ADVENTURERS
the group. The fuel was much needed as we headed through a cut in the wire fence over to Royal St George’s. Often, courses start with a sort of handshake opening hole. However, with this commemorative routing, laid out over 100 years ago by Hagen and Barnes, we were met with more of an arm-wrestle. The par-5 14th hole is one of the most famous holes on the course. It put an end to Dustin Johnson’s run towards a Claret Jug in 2011 when his second shot in the final round sailed out–of-bounds to the Prince’s Golf Club side of the fence. We made it to the opening hole at Royal St. George’s at around 11 am, which meant we were 23 holes into the day. As we enjoyed more refreshments in the shade of the iconic, Victorian- style starter’s hut, we wondered what Hagen and Barnes would have been thinking in this spot. Hagen, from Rochester, New York, had never been on British soil ahead of his visit here in 1920. Clearly, though, something about the place appealed to him. He would go on to lift the Claret Jug not once but twice, just steps from where we stood on the first tee at Royal St George’s. Behind the fourth green, we enjoyed a glance at the former home of Ian Fleming, the author and proud St George’s member who created the world of James Bond. In his book, Hagen said, “After play- ing 11 holes on the Deal course, we hopped a fence over to Sandwich (Roy- al St George’s) and played ten holes there.” In the interest of time and navi- gation, the clubs had arranged buses to shuttle us between St George’s and Roy- al Cinque Ports. However, my playing partner, Sean of New England, wanted a more authentic experience. Rather than walk through the hole cut in the fence, he climbed it. Around 1 pm, now onto our third course and hole 29 of 54, the weather arrived. A few drops here, misty rain there and then proper English rain. Midway through a back nine, one might embrace this sort of challenge: It is links golf after all. However, we still had 25 holes to play. As we walked off the 18th green at Cinque Ports and headed towards the temporary shelter on the first tee, we
In the summer of 2025, the three clubs came together to lay out the his- toric route once again – and I scored an invitation. As I stepped onto the sixth tee at Princes, hole 20 of the routing and my designated starting point for the grand shotgun start at 5.30 am, I could see doz- ens of holes and flags fluttering in the early glow of sunrise. A horn sounded across the three links, and we were off. Prince’s Golf Club was converted from the original 18 to a 27-hole facil- ity following severe damage to the land during World War II. For today’s ad- venture, we played the Shore and Hi- malayas nines. When we finished, Rob McGuirk, the club’s general manager, was waiting for us by the green with a smile, some words of inspiration and a bag of freshly made sausage rolls for
Fast forward another nine holes and they reached the thin wire fence that marks the boundary with Prince’s Golf Club, which was to host the Open in 1932. Once again, Hagen and Barnes scaled the fence and teed off on a new course. By the time their tour was over, they had played 54 holes, 18 on all three courses. It’s important to understand that these three English links aren’t just nearby one another; they are prac- tically laid out on the same land. In his book The Walter Hagen Story, Hagen would document their mara-
thon day, explaining the goal was simply to “play the three links as if they were one.” The loop be- came known as the Hagen 54.
SWINGING SNAPPY Dr. Simon Barton channels the fashion of Walter Hagen.
26 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MARCH/APRIL 2026
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