Royal New Kent (with pics)

[Andy Hughes]

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.

[Scott Warren]

Thanks for the pics.

Every time I see pics of a Mike Strantz golf course I want to get out and play golf. They just look amazing.

I hope that before too long I willo get myself to the SE of America and feast on the concentration of courses he has down there.

[CJ Carder]

Andy,

I'm curious what you thought of all the housing that has cropped up since your last visit.  Do you feel as though it dramatically takes away from the atmosphere on the back 9?  I have long thought that the housing ruined the 13th hole as there is no longer anything to judge depth of field on the approach shot.  It's simply a short pitch to a tiny green with no visual clues of how hard to hit it - a very feel-oriented shot with no opportunity for feel.

I'm also curious what you thought about that pin placement on 11.  You're right in your comment that Strantz rarely builds a green without dramatic slopes, but it's been my opinion for a few years now that there are really only 2 pinnable locations on that green and even both of those are a bit suspect.

How fast were the greens rolling?  Last time I was out there about a year ago, the slope and raw green speed combined made some putts probably upwards of 14 or 15 on the stimpmeter.

CJ

[Wade Whitehead]

CJ:

I DO believe the housing takes away from the back nine.  I saddens me, honestly.

I've also observed that course conditions have changed dramatically since RNK opened.  It's softened in many ways, with wider mowing patterns and less severe hay, which I supposed makes it easier but also presents a less visually intimidating view.

WW

[John Foley]

Andy,

Thanks for the pics - I had been wanting to see RNK for a long time and finally got there last summer & I loved it.

The front 9 is very good. The back 9 is good - but the homes was really jarring after seeing nothing on the front.

Hope to get back and see it again in the future.

[Wade Whitehead]

Andy: Did you notice if the stone walls on 1 (and a few others) are still there?  At one time they meandered through the high grass and added a very cool feel.  I heard, though, that they were being taken down for some reason.

WW

[Carl Rogers]

Yes, thanks for the pics.

Scott Weersing and I live in Tidewater and tee it up at RNK there at least once a year

The 1st and 10th greens are two level with a 6' to 7' elevation difference.  The 11th green's percentage of pinnable area is about 10% of the surface.

Too much Strantz is hazardous to your mental health.

[Peter Pallotta]

Andy - thanks for the pics.  I guess it's true what folks say about his courses - you love them or hate them. I know some here whose opinions I value think highly of RNK and TR. I'll have to go play RNK myself one day before judging. But just to say - to me it is a very 'noisy' course in looks and design; and the slope rating looks to be quite high (e.g. much harder for the bogie golfer than the scratch golfer). Also, the bits of surrounding countryside that I can see seem quite rolling and interesting -- I wouldn't have thought it needed much 'help' from the designer in that regard.

No. 6 and No. 13 seem like good golf holes, though, and refreshingly simple.

Peter
 

[Bruce Wellmon]

I have played it many many years ago on one occasion.
#1 I was stunned by the houses.
#2 Maybe they sent me off on the back nine, as it was crowded that day, but I remember the nines being flip flopped.

[Andy Hughes]

CJ, I was OK with the housing.  Obviously it's much nicer without it but I can live with what was around the 11th and 12th holes.  However, I am quite fond of 13 and that hole has really been damaged--both off the tee and moreso on the approach. Its very hard to look at the shot and see anything but the homes now.

I am not very good at calling the speeds of greens. I am sure they were easily less than 13s however.  I was near the back of the green on 11 and my putt down towards the hole broke quite a lot to the left of course but also stopped 6 feet short.

Wade, my daughter was with me--she said there is still plenty of hay  .  I did see the stone walls off in the rough to the right of #1.  I did not notice them anywhere else.

Peter, when you do come down to play RNK and/or Tobacco Road it would be fun for you to also play Caledonia--you will have real doubts that the same maniac who came up with RNK, TR and True Blue also crafted such a lovely, graceful gem.
I think you are right by the way--like at TR the course is much more punishing for the bogey golfer than for the low handicapper.

Bruce, I believe the current ordering is what has always been. 

[Bruce Wellmon]

Thanks, it was a long time ago. I have played most of the Strantz courses.
TR, Caledonia, True Blue, Stonehouse and RNK.
Have not played Bull's Bay and Tot Hill, and Montery.
The contrast between Caledonia and the others is interesting.

[Jeff Doerr]

Yes, thanks for the pics.

Scott Weersing and I live in Tidewater and tee it up at RNK there at least once a year

The 1st and 10th greens are two level with a 6' to 7' elevation difference.  The 11th green's percentage of pinnable area is about 10% of the surface.

Too much Strantz is hazardous to your mental health.

Scott and I had a very nice late afternoon round there a few weeks ago...

[Mike Hamilton]

Some more pics from early January when the ponds were frozen and covered with balls (a rarity here in Southern VA)

RNK is probably not an everyday play, but the front 9 is maybe my favorite stretch of Strantz holes...

Also where I experienced my favorite all-time golf shot.  My younger son when 6 (now 7) came within about an inch of acing number 7 from the forward tees; he had to settle for an 8 inch birdie put (his first).

