Littlestone Golf Club
Littlestone, Kent. A links founded in 1888 on Romney Marsh, shaped by Braid and MacKenzie and admired by the founder of the USGA.
Littlestone Golf Club is a traditional links on Romney Marsh on the south Kent coast, founded in 1888 and now more than 130 years old. The championship course is a par 71 of around 6,500 yards from the back tees, set on natural dunes with fast running fairways and cunningly placed bunkers. It describes itself as within the Top 100 courses in England and has hosted Open Championship qualifying five times.
Its design pedigree is striking. William Laidlaw Purves and David Herd created the original course, James Braid added bunkers around 1910 and Alister MacKenzie made substantial improvements in 1924, particularly to the par threes at the 6th and 17th and the greens at the 5th and 18th. Charles Blair Macdonald, the founder of the USGA, said the idea for the famous 4th hole at Lido came from the 16th at Littlestone, and a section of the Mulberry Harbour from D-Day remains visible from the 17th tee. The club also hosted the first LGU Ladies Championship in 1894, and its second course, the Warren, expanded to 18 holes in the 1990s.
Littlestone is a private club that welcomes visitors, but tee times on the championship links are limited to certain days and need to be arranged in advance. Golf Tours London can build a round here into a bespoke itinerary and organise transport from your hotel.
It makes a natural addition to a Kent links trip based around Sandwich or Deal, and the Romney Marsh climate is one of the driest in the UK, which helps keep the course in good condition all year round.
