The Ratcliffe College Ryder Cup Golf Tour was played in Kent this year, based at the world renowned Princes Championship Links Club in Sandwich Bay. This was the first time that the Golf Tour had ventured to Southern England since the inaugural golf tour in 2011. Kent is often called, “The Garden of England" due to its abundance of fruit orchards, hop gardens, and agricultural produce. Sandwich Bay provided a stunning backdrop for our annual tour to decide the winners of the coveted Mir Patel Golf Trophy. The European Captain, Sam Leake, (now a 2 handicapper) led a team of Will Seager (15) and Lucas Zhang (18). Joe Driver (14) led team USA with Oscar Carlisle (36) and Mr Reddin, Headmaster, (12). Despite the diminished number of golfers this year, there was much anticipation as we packed the minibus and trailer on Tuesday 1st July and headed towards the Kent coast.
Striking a rare balance between modern ambience and historic charm, Prince's Golf Club offers twenty seven Holes of outstanding championship links golf in an idyllic coastal setting. Having undergone a significant redevelopment since 2017, the club held the prestigious 2023 Women's Amateur Championship and hosted the Final Qualifying for The Open Championship from 2018 to 2022. The club is now ever-present in all Top 100 Great Britain and Ireland rankings and is embarking on perhaps its most ambitious period in modern history since hosting the 1932 Open Championship, famously won by Gene Sarazen, the first golfer to achieve the modern-day slam of all four Majors, The Masters, The US PGA Championship, The US Open Championship and the The Open Championship. Prince's has also been named as the host to the 2030 Walker Cup. Our tour party stayed in the wonderful on-site accommodation at The Lodge, with views over Sandwich Bay and Royal St. George's, dining at The 1932 Grill. Will, Oscar, Joe and Lucas were delighted to stay in the Collin Morikawa Suite, so named after the Morikawa’s win at the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St George’s, during which he stayed at The Princes Links Lodge.
Day One – Princes Golf Links, Dune, and Himalayas Courses.
An uneventful mini-bus journey crossing the Dart via the Queen Elizabeth II bridge into Kent was followed by a fabulous round which combined two challenging nine-hole courses, the Dune, and the Himalayas on an extremely hot afternoon, with temperatures tipping the mercury at thirty-two degrees as we teed off. It had been decided on the journey down that due to the small number of six golfers, the format of the tour would change this year. For the first two days, there would be two three-ball matches where players representing Europe and USA would play for Stableford Points according to their full handicap. The points would be totalled over the initial rounds, culminating in three two-ball matches on the final day where the winner would receive ten points, with five for a draw and zero for a loss.
Game one was an opportunity for each team to play together in a three-ball match to bond. Europe teed off first, quicky followed by the USA team, all eager to score points for their team.
There was some sparkling golf played, with the pick of the action Joe Driver’s stunning Eagle three on the par five sixth hole on the Himalayas, holing a twenty-foot putt! This feat was equalled by Oscar Carlisle’s extraordinary three hundred- and twenty-five-yard drive from tee to green on the seventh hole on the Dune course. Using the stiff following breeze and hard fairway, Oscar could not have hit his drive more sweetly. It fairly sailed over the pot bunkers guarding the fairway and bounced and rolled its way past the greenside bunkers to set up a well-deserved net Eagle two and four points for the USA. Brilliant Oscar!
When we all gathered at the eighteenth Green to compare scorecards, the scores could not have been much closer, with the USA team holding a narrow lead, ninety-four points to ninety-one points.
Post-match victuals were enjoyed at, The 1932 Grill. Dessert was taken outside the Dining Room on our very own putting green– brilliant! The six companions chipped and putted until the sun finally dipped its head below the horizon at ten o clock, ending a wonderful first day.
Europe 91 vs. USA 94.
Day Two – Princes Golf Links, Shore Course.
