Royal St George's Golf Club

Consistently ranked among the leading golf courses in the world, Royal St George's occupies a unique place in the history of golf, playing host in 1894 to the first Open Championship outside Scotland. Set among the dunes of Sandwich Bay, the links provide a severe test for the greatest of golfers. Only four Open winners (Bill Rogers in 1981, Greg Norman in 1993, Ben Curtis in 2003 and Darren Clarke in 2011) have managed to remain under par after 72 holes. The undulating fairways, the borrows on the greens, the strategically placed bunkers, and the prevailing winds that blow on all but the rarest of occasions; these all soon reveal any weakness in the player. There are few over the years who have mastered all the vagaries in one round.