Staff WriterThe Staysure Legends Tour is heading for Kent this August, with Chart Hills Golf Club confirmed as host of the English Legends from 28th to 30th August. It is another firm step in the tour’s growing footprint across the UK and Ireland, and for English golf fans it offers something rather tasty: a proper championship venue, a parade of decorated names, and the sort of golfing nostalgia that still knows how to hit a cut shot.
This is not some polite lap of honour for former stars in sensible trousers. The English Legends is shaping up as a serious stop on the senior golf calendar, with Major champions, Ryder Cup players and seasoned Tour winners expected to descend on one of England’s most distinctive layouts.
Chart Hills gives the event real teeth
Chart Hills sits in the heart of Kent and has the sort of reputation that tends to arrive only after years of hard graft and a few brave decisions. Ranked among the Golf World Top 100, the venue has been sharpened by sustained investment, with improvements made not just to the playing surfaces but to the overall experience around the property.
Designed by six-time Major champion Sir Nick Faldo and opened in 1993, the course is not shy. It asks questions, and some of them are rather rude. Its architecture is bold and strategic, the kind that rewards clear thinking and punishes vague ambition. That is part of its charm.
Then there are the holes people remember. The par-5 5th, known as “The Anaconda”, has a name that sounds faintly ridiculous until you see what it does to a golf hole. The par-3 17th, with its island green, offers the kind of late drama that can make even hardened professionals feel their collar tighten.
A field stacked with experience
The 2026 English Legends is expected to gather many of the most recognisable names in European golf. Colin Montgomerie, the eight-time Order of Merit winner, is among those expected to feature, alongside 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie and 2005 US Open winner Michael Campbell.
There is strength in depth too, especially among the home contingent. Peter Baker, winner of the 2023 Staysure Legends Tour Order of Merit, is set to feature, along with BMW PGA Championship winners David Howell and Simon Khan, plus British Masters winner Greg Owen.
And because no proper week of golf theatre is complete without Ryder Cup pedigrees scattered all over it, players such as Stephen Gallacher, Jamie Donaldson, Phillip Price, Thomas Levet and Joakim Haeggman are also expected in the mix.
That gives the tournament real weight. These are not just familiar names from old leaderboard clippings. They are players with scars, silverware and enough competitive instinct to make a practice round feel like a border dispute.
What the tour and club are saying
David Adams, Managing Director of the Staysure Legends Tour, said: “We are delighted to bring the English Legends to Chart Hills this summer. The venue has undergone an impressive transformation, and its distinctive design provides a fantastic stage for our players. We look forward to showcasing Chart Hills to a global audience and delivering a memorable week of golf.”
Anthony Tarchetti, General Manager at Chart Hills, added: “To welcome an event of this calibre is a significant moment for Chart Hills and a reflection of the journey the club has been on in recent years. The combination of our championship course, the improvements we have made across the property, and the strength of the Staysure Legends Tour creates a platform for a truly memorable week. We are proud to showcase the course to some of the game’s most recognisable names.”
The upgrades behind the ambition
Chart Hills has not earned this opportunity by polishing the silverware cabinet and hoping for the best. Recent enhancements across the property have strengthened its standing as a championship venue in tangible ways.
The work has included full fairway sandcapping, the reconstruction of all 72 teeing areas, and the addition of new short game facilities. Among them are The Loop, a six-hole par-3 course, and an expansive putting green inspired by Faldo’s design philosophy.
In plain English, the place has been tuned up properly. It now offers a broader golfing environment, one capable of hosting elite competition while also supporting practice, development and a better all-round visitor experience.
More than a ticket and a lanyard
One of the shrewder strengths of the English Legends is that it is not built solely around spectators standing behind ropes and squinting politely. The event also offers amateurs a rare chance to get properly close to the game.
For those who have ever fancied teeing it up alongside Ryder Cup players and Major champions, this is not just another hospitality package with a pastry and a parking pass. It is a week that promises something far more immersive. Tournament-round playing opportunities, time with golfing icons off the course, and access that most sports only pretend to offer all give the event a different flavour.
That matters. Golf can sometimes feel as though it is arranged by people who fear human enjoyment. The Staysure Legends Tour has done well to lean in the other direction.
Why this matters for the British calendar
With confirmed events in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and now England, the Staysure Legends Tour is building a genuinely broad presence across the British Isles this summer. That is good news for the tour, good news for fans, and good news for venues capable of giving these events genuine character rather than just acreage.
Chart Hills fits that bill. It has a recognisable design, meaningful recent investment and enough personality to stop the week feeling like it could be taking place anywhere else.
The English Legends should benefit from that immediately. Put decorated champions on a course with a bit of menace, throw in Kent in late August, and you have the makings of a very fine week indeed.
For ticketing, playing experiences and hospitality, visit www.legendstour.com.
