Prince’s Golf Club in England, founded in 1902 and home to three nines, has worked with the R&A and architects Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert to establish a composite routing utilizing various holes from its three nines. Named The Laddie, the composite 18 will be available to play at select times each year and will serve as the championship course for future tournaments, including the 2030 Walker Cup.
No. 5 of the Himalayas nine will be used as one of the holes on The Laddie, which will incorporate holes from each of the three nines at Prince’s Golf Club in England.
Located in Kent on the coastline some 80 miles east of London and 14 miles north of Dover, Prince’s offers the Himalayas, Shore and Dunes nines. The Laddie routing will use five holes from the Himalayas, six from the Shore and seven from the Dunes. The composite routing will play to 7,435 yards with a par of 71.
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“The goal of The Laddie is to create a home for championship golf at Prince’s while maintaining the essence of the whole property,” Rob McGuirk, general manager of Prince’s Golf Club, said in a media release announcing the composite course. “We believe we created something very special here, and this specific routing will not only look to be among the best in the United Kingdom but across the world.”
The name The Laddie is in reference to P.B. Laddie Lucas, whose tale was included in the press release:
Named The Laddie, the championship course pays tribute to P.B. Laddie Lucas, one of Prince’s most celebrated figures and a man whose life and legacy are deeply entwined with the club.
Born at Prince’s and raised on the Kent links, Lucas went on to become a distinguished amateur golfer and RAF pilot. During World War II, after sustaining heavy damage to his Spitfire, he navigated back to Prince’s Golf Club using his knowledge of the coastline and course, landing safely on the links – a remarkable moment that cemented his place in the club’s history.
Prince’s was host to the 1932 Open Championship won by American Gene Sarazen. The original layout was effectively demolished as a military training site in World War II, but in 1950 it was rebuilt as three nines, incorporating 17 of the original green sites.
The logo for The Laddie composite course is a tribute to World War II aviator P.B. Laddie Lucas, who grew up at Prince’s Golf Club and later landed on the links after suffering battle damage in his plane.
The composite course follows work that restored natural sandscrapes, extended fairways and surrounds and refined rough management while delivering firmer, faster links conditions. The club also has completed an extensive clubhouse refurbishment, added Toptracer technology to the range and a putting studio, and upgraded the onsite accommodations at The Lodge at Prince’s.
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Jason Lusk is Golfweek’s travel and golf course architecture editor, as well as the magazine’s creative director. He has written for and designed Golfweek for more than two decades.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Prince’s Golf Club in England creates composite course of best holes
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