Prince's ascends back to true Championship status with opening of the 'Laddie' course
The new composite layout at the iconic Kent links will serve as the club's signature layout leading up to the 2030 Walker Cup.
Few strips of land in England (or anywhere else in the world, for that matter), are quite as blessed as the scenic plot of links that Prince's Golf Club calls home.
The sprawling, sandy links is among the most celebrated in England, and even has an Open Championship as well as a basket of prestigious amateur tournaments to its name. But while its Royal-appointed neighbours on the Kent coast tend to hoover up most of the attention, Prince's is slowly transforming into a genuine Championship-calibre venue once again.
Plans are afoot to transform the property ahead of its biggest hosting gig in more 70 years, with the Walker Cup set to play out on the links in 2030, with work already being carried out that has led to Prince's being named English golf course of the year at the Golf Course Awards.
Now, a new composite layout will put the club's Championship offering back into sharp focus, highlighting the very best of Prince's three famed nine-hole loops.
It'll be named the Laddie, after P B “Laddie” Lucas, a distinguished amateur golfer who grew up in Sandwich Bay and learned the game on Prince's links. Joining the RAF as the Battle of Britain raged overhead, Laddie flew a Spitfire and, in one incident etched into the club's history, navigated his damaged plane back to the course and used one of its fairways for an emergency landing.
“The goal of ‘The Laddie’ is to create a home for championship golf at Prince’s while maintaining the essence of the whole property,” says Rob McGuirk, general manager of Prince’s Golf Club.
“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 new route effectively cherry-picks the best stretches from all three courses, encompassing five holes from The Himalayas, six from The Shore and seven from The Dunes. Central to the route is a newly-envisaged stretch of challenging long Par 4s, designed to make the course a far sterner test to the big hitters visiting the course for Championship play.
The composite was put together in collaboration with the R&A in anticipation of the Walker Cup's arrival in four years time, with celebrated architects Mackenzie & Ebert assisting in the design.
The Laddie is a highlight development in a top-to-bottom refurbishment of the club. Prince's has just finished a rejuvenation of its clubhouse and is due to start work on modernising The Lodge, a 38-bedroom luxury accommodation block.
“We believe the creation of ‘The Laddie’ is another crucial step towards Prince’s reaching its true potential as a golf destination,” continues McGuirk. “Over the past decade, we have transformed our facility into a well-rounded escape for golf aficionados and travellers alike.”
You can keep abreast of the latest updates from Prince's through the club's website and Instagram.
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Brad Nash is Reviews Editor at GolfMagic, having joined the team in June 2025 to look after all things reviews, soft goods testing and equipment alongside Equipment Editor Georgina. Primarily a writer, you may see him pop up in videos or on the GolfMagic socials from time to time.