Hole 1. 



 





Hole 2. 









Hole 3. 






A look back at the tee’s



And green, which is an hourglass shaped bowl that contours up fairly sharply from middle to back.



Hole 4








Hole 5



And looking back up the fairway, from the green





Hole 6









Hole 7







Hole 8











Hole 10



Hole 11







Hole 12



Hole 13



Hole 14









Hole 15

[CJ Carder]

Here are a few of my pics from 6 years ago, just for comparison sake.  In my opinion, RNK should be a case study of how to ruin the atmosphere of a golf course with houses.

Hole 11 - June 2004


Hole 11 - June 2010

Hole 12 - June 2004


Hole 12 - June 2010

Hole 13 - February 2005


Hole 13 - June 2010

[Michael Taylor]

Strantz courses just look like a bundle of fun. If I ever become a golf course designer, I'd like to think I'd design my course a bit like MS. Quirky!

[Andy Hughes]

CJ, the differences are rather striking. Thanks for the comparison.

[Mike Hamilton]

CJ, the differences are rather striking. Thanks for the comparison.

I first played there in 1999 or 2000 but didn't get back there for 8 years (something about having two children puts a real dent in your golf time ).  I knew that it had changed, but those pictures are striking.  My thanks as well.

[Chris DeNigris]

Thanks for the great pics and comments...

I'm a confirmed Strantz-oholic and RNK is my easy favorite. And I like TR a lot.

The front nine is a great stretch of challenging golf. There are some really good shot values which really provide a great sense of accomplishment if you can pull them off.

The drive on 1, the 2nd on 2, the drive on 5, the approaches on 6 and 8...all difficult, but not overly penal if you miss a little. Well maybe just a little penal.

Every time I get to the back 9 I start to get physically ill. It's a total travesty and a desecration. At least Stonehouse has decent homes. Now at RNK you feel like you're in the middle of a trailer park...and not one of those quaint and quirky UK trailer parks...Mike must be pissed...

[Roger Wolfe]

I have played it many many years ago on one occasion.
#1 I was stunned by the houses.
#2 Maybe they sent me off on the back nine, as it was crowded that day, but I remember the nines being flip flopped.

The back nine looks totally different.  Those tract houses are just awful.  It used to be forest and the horsetrack.  What a shame.

[John Moore II]

I played this course just today with Carl Rogers and Scott Weersing. Possibly a course that can rate a place in my personal top 25 and the only course I've played from the Golf Digest 50 Hardest courses list that I felt deserved the ranking. I played the same round I played a couple of days ago at Eaglewood where I shot a 73; today I put down a 84. (Good indicator of where my game really is, for what thats worth)
A few thoughts on the course:
#1 is a cool hole if you take the right line. I took a slightly aggressive line off the tee, hit a slight hook and had a lost ball. This was our 10th hole and pretty much the point where I stopped caring. Not an overly difficult opening hole.
#2 is the fish-hook hole. I really like this as a Strantz template hole. Multiple options all around. Very good hole
#5 is another very good par 5, requires thought off the tee for the longer player (like me) but offers a very wide fairway. The second shot is fairly straight forward and the 3rd requires some serious skill to pull off. Outstanding hole.
#7 has a very, very good green. The internal contours appear like a Biarritz (from what I've seen in images, never played a real one) but the angle of the green shapes like a Redan. Possibly the best green on the course.
#9 would be a better hole with the right side fairway still maintained. That side provides the best angle into the green. Good hole, but if maintained as designed would be better.
#12 is a good par 3, sloppy part in the routing, but a good hole. To a front pin it is not too difficult, but from the back tees to a back pin it would be a beast. And I couldn't imagine playing to a hole cut in the center of the green, in that narrow neck.
#13 is about as close to a normal hole that you'll find on the course. Straightforward hole and fairly easy to play.
#14 has a very interesting tee shot, one very similar to the opening tee shot at Tobacco Road, but where you play short of the hills.
#15 has a lot going on. Volcano type green, with a false front, plays somewhat uphill, not to mention its 245 yards from the back tees. I would say this is the second best par 3 on the course, behind the 7th.
#16 and #17 are pretty good half-par holes falling back to back. 16 plays uphill from the tee and uphill to the green at a yardage of 476 yards. And the green is fairly heavily defended. 17 offers a comfortable tee shot (assuming you can stay slightly down the left and not in the creek down the right (like me). Then the green is fairly reachable and at the very least it is possible to get the ball within 30 yards of the pin without much risk. These are two very good holes prior to reaching the 18th.
#18 gets more criticism than it deserves, IMO. The pond is at one of the lower points on the property, is has a creek leading into it (perhaps the creek is fabricated as well, but whatever) and doesn't look terrible. It may not quite fit exactly, but the pond could be passed off as natural if someone did not know it was created.

I really thought this was a good course. Hopefully I can make it up to Stonehouse to complete the Strantz courses for this area. I am a huge fan of Strantz; he gets less credit as a designer than he deserves.

