Royal St. George’s
Sandwich, England
- Founded
- W. Laidlaw Purves, 1887/H.S. Colt, 1922, 1922
This 15-time British Open host dates to 1887. “Sandwich,” as it is known colloquially, occupies some of the most rambunctious dunes of any Open venue. Yes, that means there are more blind shots here than at the other host sites. Some professionals embrace that aspect while others are leery. Amateurs, who look at links golf as an adventure vs. a livelihood, are more uniformly effusive in their praise. Though Sandwich is expansive, tense moments present themselves, including on 4th tee, where you must clear the rota’s most fearsome fairway bunker. James Bond creator Ian Fleming was a big fan of the perils of the perched 10th green but the nerviest single moment comes at the par-5 14th tee with outbounds hard along the right. Much to his credit, nothing fazed Collin Morikawa en route to his impressive 2021 Open win. (Photo: Kevin Murray)
