The Shorter, Tighter Sibling to Duke’s — and No Less Demanding

By Jabunong — Golf Passport UK

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Quick Stats

Location	Roehampton Gate, Priory Lane, London SW15 5JR
Course	18 holes, Par 70
Type	Parkland / Public pay-and-play
Tees played	Yellow
Managed by	Loyaltee Golf
Booking	Online via the Richmond Park Golf Course website
Facilities	Shared clubhouse with Duke’s, bar & restaurant, 15-bay driving range
Passport Rating	⭐⭐⭐⭐

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The Setting — Same Royal Park, Different Character

Prince’s shares its address with Duke’s — the same clubhouse, the same Roehampton Gate entrance inside Richmond Park, the same deer wandering the rough between holes. But play the two courses back to back and you notice the difference quickly.

Where Duke’s stretches out and asks you to manage length and a wandering stream, Prince’s is shorter, tighter, and considerably more about precision than power. Several holes play under 220 yards from the tee. That doesn’t mean it’s an easy course — it means the demands shift from “can you hit it far enough” to “can you hit it exactly where you’re aiming.” Played at pace, with good company, it’s every bit as enjoyable a round as its longer sibling.

I played Prince’s on a warm Saturday in June, in a four-ball with my regular partner Mutsa, plus Pastor Sam and Sean from Equippers Church West London. Good weather, good company, and a course that rewarded careful course management far more than raw distance.

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First Impressions — The Same Excellent Facilities

Everything that makes the Richmond Park site work for Duke’s applies equally here. The shared clubhouse — with its acid-grassland roof and floor-to-ceiling glazing over both courses — is genuinely one of the better public golf facilities in London. The restaurant terrace looks out across both layouts, and a 15-bay driving range sits ready for a warm-up with no booking required.

I gave myself a full hour before our 10:05 tee time specifically to use the range properly — wedges first, then working up through the irons to the 3-wood. That warm-up mattered more than usual on this particular day, because for the first time this year, I left the driver out of the bag entirely. On a course this tight, that turned out to be exactly the right call.

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The Front Nine — Short, Sharp, and Unforgiving of Sloppy Tee Shots

Prince’s front nine wastes no time establishing what kind of course this is. Several holes play comfortably under 220 yards, which sounds gentle until you realise the fairways and greens are narrow enough to punish anything loose.

Hole 1 (Par 4, SI 11)
A relatively short opener at roughly 207 yards, but the green is fast and can catch out anyone still settling into their round. Approach carefully — this is a green where four putts can happen to anyone who doesn’t respect the pace.

Hole 2 (Par 3, SI 13)
A short par 3, around 89 yards, demanding a clean strike above all else. Very little margin for a fat or thin contact — the distance does the deceiving, not the hazards.

Hole 3 (Par 4, SI 7)
Around 206 yards with bunkering near the green. Rewards accurate tee shot positioning over length.

Hole 4 (Par 3, SI 15)
A short, uphill par 3 around 121 yards. The elevation change deceives the eye — take enough club to cover the rise and a green in regulation is well within reach.

Hole 5 (Par 4, SI 5)
One of the longer tee shots on the front nine at around 217 yards, played to a green that asks for a precise mid-iron approach. One of the more complete two-shot holes on this nine.

Hole 6 (Par 4, SI 9)
Around 189 yards from the tee with bunkering protecting the green. A straightforward hole by Prince’s standards — the kind that should be banked as a par chance.

Hole 7 (Par 4, SI 1) — The Hardest Hole on the Course
Around 214 yards with trees pressing in on both sides of the fairway, narrowing the corridor you actually have to work with. The stroke index 1 rating is earned through tightness rather than length — there is very little room for error here.

Hole 8 (Par 4, SI 3)
Around 189 yards, tree-lined on both sides. The third stroke-index-single-digit hole in five holes — this stretch of the front nine is where Prince’s does most of its damage if your accuracy isn’t on point.

Hole 9 (Par 5, SI 17)
The only par 5 on the front nine, and a genuine birdie chance for anyone playing well. A pond sits in play down the left, but the hole is rated the easiest on this nine for good reason. Play smart around the water and there’s a real scoring opportunity to close out the front.

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The Signature Hole — The 7th

If one hole defines the front nine at Prince’s, it’s the 7th. Stroke index 1, trees squeezing in from both sides, and a green that doesn’t forgive an approach played from the wrong angle. It isn’t long by any normal measure — but Prince’s doesn’t need length to make a hole difficult. The corridor here is simply narrow enough that anything off-line finds trouble fast.

I played a 3-wood off the tee and a 3-hybrid into the green and still needed three putts to get away with a bogey — the hole asks questions of every part of your game, not just the tee shot.

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The Back Nine — Water Comes Into Play, and the Course Tightens Further

The back nine introduces water more consistently than the front, with ponds and a stream crossing several holes. Combined with the tree-lined corridors that carry over from the front nine, this is where course management becomes essential rather than optional.

