


$150/round golf has not worked in the area.
I decline to accept the end of man. ... William Faulkner

John Emerson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2019, 01:47:59 PM »
Played RNK on Friday and it was pretty awesome!  Bold is an understatement and I was blown away really.  I really enjoyed it.  Definitely recommend anyone remotely close go and see it.[size=78%]  Parking lot was dead as a door knob and one of the new owners greeted me as I was walking up.  I had the course to myself.  I didn’t see a single player until I arrived on 18 tee.  Speaking of 18, this hole felt like an after thought.  It sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest.  Tons of blind shots for me because although I was in the fairway, I was on the wrong side.  But there is several blind shots regardless of angle. Really good stuff there guys.  I hate that greens and tees are so far apart, and the green speeds were too fast for those boldly contoured greens.  [/size]
[/size]Be a shame if it doesn’t make it.  If friday is any indication...it probably won’t.[size=78%]
“There’s links golf, then everything else.”

Tim_Weiman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2019, 09:33:06 PM »
Played RNK on Friday and it was pretty awesome!  Bold is an understatement and I was blown away really.  I really enjoyed it.  Definitely recommend anyone remotely close go and see it.[size=78%]  Parking lot was dead as a door knob and one of the new owners greeted me as I was walking up.  I had the course to myself.  I didn’t see a single player until I arrived on 18 tee.  Speaking of 18, this hole felt like an after thought.  It sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest.  Tons of blind shots for me because although I was in the fairway, I was on the wrong side.  But there is several blind shots regardless of angle. Really good stuff there guys.  I hate that greens and tees are so far apart, and the green speeds were too fast for those boldly contoured greens.  [/size]
Be a shame if it doesn’t make it.  If friday is any indication...it probably won’t.


Didn’t enjoy playing 18 into the sun. Not fun.
Tim Weiman

Jim Sherma

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #10 on: March 30, 2021, 10:01:10 AM »
Played Royal New Kent on Friday 3/26/2021. First playing with having played and liking Tobacco Road. The course was definitely in rougher shape than either of the two Williamsburg courses we played on the trip, Golden Horseshoe-Gold or Kingsmill-River. The greens were fine but the fairways were very thin and the bunkers look like they had not been touched in months, did get to see a lot of Billy Bunker lining however.


Architectural thoughts - The front nine was spectacular. Pretty much everything that I expected and very engaging. Played in big wind and still thought that it was very playable. The back 9 on the other hand was a significant let down. The routing through the housing was so disjointed and distracting that I have a difficult time even assessing the architecture. Individual pieces of the back were fine I guess, but I am shocked that they don't have the 9's flipped. At least that way you would not have as stale taste in your mouth after finishing the round. Only way I would go back is if I could play the front twice, I see no reason to spend my time playing 11-16 again.

Carl Rogers

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #11 on: March 30, 2021, 11:42:10 AM »
Jim,
I think you have hit on the major crit of RNK. The front nine is outstanding.
 My only contrary thought is that holes 14 & 15 are very very good, but the rest of the back nine is:
- a routing mess
- out of character (holes 17 & 18)
- unplayable (holes 11 & 16)
I decline to accept the end of man. ... William Faulkner

JESII

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #12 on: March 30, 2021, 01:57:06 PM »
I don't think RNK ever entered a best routing contest and the houses came to be well after the course was built and were not there for the first 20 of my 21ish rounds. They certainly don't help (do houses help anywhere?).


That said, I disagree that 11 and 16 are unplayable. They offer unique and difficult challenges but have plenty of width, no long forced carry and large greens with open surrounds, notwithstanding the difficult greenside bunkers.


I also have heard, in every instance this comes up, how 17 and 18 are out of character. It must be my ignorance because they simply feel to me like a different room in the Salvador Dali museum. Not sure I'd argue that they're among the best holes on the course but they sure match the visual overload you get on so many of the holes.

Carl Rogers

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #13 on: March 30, 2021, 03:50:22 PM »
I said 11 is unplayable because I have hit perfectly reasonable approach shots (more than once) to the middle of the green only to have the ball rolling off the front of the green.  Unbelievable back to front slope.
Hole 16's 3 very severe fronting bunkers, the forced carry over a creek from a hanging lie and length of approach shot is unexecutable for 98 percent of all golfers.
I decline to accept the end of man. ... William Faulkner

Jim Sherma

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #14 on: March 30, 2021, 10:32:33 PM »
11's pin was back right three or four paces from the back. If you went over you went down the slope to the cart path and houses. With that however, I actually thought 11 was one of the better holes on the back.

Roman Schwarz

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #15 on: March 31, 2021, 11:10:13 AM »
I played it once before closure and then again December '19.  I 100% agree with the front/back comments, but like Tobacco Road, it's clear people are willing to overlook some problem holes to get the good stuff.  My biggest concern was how many times I thought "this spot is never, ever going to drain correctly, no matter how much money is thrown at it."  Having such bold slopes inevitably leads to lots of low points where water collects, but there were a lot of full holes that were soggier than I would have expected.  Unfortunately, it's a little too far from Richmond for locals to play it regularly and golf trips to Williamsburg typically aren't about the architecture snobbery (a la Pinehurst) that makes people willing to go a half hour out of the way.  The location makes it significantly more difficult to get enough money to fix those problems.  Tobacco Road never had those types of issues back when it was charging muni-level prices and then is adjacent to a location where people regularly pay $200-500 for a round.  Even if RNK drained perfectly, I think TR is a superior course, but TR also has soil quality and economics going for it.

