Deal, as most people refer to it after the town it is located in, is a first class links course that is overshadowed a bit by "next door", aka Royal St. George's or Sandwich. The substance of the layout is indeed comparable, but the site is too small to hold an Open anymore and so Deal loses out on publicity. It did stage two Opens in 1909 and 1920, but since then it has not been lengthened and tamed like its more famous neighbor. Still, numerous changes by the likes of Braid, Alison, Morrison, Cotton, Steel and currently Martin Ebert were undertaken that made it a better course.

For the average golfer it may even be more fun to play than Sandwich, because there are some short holes and creativity rather than absolutely precise shotmaking is required. The bunkers, while revetted, have slanted instead of vertical faces, so even those of lesser skills can actually hope to play out forwards. While the scale isn't as grand as next door, the modest dunescape is used to its full potential and many holes are wildly undulated tee to green. In fact the green complexes may not be quite as severe, but they are extremely quirky and provide shot values never seen before or after.

Nowhere is it truer than here that the land dictates the play: accurate, but stereotypical golf will not prevail at Deal. Some of the holes are unique and playing them is a game all by itself, whereas a few others are a bit more conventional in comparison. This leads to a somewhat jerky rhythm, the routing doesn't flow effortlessly like at most other world class courses. The many different architects appear to have been pointed at local issues. It seems that in the last 100 years there has been no interest to look at the whole picture, perhaps rightfully so.

Some criticism has been levelled at Deal that it is not the prettiest of courses and that the dunes aren't high enough to provide secluded holes. Furthermore, the sea views are missing, owing to the sea wall that protects the course from flooding. Other than that links beauty is brownish vegetation, unfathomable pits, knobs and hollows, rolling fairways and crazy greens - all present and in great shape. Royal Cinque Ports has loads of character and deserves more accolades than it usually gets.