Rye Golf Club (Old)

Overview: The Rye Golf Club (Old) profile records 6503 yards and par 68 for this links routing. The course is built from firm, sandy ground and arranged as two nine-hole loops on either side of the clubhouse, creating an intimate rhythm rather than a conventional out-and-back journey. Heather, crosswinds, ridges and carefully placed bunkers make the course a test of angles and second shots. The Old Course is not long by modern championship standards, but the low par leaves little room to waste strokes, and its short holes are especially demanding when the wind moves across the fairways.

History: Rye's first competition took place in 1894, and Harry Colt, then the club's first captain, designed a permanent 18-hole course in 1895. It was his first course design and helped launch the career of one of golf's most influential architects. The links later moved south from marshier ground toward the sea, with further contributions from designers including Sir Guy Campbell. Two of Colt's original green sites, the 12th and 17th, survive, while the routing has been adjusted around wartime work and later changes to individual holes. The club now has both the Old and Jubilee courses, but this profile refers only to the Old.

Did You Know? Rye has five par threes, and the club's own history notes that the quality of the short holes is central to the course's reputation. The 17th is one of the surviving Colt green sites, while the two-loop routing keeps the clubhouse at the centre of the round rather than at one end.