[Ronald Montesano]

If you STILL need more RNK, go here and see our images:  http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/buffalogolfer/Royal%20New%20Kent/

[John Moore II]

Ronald-What was your opinion of the course architecturally?

[Ronald Montesano]

John,

I played it from the tips, so my golfing experience was a brutal one.  I was strategically addled that day as well, so I didn't always choose the safe route.  That said, here goes in terms of architectural value...

I'm not a big fan of what some call the fishhook hole, at least in its iteration at RNK.  As Kevin Lynch remarked to me that day, at Tobacco Road, you can play your miss from the hazard; at RNK, the ball is gone forever into the bowels of the beast.  I did not think that the layup shot set up visually for me.

The very next hole, the cauldron hole, is much more challenging than the ones at True Blue or Tobacco Road (or even at Tot Hill Farm.)  I found the green on #3 to be too thin to hold the longish shot it called for.

I was very fond of the next sequence of holes.  Numbers 4-9 were holes that afforded space to succeed or make mistakes.  The punishments were not too punitive (except in the case of the beautiful par three, where I skanked a shot into the hazard.)  The greens were sizeable enough to accept the approach shot required.  Even in the case of the blind tee shots, you still had the sense that you had room out there.

More than at True Blue and Tobacco Road, the premium was on driving the ball (about equal as at Tot Hill, but not nearly as critical as at Stonehouse.)  A missed drive at RNK was a shot forever lost, and one that reduced the opportunity to play your second shot anywhere near its architect-intended space.  If your driver was asleep, your wedges had best be wide awake!  This happened at #10.  11 and 12 were visually appealing holes that played fairly.  Yes, 12 is edgy but so what...it had more room than did #3 to make a mistake.  #13 was a nice breather hole, then came the great closing stretch, where we all agreed that the yardage markers were paced off by a limp troll...one hole you bombed it long, the next you came up short.  Those discs in the fairways definitely need to be remeasured!

I loved #15, as if afforded the opportunity to hit a full driver on a par three...last time I had done that was #17 at Whistling Straits...or was it #3 at that Jim Engh course in Michigan?  No matter...still got down in three putts for my bogey.

Ultimately, Royal New Kent was fair but demanding (as opposed to unfair and demanding at Stonehouse, or fair and kinda demanding as at Tobacco and Tot.)  If I had to pick a gimmicky, unfair hole, I'd get it out of the way early with #2...too much hook to that fish hook.  Very nice and interesting greens, great drivers course, splendid approaches into targets.  Most holes allowed you to reduce forced carries to a minimum.  All in all, very worthwhile.  In contrast, I would say that Stonehouse is worthwhile only if you want to complete the Strantz Collection...if you happen to play it versus another course, it's a lost round.

[John Moore II]

Ronald-I agree about #2. I really like that hole in concept, but the one at RNK offers too much risk for the reward in question. Its pretty much a pointless exercise to go for the green in two. Come up short and just drop another right where you stand. I played it on a tame day where I was able to find my drive that wound up in the hazard area. TR has two of these holes, one right and one left but they play somewhat similar. Tot Hill has it different than the rest in that the one there plays as a par 4. But it is still a difficult hole. The one at Bulls Bay appears to be played over water.
As far as the 3rd hole, I do not really recall any holes at Tobacco Road or Tot Hill that really resemble that hole. The back tee actually provides a wicked angle into that hole, but its a great angle, IMO. A quick look on Google Maps tells me that if the pin is in front, the green is 25 yards deep and about 25 yards wide; in the back it is 16 deep and 25 wide. I am not counting the middle portion of that green since it has a pretty severe slope.
You played the absolute tips? The ones back at over 7300 yards? What did you shoot from back there? I played it all the way back as well, shot 84; hit about 4 good shots all day.

[Ronald Montesano]

John,

Counting them all, I had 94 and probably hit 4 good shots all day...if there was a green in regulation, I three-putted it.  Most greens that I missed, I found a way to not get it up and down. 

Keep in mind that I am a traveling 4.5 and on the same trip, had 79 from tips on both Golden Horseshoe courses, 83 from tips at Ballyhack and 78 from middies at Kinloch.  I will say that this junket did involve some of the worst putting of my career...despite attending Wake Forest, I've never gotten used to southern greens (can't say if Virginia fits, but I'll use it as an excuse.)  As I recall, I hit the fairway on 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and the former fairway on the right of nine.  I hit the bunkers on 10, the rough on 11 (now that's a bitch of a drive from the tips!) the fairway on 13, 14, 16 and 17, and the rough on 18.  It must have been my poor approaches, my limp recoveries and my flaccid putting that did me in.

The hole at Tobacco Road that resembles the 3rd at RNK is number 6, the par three with the tees that circle the green.  17 does it to some degree there as well.  There is one on the back nine at True Blue that does the same, although the green sits far below the ring of tees at True Blue.  At Tot Hill, the third hole also attempts to ring tees around the green, but it's not the same effect.  These holes are not copies of each other, but the spirit is evident in all of them.