There is nothing else like Royal New Kent in the Williamsburg market. If your group wants something completely different from the parkland courses at Kingsmill and Golden Horseshoe, this is the answer.
Designed by Mike Strantz and opened in 1997, Royal New Kent sits in Providence Forge, about halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg just off I-64. Strantz modeled it after two of the finest links courses in the world — Royal County Down and Ballybunion — and built something that has no business existing in central Virginia. After a period of decline and closure, Wingfield Golf Management purchased the course in 2018 and spent a year restoring it to playing condition. It reopened in 2019 and has been earning national recognition since. The motto is Invicta — unconquered — borrowed from the County of Kent, England. After one round you’ll understand why it fits.
What the Course Plays Like
Royal New Kent plays 7,480 yards as a par 72 and it is unlike anything else in the region. Strantz cleared the forest and built 280 acres of rolling, heaving terrain with 120 bunkers, native grasses, massive undulating greens, blind shots, and the kind of ground movement you associate with the Irish coast — not central Virginia. The fairways are wide but demand placement. The greens are large and wildly contoured, with multiple tiers and significant slope that make distance control as important as direction. Miss the right section of a green here and three-putts happen fast.
The front nine is the star. Holes four through eight move across a heathlands-like stretch with gorgeous ground movement and a natural rhythm that few American public courses can match. Strantz was Tom Fazio’s chief shaper before going out on his own, and his background as an artist shows — no two holes look or play alike, and the visual intimidation is part of the game plan. Blind shots over fescue mounds, canyons crossing the line of play, greens that disappear until you’re on top of them. It rewards the golfer who thinks before swinging.
Mike Strantz and Why This Course Matters
Strantz designed only seven courses individually before losing his battle with cancer in 2005 at age 50. Every one of them has been ranked in the top 100 by a major publication. Royal New Kent won Golf Digest’s Best New Upscale Public Course award in 1997. His other work includes Tobacco Road and Caledonia and True Blue in Myrtle Beach — courses that anyone who follows golf architecture knows well. Royal New Kent belongs in that same conversation.
What to Know Before You Go
This course plays hard. Higher handicappers will want to move up a set of tees — the staff recommends playing the tee that matches your ability and they mean it. It is not a course to play from the tips on ego alone. Build it into a Williamsburg trip as your wild card round — something completely different from the Gold Course and the River Course, and a layout that will stay with you long after the trip is over.
Want to add Royal New Kent to a Williamsburg golf package? Coastal Golfaway has been putting golfers on great courses since 1986. Reach out and we’ll handle the details.