A rare lie in on a school day until eight fifteen, preceded a hearty breakfast back at The Grill. The food was outstanding, all freshly prepared. The maple syrup pancakes were a favourite closely followed by the Eggs Benedict! The weather had changed completely overnight and we had woken up to heavy cloud cover and a mist over Sandwich Bay following overnight rain. There was no breeze off the sea, either. The Captains had considered their team selections carefully for day two which would see the tour party play twenty-seven holes at two different courses. Leake and Driver put themselves out in the first three-ball with Seager. The second three-ball consisted of Carlisle, Reddin and Zhang. The third nine holes at Princes Links is my favourite. As its name implies, the clockwise loop of nine holes initially follows the Shoreline south towards the Lodge at the entrance to the course. The opening drive is straightforward but a par four is still quite difficult to achieve. In contrast the drive at the par five second required the longest carry to the fairway of any hole at Prince’s. With its severely undulating fairway the fourth is a daunting hole even for the best golfer. The sixth is the post war eighteenth playing to the same green where Gene Sarazen won the 1932 Open Championship. The seventh begins the return north to the new Clubhouse, an accurate tee shot must be followed by an even more exact second to find the elevated green which slopes steeply to the right. The eighth is a challenging par five with a tight fairway and a par at the last is often hard to achieve. The clubhouse flagpole is an excellent aiming point for the drive which should best find the far right of the fairway to open the approach to the green. The two teams negotiated the course with mixed results. The USA achieved a total of thirty-nine points from the nine holes, highlighting the challenge of scoring on tight fairways and undulating greens. Team Europe fared better, totalling forty-nine points, with Seager winning eighteen points, the highest of the morning’s totals. And so, as we packed the minibus to head off down the coast to Littlestone Golf Club in New Romney, Europe had their noses in front, one hundred and forty points to USA’s one hundred and thirty-three points.
An hour’s drive led us to Littlestone Golf Club and a well-earned lunch in their historic clubhouse. Heavy rain had followed us from Sandwich but had abated by the time we teed off at half past three with everything to play for. A nearest the pin and longest drive competition had been added to spice up the competition further. This monster championship course played every yard of its six thousand yards off the yellow tees. Bunkers were ubiquitous on fairways and guarding greens, with accuracy a premium. The long par three caught everyone out with no one managing to find the green! The accolade for longest drive looked destined to be the preserve of the Headmaster on the eighteenth hole only for Driver to snatch victory by a few centimetres. Well done, Joe, a fine drive to navigate through the bunkers. As the beautiful late evening sunshine lengthened our shadows as we putted out on the eighteenth green, Europe had extended their lead by a further eighteen points.
A short drive into New Romney and fine dining at ‘Ruzzos,’ a venerated eatery renowned for its Italian cuisine, did not disappoint. The boys enjoyed a variety of pizza, pasta, and spaghetti as well as the delicious Oreo themed cheesecake – an excellent choice by Seager.
Europe 238 points vs. USA 213 points
Day Three – Princes Golf Links, Shore, and Dune Courses.
With the match still in the balance, breakfast on day three provided the Captains an opportunity to review their pairings for the last day with three two-ball matches to decide the destination of the coveted claret jug. Driver, USA skipper, had more to ponder than most, as he wrestled with his decisions and how to try and claw back the lead from Europe.
The Dunes forms an anticlockwise loop of nine holes five out in a southerly direction to the boundary of Royal St. Georges and four back. The dogleg first hole is the most difficult on the course with a narrow green, tricky to hold even with the shortest of approach shots. The par three second offers only temporary respite before three very testing holes particularly the fourth and fifth both challenging par fours. The sixth tee affords fine views across both golf courses and is the start of the excellent par five with hazards both left and right of the green for those choosing to go for the green after a good drive. The approach to the seventh can be difficult to judge whole the par three eighth calls for a long and accurate tee shot. Two good shots are required to find the final green.
