Royal New Kent Golf Club-Providence Forge, VA

This is a high quality golf course as evidenced by it being Mike Strantz's only original course to break into the Golf Digest Top 100 in America; Monterey Peninsula (Shore) is Top 100, but that course is something of a hybrid renovation/new construction. This course has everything a person would expect to see at a Strantz designed course. Wild greens. Heroic shots. Views and expanses of golf that are difficult to describe in words. It really is a shame this course fell out of the Top 100 after only one ranking because it exemplifies everything that Strantz did as a designer.

Ranking
Variety of Design: Very good. The par three's lack variety slightly, not having a short hole. Par four's have great range, from 333 (playing effectively shorter than that) to 476 yards. The par five's feature one that is reachable for the aggressive player and three more that are all at the very outer reaches of making the green in two shots and will make the player think. Directionally, the course features seven holes going to the right, five holes going left, and six holes going straight. The course also features holes that allow running shots, along with uphill and downhill approaches.
8 1/4 out of 10

Flow of the Course: The course starts off with the traditional Strantz kick in the mouth. Following that, the course ebbs and flows nicely through the round, giving the player opportunities to be aggressive and attempt to gain a stroke or two, to take a breather, and also has holes where the player had best hunker down and hit a couple excellent shots. The eighteenth takes shots in some circles, but truthfully, most would not know the pond is manufactured unless they were told so. The hole provides a very good finish with multiple options. 8 out of 10

Course Conditioning: The conditioning was certainly on pace with the rest of the courses in the local area. Certainly it was not on the level of high end places like Eagle Point, but was generally solid. 7 1/4 out out of 10

Walkability: Not good. The course is on a less than perfect site and there is a housing component to the design. For all his positives, Mike Strantz was not the best at routing courses that could be easily walked. The good thing is that most of the longer walks are over flat ground and not directly up hills. 4 out of 10

Atmosphere: Good atmosphere here. Being one of only a handful of Strantz courses adds to the anticipation and the course does not disappoint. 4 out of 10

Total: 71.25

(all photos taken taken by and used with permission from The Buffalo Golfer: www.buffalogolfer.com)
Holes to Note
Hole #2: Par 5, 557 yards
The fishhook hole. This hole is essentially a Strantz template hole. This type hole exists on four of Strantz's seven East Coast courses, six if the basic principle and not style plus principle are included. It is called a fishhook because the hole is shaped as such. The hole plays out a certain distance and then cuts back 180 degrees before coming to the green. In all cases, the hole has some hazard in the middle. The hole here doglegs sharply to the right. The aggressive play from the tee is down the right side of the fairway, that will give the player the chance to go for the green with a mid to long iron. Players not going to the green in two will most likely still have to play over the hazard, unless they wish to play the hole as an effective par 6, but the landing area for lay-up shots is huge. There have likely been scores ranging from 2 to 20 on this hole over the years.

From the tee, the dividing line between fairway and rough is visible. What is not visible, however, is the grass hazard waiting just beyond the trees. Players hugging the right side of the fairway will have the shortest line to the green, obviously.

This player hit his tee shot about ten yards inside the right edge of the fairway. The green is reachable from here, but the hazard will do the player no favors.

A closer look at the hazard clearly shows a abyss awaiting the player should he come up short.

This is the shot that awaits the player who played conservatively on the second shot.

Hole #7: Par 3, 197 yards
This is certainly the best par 3 on the course and may be one of the top three or four in Southeastern Virginia. Strantz is known for his modern style of golf course, but if one looks closely features from the classic designers can be seen. The Alps concept from the Charles B. Macdonald School is a Strantz favorite. He has also used the Biarritz green template at least twice. This hole has what strongly resembles the biarritz green with the large depression in the center, but adds a twist on the template by angling the green like a redan and giving the player the run-up option with slope. The player is given numerous options here on this exceptional hole.

Hole #14: Par 4, 344 yards
This hole, in this writers mind, is the Strantz version of the Alps. The green is barely visible in the distance from the tee and there are two huge mounds flanking the clear opening to the green. Players must play to the center of the fairway or the view of the green may be blocked completely. The green does the player no favors being highly contoured, but a highly contoured green should be expected for a short hole like this.

From the tee, the player has a clear view of the task at hand. Depending on hole location, the player may want to favor the opposite side of the fairway a bit, but any shot hit too far off the center line will have the view of the green blocked.

The approach from 90-100 yards out. This shot was played to an aggressive yardage and is nearing the gap between the hills.

Hole #17: Par 5, 562 yards
Here the player will be given the chance to pick up one, possibly two shots if he is capable of hitting the necessary shots. The creek running down the right side of the fairway dictates all play. If the player has the guts and hits down the right side off the tee, then going for the green in two may be a possibility, but he will be required to play his shot over the trees or hit a huge fade. The conservative play will be out to the left and will not give the player a chance at going for the green in all likelihood, though the angle is better from the left, the distance makes it less then appetizing. From the landing area, the player will once again have to contend with the bunker should he want to go at the green in two. Players laying up are given a generous landing area. The green is not very deep, but quite wide.

The creek is not highly visible in the image, the it runs the entire length of the hole, pressed hard against the fairway. A play towards the bunkers will give the player a conservative line off the tee and an outside chance of going for the green in two.

From the right-center of the fairway about 275 yards off the tee, the green is not visible to the player. In order to go for the green in two, the player would either have to start his shot over the pond, aiming at the trees in the distance, or take his shot high over the center tall tree in the foreground. Otherwise, the player should aim for the bunkers in the distance and lay-up.

A rather simple shot awaits the player laying up, though it does have to be played across the creek.





Hole #18: Par 4, 463 yards
From the tee the player can either try to carry the two bunkers on the right or play to the huge open fairway on the left. In many ways, the less aggressive play is, in this case, preferred, as playing over the bunkers will yeild limited rewards. The shot to the green is a difficult one having to go across the water all the way to a green that is not very deep.

From the tee, the best play will take the player to the left of the twin bunkers. This opens up the fairway.

There are no opportunities to miss herre. Short, long or right will all find the water. This is likely not the shot any player wants after a long day with a few dollars on the line.

Overall, this course is very, very good. With a little more money to spend on conditioning, the course could be exceptional. But there is great variety here and the player will certainly need to be able to shape the ball to score well. In general, this course seems to be underrated in the world of golf. Not even top 20 in the state of Virgnina according to Golf Digest? Hardly. 7 out of 10.