Rye Golf Club (Old Course)

Two Loops, Five Short Holes

The Old Course at Rye Golf Club became the club's permanent 18-hole layout in 1895. H.S. Colt, a founding member and first captain, designed it at 25, beginning the career that later made him one of golf's leading architects. As the course shifted south from marshier ground towards the sea, later alterations changed much of his original routing, although the 12th and 17th still survive.

Unlike a traditional out-and-back links, the course forms two nine-hole loops on either side of the clubhouse. This compact pattern keeps the round close to the centre of the club while exposing holes to crosswinds from several directions. Undulating fairways rarely offer level stances, so approaches often begin from sidehill or uneven lies.

At 6,503 yards from the black tees, par 68 feels severe rather than short. Five par 3s interrupt the rhythm, and their raised targets can leave exacting recovery shots when the green is missed. Tom Simpson and Sir Guy Campbell influenced the course's later form, blending Colt's early ideas with the repairs and revisions required after wartime damage.