Prince’s Golf Club redeveloping nine of its holes

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Prince’s Golf Club, in Sandwich Bay, Kent and host of the 1932 Open Championship, has announced extensive and ambitious plans to redevelop the Himalayas nine.

The Himalayas will remain open with minimal disruption throughout the process.

Rob McGuirk, general manager of Prince’s Golf Club, commented: “The entire club is very excited by this project.

“We’re committed to continuous improvement at Prince’s and this is certainly the most ambitious phase of development the club has seen for decades.”

The works will re-route the nine significantly, with the current second and third holes combing to make a long par five. The new second tee will be located to the right of the existing first fairway and will play to a maximum of 615 yards.

A short, signature par three, fifth hole will then be inserted playing towards the sea after the existing fifth (new fourth) hole. These changes will increase the par of the nine to 36. The new fifth hole will measure between 120 and 160 yards with a variety of tees to be designed.

Another notable change is to the current eighth, which will become a short, drivable par four with permanent wetlands either side that will be strategically and ecologically valuable. Strategy will also be dictated by the existing bunkers. A new set of tees for the hole, to be placed atop dune ridges present to the right of the existing hole, will also allow the practice ground in front of the club house to be developed further.

Extensive changes to the bunkering, water hazards, green surrounds, out-of-play areas, tees and clearance of trees will also be carried out.

Work will begin with the construction of the new fifth hole. This will be followed by the new second fairway development and the construction of new teeing areas on the new second, third, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth holes. Once this work is done the focus will turn to the fairway bunkers. The planned completion date for construction is before the end of the year with the new holes opening in the late spring / early summer of 2018.