South of England Open, Kent

Monday 11th to Wednesday 13th August 2025

The South of England Open is a three-day event offering competitive rounds on Kent’s most iconic links courses, Royal St George’s, Princes, and Royal Cinque Ports. With a rich legacy that includes 15 Open Championships at St George’s, Kent’s courses blend historic significance with modern excellence.

Golfers will experience the challenge of dramatic dunes and prevailing winds. All course firmly ranked among Great Britain and Ireland’s Top 100. This event offers an extraordinary opportunity to play on world-renowned venues that celebrate the best of links golf.

Golf Courses

Monday 11th August: Royal Cinque Ports - Tee times from 11:00.

Tuesday 12th August: Royal St George’s - Tee times from 10:50.

Wednesday 13th August: Princes (Shore/Dunes) - Tee times from 9:50.

Package Includes

Three competitive rounds of golf on iconic links courses.

Range balls included.

Daily prizes and overall awards.

All rounds count towards the Order of Merits.

Coffee and Bacon Bap on Arrival at Royal Cinque Ports.

At Royal St George’s, a Forecaddie is mandatory. Each 4-ball must have at least one Caddie, with the cost set at £100 per 4-ball not including gratuity. 

Daily Draw:  The draw for the first round will be on the website 2 day prior to the event. The draw for the last round will be made in score order.  On Wednesday, the leaders will go out last. 

If you have any requests for early/late tee times, please make your request via the Message facility in your locker.

Breakfast:  Coffee and Bacon Bap included at Royal Cinque Ports. Breakfast is available to purchase at Royal St George's and Princes.

Format:  The scoring format each day will be individual Stableford with Playing Handicap 95% of Course Handicap.  All three rounds will count towards the Order of Merits.

Registration:  The registration desk will be set up in the Clubhouse each day at least 1 hour prior to the first tee time. 

Handicap:  All of the rounds will be run under the WHS system and scores will automatically be forwarded to GB&I Golf Unions.  If you are a member of a club outside GB&I you MUST return your daily scores to your golf club and the easiest way to do this is to forward the email from Golf Genius, which you will receive after each round and which provides details of your scores.

The competition is open to all male and female golfers with an active WHS Handicap or an equivalent overseas handicap.

Golfers from Great Britain and Ireland must provide their WHS Membership Number, while overseas golfers need to present proof of their current Handicap Index when registering for the opening round.

We may reduce handicaps during the competition based on scores.

The maximum playing handicaps are set at 24 for men and 30 for ladies.

GAGT Handicap System (GHA):  In multi-round tournaments, players will use their Handicap Index from the start of the competition for all rounds. The tournament committee may lower a player's handicap during the event if they are performing significantly better than their current handicap.

Handicaps will be adjusted after each round based on the GHA system, which uses the following traditional reduction method for each shot played below a player’s handicap:

Category 1: Handicaps of 5 or less, adjustment factor of 0.1

Category 2: Handicaps of 6 to 12, adjustment factor of 0.2

Category 3: Handicaps of 13 to 20, adjustment factor of 0.3

Category 4: Handicaps of 21 to 28, adjustment factor of 0.4

Category 5: For women only, handicaps of 29 to 36, adjustment factor of 0.5

These adjustments will not affect a player's club Handicap Index. The GHA system will take priority over adjustments made by a player’s home club to ensure everyone is on the same system, especially since some overseas clubs may be slow to update scores.

Caddie Information:  At Royal St George’s, a Forecaddie is mandatory. Each 4-ball must have at least one Caddie, with the cost set at £100 per 4-ball not including gratuity. Caddies are paid on the day of play.

Range Balls:  Range balls are included at each golf club.

Buggies & Electric Trollies:  Buggies & Electric Trollies are not included. Buggies & Electric Trollies are limited in availability at any of the courses and will need to be booked in advance. If you require a Buggy or Trolley, please contact the Golf Club directly.

Prizes:  Prizes will be in the form of vouchers for the Global Amateur Golf Tour as follows:

Daily vouchers: 1st - £100, 2nd - £70, 3rd - £50       Overall vouchers:  1st - £100, 2nd £70, 3rd - £50.

Dress Code at Royal Cinque Ports:  On The Course - Players are expected to wear smart golf clothing and golf shoes. Trousers and shorts must be tailored; denim is not permitted. As is a tradition of the Club, men wearing shorts must also wear knee-length socks, (which are available for sale in the Professional’s Shop).

Dress Code In The Clubhouse - Except for formal occasions, the dress code throughout the clubhouse is smart casual. The standards which apply on the course, also apply in the clubhouse, but the wearing of knee-length socks is not a requirement.

Dress Code at Royal St George's:  Gentlemen may wear tailored shorts on the course if accompanied by knee-length socks.

Golfing attire is allowed on the terrace and in the Snack Bar throughout the day. Jeans and trainers are not to be worn under any circumstances.

Dress Code at Prince's:  On the golf course - Gentlemen are requested to wear recognised golf attire and golf shoes; shirts should have a collar and sleeves and must be tucked in. Please do not wear rugby or football shirts. Shorts must be tailored and worn with short sports socks (preferably white) or long socks.

Ladies are requested to wear appropriate golfing attire.

Blue denim jeans, track suits, flip flops or trainers are not permitted at any time on the golf course or in the clubhouse.

Nearest the Pins:  There will be two Nearest the Pins for each round.  The prize will be a £25 GAGT voucher.

Sweep:  There will be an optional sweep of £10 per round and this will be collected in cash when you check in before the first round.  The sweep will be paid out daily for the leading three scores and anyone who scores a two. Please remember to bring cash for the sweep.

GPS & Range finding equipment:  The use of GPS range finding devices is permitted on the Tour. 

Late Cancellation:   Charges apply for late cancellations once numbers are submitted to golf clubs.

Emergency Contacts:    

Gareth – 07565886700                  Office – 03454662222