Hole 10 (Par 4, SI 2)
The hardest-rated hole on the back nine, around 193 yards, with a pond visible in play down the left side. Demands respect from the tee — anything pulled left brings the water straight into the equation.

Hole 11 (Par 3, SI 18)
The easiest-rated hole on the course at around 125 yards, though stroke index doesn’t always tell the full story — a clean strike still matters more than the rating suggests.

Hole 12 (Par 4, SI 10)
Around 249 yards with a stream running down the left side of the hole. Finding the fairway here opens up a much more comfortable approach into the green.

Hole 13 (Par 3, SI 4)
A long, demanding par 3 around 219 yards with another stream in play down the left. Length and a hazard combined make this one of the genuinely tough par 3s on the back nine.

Hole 14 (Par 4, SI 16)
One of the more forgiving holes on the back nine at around 171 yards. A good opportunity to bank a par after the demands of the 12th and 13th.

Hole 15 (Par 4, SI 8)
Around 268 yards — the longest hole on the course by tee shot distance — and where length finally matters more than precision. A well-struck 3-wood here sets up a much shorter approach into the green.

Hole 16 (Par 3, SI 14)
A shorter par 3 around 97 yards with bunkers guarding both sides of the green. On the day I played, Pastor Sam made the only birdie in our four-ball here — clean tee shot, confident putt, the kind of hole that rewards a simple, committed swing.

Hole 17 (Par 4, SI 12)
Around 229 yards with bunkering around the green. My playing partner Mutsa found a bunker just off the green here, escaped short, then rolled in a 30-foot putt left to right to save his par anyway — proof that this course gives you chances to recover even when the tee shot doesn’t go to plan.

Hole 18 (Par 4, SI 6)
A proper closing hole around 157 yards with a stream crossing the fairway. Not the longest finish on the course, but the water demands one last moment of care before you’re done.

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Pace of Play

As with Duke’s, Prince’s is a popular public course and can move slowly on busy weekend mornings. On the Saturday I played, with a 10:05 tee time and a four-ball, the pace was comfortable — no significant backups, and enough room to enjoy the round without feeling rushed. As always with Richmond Park, twilight slots or an early tee time will give you the smoothest experience if pace matters to you.

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Value for Money

Green fees at Prince’s sit in line with Duke’s — among the best value golf available anywhere in London. For a course this tight and demanding, set inside a Royal Park with deer wandering the rough and genuinely excellent facilities shared with its sister course, the price-to-quality ratio here is hard to beat anywhere in the capital.

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Insider Tips

• Leave the driver in the bag if accuracy isn’t your strength. Several holes on Prince’s reward a controlled 3-wood or hybrid far more than a driver that might find one of the tree-lined corridors. I played the entire round without a driver and didn’t miss it once.
• Respect the water on the back nine. Ponds and a stream come into play more consistently here than on Duke’s — know where they sit before you commit to a line off the tee, particularly on holes 10, 12, 13 and 18.
• The 7th is the hole to focus on. Stroke index 1 for a reason — trees both sides, a green that punishes the wrong angle. Play it conservatively and take your par or bogey without complaint.
• Putt with conviction on quick greens. I lost more shots to tentative putting on fast greens than to anything off the tee. Commit to your line and your pace — hesitation costs more strokes than an aggressive miss.
• Use the shared driving range before you play. No booking required, and it’s genuinely useful for finding rhythm before a course this demanding of precision.

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The Verdict

Prince’s doesn’t have the reputation of its sister course, but it’s every bit as worthwhile a round — arguably more interesting for the golfer who enjoys a tight, tactical test over one built on raw length. Several short holes invite low scores, and several tight, water-laden holes take those same low scores straight back if you’re not careful.

For a group looking for a relaxed, sociable round inside one of London’s most beautiful parks, with genuinely excellent facilities and fair green fees, Prince’s delivers everything Duke’s does — just in a shorter, sharper package.

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Ratings

Category	Rating
Course Layout	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Course Condition	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Value for Money	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Facilities	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pace of Play	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Setting / Scenery	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall	⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Practical Information

Address	Roehampton Gate, Priory Lane, London SW15 5JR
Phone	0208 876 3205
Website	loyalteegolf.co.uk/richmond-park-golf-course
Facilities	Shared clubhouse, restaurant, 15-bay range (no booking)
Nearest station	Barnes (overground) or buses from Richmond
Parking	Free at Roehampton Gate car park
Best time to play	Weekday / twilight, April–September

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You might also like:

• Round 3, 2026 — Richmond Park Golf Course (Prince’s) Round Recap
• Richmond Park Golf Club — Duke’s Course Review
• First Round 2026 — Richmond Park Golf Course (Duke’s)

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Jabunong — Golf Passport UK
Played Prince’s Course · Richmond Park, London · Part of 33 UK courses across 22 years

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