Erik J. Barzeski

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #16 on: March 31, 2021, 11:44:24 AM »
Hole 16's 3 very severe fronting bunkers, the forced carry over a creek from a hanging lie and length of approach shot is unexecutable for 98 percent of all golfers.
Who says they have to go for it?


I played one up tees and hit 7I to 30 feet or so. A bit into the wind. I’m not 98% but… there were many sets of tees.
Erik J. Barzeski @iacas
Author, Lowest Score Wins, Instructor/Coach, and Lifetime Student of the Game.

I generally ignore Rob, Tim, Garland, and Chris.

Jim Sherma

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #17 on: March 31, 2021, 02:13:08 PM »
I actually thought that Williamsburg fell pretty high on architectural interest. We played RNK, Golden Horseshoe-Gold and Kingsmill-River. I thought very highly of the Gold course and thought that Kingsmill was a fine resort course. Both better than anything I've seen in Ocean City, MD as a comparison. Throw a course in either on the ride down or up from the peninsula and it can be pretty enticing (we played Kinloch heading back through Richmond).


Not sure what else is in the area worth playing, but I would gladly go back for a weekend getaway to simply play the Gold again.


I have no idea what the future of RNK holds. Are there enough golf tourists to fill the tee sheet, and if not, can a course like that generate sufficient repeat play? Personally I have no interest playing the back 9 again and I certainly would not want to play it in any regular fashion. It did appear to be pretty busy on a windy Friday in March.

Tommy Williamsen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #18 on: March 31, 2021, 02:44:23 PM »
Jim, I haven’t checked recently but is Stonehouse open or is it closed for good?
Where there is no love, put love; there you will find love.
St. John of the Cross

"Deep within your soul-space is a magnificent cathedral where you are sweet beyond telling." Rumi

Jim Sherma

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #19 on: March 31, 2021, 02:48:54 PM »
Not sure - looks abandoned on the satellite images on Google Maps but the website is actively accepting tee times.

Dan_Callahan

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #20 on: March 31, 2021, 02:59:18 PM »
The first hole at Stonehouse is one of the more outrageous opening holes I've ever played. Come to think of it, the first hole at RNK and TR are also unique as hell. If there's one thing you can say about Strantz, it's that he doesn't wait to pull you into the funhouse.

Bernie Bell

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #21 on: March 31, 2021, 03:05:06 PM »
I actually thought that Williamsburg fell pretty high on architectural interest. We played RNK, Golden Horseshoe-Gold and Kingsmill-River. I thought very highly of the Gold course and thought that Kingsmill was a fine resort course. Both better than anything I've seen in Ocean City, MD as a comparison. Throw a course in either on the ride down or up from the peninsula and it can be pretty enticing (we played Kinloch heading back through Richmond).

Not sure what else is in the area worth playing
, but I would gladly go back for a weekend getaway to simply play the Gold again.

I have no idea what the future of RNK holds. Are there enough golf tourists to fill the tee sheet, and if not, can a course like that generate sufficient repeat play? Personally I have no interest playing the back 9 again and I certainly would not want to play it in any regular fashion. It did appear to be pretty busy on a windy Friday in March.
I'm curious about Williamsburg GC (Gordon/LaFoy).  There's not much here about it.  Where do the retired folk in W'burg play?

Robin_Hiseman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #22 on: April 01, 2021, 06:16:07 AM »
Stonehouse is open and been accepting play since the summer of 2019.


https://stonehousegolfclub.com/course-improvements/
2024: RSt.D; Mill Ride; Milford; Notts; JCB, Jameson Links, Druids Glen, Royal Dublin, Portmarnock, Old Head, Addington, Parkstone, Denham, Thurlestone, Dartmouth, Rustic Canyon, LACC (N), MPCC (Shore), Cal Club, San Fran, Epsom, Casa Serena, Hayling, Co. Sligo, Strandhill, Carne, Cleeve Hill

Chris Mavros

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #23 on: April 01, 2021, 04:52:58 PM »
I played Stonehouse in November 2020.  Still open, still working on bringing back the greens and a few other areas to 100%, work was being done to the perimeter of the first par 3 (maybe the Fourth or Fifth?) but very much playable and had a blast. 

Jonathan Cummings

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Royal New Kent: Saved From Extinction
« Reply #24 on: April 02, 2021, 09:34:27 AM »
I actually thought that Williamsburg fell pretty high on architectural interest. We played RNK, Golden Horseshoe-Gold and Kingsmill-River. I thought very highly of the Gold course and thought that Kingsmill was a fine resort course. Both better than anything I've seen in Ocean City, MD as a comparison. Throw a course in either on the ride down or up from the peninsula and it can be pretty enticing (we played Kinloch heading back through Richmond).


Not sure what else is in the area worth playing, but I would gladly go back for a weekend getaway to simply play the Gold again.


I have no idea what the future of RNK holds. Are there enough golf tourists to fill the tee sheet, and if not, can a course like that generate sufficient repeat play? Personally I have no interest playing the back 9 again and I certainly would not want to play it in any regular fashion. It did appear to be pretty busy on a windy Friday in March.


Jim - Viniterra which is near RNK and SH is worth a look.