Royal St George course guide

COURSE GUIDE TO ROYAL ST GEORGE’S

Tour star Justin Rose joins forces with club pro Andrew Brooks to explain the strategies to tackle Royal St George’s.

The Open Championship returns to Royal St George’s in Kent this year for the first time since 2003. This will be the 14th time the venue has hosted this great event, yet after an eight-year absence, the layout will be new to many of today’s young guns. Even those with previous experience will be taking on a slightly different course to the one Ben Curtis successfully negotiated to win the Claret Jug in 2003. The 124-year-old Links has been lengthened by more than 100 yards and reduced from par 71 to 70.

Englishman Justin Rose, who exploded onto the scene when he finished tied fourth as an amateur at the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, leaves no stone unturned in his preparations for his home Major. The 2007 European Tour Order of Merit champion and two-time 2010 PGA Tour winner has already highlighted five key holes, identified equipment changes and begun practising the shots he sees as essential to score well on this venerable links. Here, Rose shares his thoughts on those five make-or-break holes with TG. For the remaining 13 we turn to a man who knows the layout like the back of his hand, Royal St George’s head pro Andrew Brooks.

It’s an intriguing insight into what it will take to tame Royal St George’s.