The members' favourite nine, The Himalayas, has undergone a major upgrade. Renowned architects Mackenzie & Ebert have reimagined the Himalayas course. The jewel in the crown is the new par three 'Bloody Point' located at the far end of the course, this short hole, set against the backdrop of the sea requires an accurate tee shot to the raised green. The walk from the fifth green to the sixth tee alongside the beach, gives the golfer a little respite before taking on the mammoth par five. The fourth and eighth share of one of the few Championship double greens outside the Old course at St. Andrews. The sixth is the course's longest hole at five hundred and eighty yards, a genuine par five for all golfers. The tee of the par three, seventh affords a spectacular view across Pegwell Bay. From elevated tee to elevated un-bunkered green, into the prevailing south westerly wind the tee shot can require a driver if the wind is strong yet only a short iron with a following north easterly breeze. This par three sees a slight tweak in the new Mackenzie & Ebert design with a sand scrape added on the left side but this par three which affords a swift return to the Clubhouse after seven holes as well as nine. The closing tee shot from the highest tee on the course is similarly affected by the wind and the green, positioned close to the Clubhouse balcony is protected by the Sarazen bunker that collects any overdrawn shot.
European Captain, Leake, would tee it up on the College Golf Tour for his last eighteen holes. To say that Sam has achieved a great deal over the past seven years would be an understatement. Taking up the game of golf in Year seven, Sam has progressed at a rapid rate from a beginner to a two handicapper, who can bring any golf course to its knees with his deadeye accuracy from tee to green and brilliant short game. For his final round, Sam had chosen to play the Headmaster, who would receive ten shots over the eighteen holes, and end a series of matches together on tour since 2019. This would be the final match of three, with their much-anticipated dual in the sun between Driver and Seager starting the final day’s play. These two had been talking themselves up for this match all week, so bragging rights were at stake as well as points. Match two pitched Carlisle against Zhang, who had played consistently well throughout the tour, driving the ball with great accuracy. Carlisle was receiving a shot per hole, so the outcome was very much in the balance.
With the USA needing victory in all three matches to win the trophy, the bookies had Europe odds-on favourites. Driver and Seager slugged it out with some very tidy golf across their round. However, it was young Seager who triumphed, playing consistently well on the holes he had a shot advantage, despite Driver’s best efforts in the final stages. Seager added the closest to the pin title with a fine shot at the allotted par three which nestled just three feet from the cup. Zhang’s relentless consistency proved too much to Carlisle. A resounding victory secured on the fourteenth green meant that Europe’s win was assured regardless of what happened in the last match. A fast start by Leake saw him take a two-shot lead at the fifth hole. However, Reddin used his shots well and managed to win holes six and seven to reach the turn all-square. Both players scored very well on the back nine but the handicap took its toll on Leake with Reddin achieving dormy three up on the par five fifteenth green with a net birdie to match Leake’s fine four. As ever, Leake did not let up in his challenge and secured the longest drive award and won holes sixteen and seventeen. A scrappy final hole was halved in fives, giving Reddin a one-shot victory. Regardless, the day belonged to Leake, Seager and Zhang, as Team Europe, raised the Mir Patel Golf Trophy for 2025.
Final score: Europe 258 vs. USA 233.
The Presentation of the trophy in the Clubhouse was accompanied by lunch and the awarding of several other prizes. Nearest the pin to Seager, longest drive to Driver and Leake. A well-deserved and special award was made to Carlisle for his gargantuan drive on day 1 – what a mighty blow that was! Golfer of the week, chosen by the players themselves, was awarded to Seager. A fine achievement two years running, well done, Will, much deserved. And finally, an award for Services to School Golf, was awarded to Sam Leake. Congratulations, Sam. It has been a pleasure to play golf with you over so many years at Ratcliffe. I am sure that as an alumnus we will continue to enjoy golfing together for years to come. Thank you for all you have done to support the development of golf at Ratcliffe. Thank you to all the tourists this year. Where shall we go next year? Seager whispered that the hallowed turf of St Andrews might be nice. Indeed, it would. We shall see!
J.P. Reddin,
Headmaster.
06.07.25.
