Royal New Kent Golf Club

We had a buddies trip to the area and stayed at Shamrock Hill (see the Royal New Kent website) and played Royal New Kent twice along with two other courses in the area. The course layout is demanding but fun. We experienced spring weather and conditions, but will gladly go back. If you enjoy Mike Strantz courses, this one will not disappoint. The staff in the pro shop and restaurant all were great. Staying at Shamrock Hill was exceptional. Great house for our group with everything you could imagine for evening entertainment - golf simulator, pool table, plenty of places to play cards, and TVs in all the right places. The owner of the home was great as well. Early communication, checked in on us when the weather turned, and kept in touch throughout our stay. We go on two trips a year. This was a really great experience for us across the board and will be on our list for a return visit.

Nearly cancelled my tee time when I saw the course slope rating, but sure glad I didn’t! The course was by far the toughest I’ve ever played (16 handicap) but the most enjoyable. I used nearly every club in my bag and had to think through every shot. While not a classically beautiful and green fairway track ( I did play in February) it had its own unique beauty. The staff was awesome! I was a solo woman golfer and they welcomed me as if I was a dear friend! I Can’t say enough about the entire experience. I will definitely be back and can’t wait to take another run at it!

I decided to play RNK a day before I was going to play Tobacco Road and wow both courses are super hard and absolutely VISUALLY STUNNING!!!!!! You can immediately see the similarities in design, both being just amazing, Strandz' vision is unlike any others'. I loved playing RNK this time of year as well, with the grass having those winter brown hues, gave the course a completely different look, which I think is amazing. A common theme I felt throughout the course was generous fairways, that put you into blind shots if you do not hit a perfect tee shot. 8 and 14 were perfect examples of that , there's a slim view of the pin on shot 2 between two mounds if you put the ball in an exact spot on the fairway but if you are somewhere else on the fairway, completely blind shot. I thought the par 3s were absolutely gorgeous, the 7th was my favorite. The one nit pick is how far the course is spread out, my goodness there was some epically long treks between many of the holes so DO NOT plan on walking this course by any means. Lastly the price was really low for what I think is a course in excellent shape with a world class layout, so value here is GOOD. I am looking forward to returning someday hopefully in the summer.

Strantz! Had an amazing time at this course... It is quite challenging, so I would recommend picking the correct tees, even if others in your group are on other tees. The tee shots all look deceptive and challenging, but if you are smart with your shots and not overly aggressive the course can be managed. The pro shop is well stocked, the pub is pretty good with well made Transfusions. Driving range and practice green are both great. I would highly recommend playing here, especially if you like any other Strantz course. Pricing is incredibly fair and borderline a great value.

Absolutely beautiful golf course, but very challenging—often listed among the top 20 hardest courses in the US. The "open" links-style layout can be deceptive, and missing the fairways often leads to thick brush and lost balls. The greens are lightning fast, especially in summer, making downhill putts tricky and prone to rolling 30-40 feet with a slight misjudgment. If you typically shoot in the 100s, you might want to play elsewhere to avoid a potentially frustrating experience, as scores can be 5-10 strokes higher than average. Nonetheless, the course's beauty makes it worth the challenge.