Stag and Birthday Golf Days in Kent: A Relaxed Group Booking Option
A planning guide for stags, birthdays and any group where the golf is the excuse, not the point
Lullingstone Park golf course. Photo: Lullingstone Park golf course by Ian Capper (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Geograph.
If you are organising stag do golf in Kent, or a birthday round for a group where half the party has not swung a club since a school trip, Lullingstone Park is one of the easier days to arrange near London. It is a public pay-and-play venue at Parkgate Road, Chelsfield, Orpington BR6 7PX, roughly half an hour from town off the M25 and A20, with two courses of very different difficulty, buggy hire, and a clubhouse that will feed you afterwards. There is no membership to get past and no need for anyone in the group to belong to a club. This guide covers what to book, which course to pick, the format that keeps a mixed-ability group happy, and the practical things that go wrong if nobody thinks about them.
Why a public course suits a stag better than a members' club
Most private clubs in Kent will take a society, but they will want handicap certificates, a strict dress code and a level of decorum that is at odds with the occasion. Lullingstone is a pay-and-play course operated by Everyone Golf, part of Everyone Active, and it is set up for visitors rather than members. That means nobody in your group needs a handicap, nobody needs an introduction, and the day can be as competitive or as shambolic as you want within reason.
The site sits in the Darenth Valley, so it also looks the part: open parkland, mature trees and long views, rather than a driving range with flags in it. If someone in the group is quietly expecting a proper day's golf, they will get one.
Which course: the 18-hole Castle or the 9-hole Valley
This is the decision that determines whether the day works. The two courses are not variations on a theme; they are aimed at different people.
| Course | Par | Length | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-hole Castle | 71 | 6,725 yards | Groups where most people play regularly and want a full round |
| 9-hole Valley | 33 | 2,503 yards | Mixed ability, beginners, half-days, anyone who has somewhere to be later |
The honest advice for a stag or a birthday group is the Valley course unless you know the whole party plays. Nine holes over 2,503 yards takes roughly two hours, costs less, and does not expose a beginner to four and a half hours of hunting through trees while the rest of the group waits. Our full comparison of the 18-hole and 9-hole courses goes into the layouts in detail.
The exception is a golf-serious group. If everyone plays, the Castle course is the better day and the one people will talk about, and you can add a longest-drive and nearest-the-pin prize to give it some shape.
Book it as a group, not as individuals
Group packages are available for a minimum of 10 players on both the 18-hole and the 9-hole course. That number matters: at 10 or more you get consecutive tee times as one block plus catering built into the booking, which is the difference between a day out and ten people turning up at different times.
Below ten, you can still book ordinary tee times back to back through the normal booking system and eat at the clubhouse afterwards, and for a party of six or eight that is perfectly workable. You just arrange the food yourself. Our guide to booking a tee time covers that route.
For a group booking, call the team on 01959 583 019 with your date, your numbers and which course you want, and they will build a package and confirm the per-head price. Catering options run to tea and coffee with bacon rolls or a full English for a morning group, and lunch afterwards. Weekend and summer dates go early, so enquire well ahead rather than a fortnight out. The full booking mechanics for larger groups are in our society and group golf days guide.
The format that saves a mixed-ability group
Do not play individual strokeplay. It is the default, and it is the reason group golf days go wrong: the two good players enjoy themselves, everyone else spends the round counting to twelve.
- Texas scramble. Teams of three or four, everyone tees off, the team picks the best shot and all play the next one from there. A beginner's bad shot costs the team nothing, and their occasional good one wins a hole. This is the format for a stag.
- Stableford. Points rather than strokes, and you pick up once a hole is beyond saving. Keeps play moving and stops one disastrous hole ruining someone's afternoon.
- Nearest the pin and longest drive. Two side bets that give the non-golfers something to win. Cheap to run, and they generate the photographs.
Practical things that catch groups out
- Buggies. Buggy and trolley hire are available, but there is a finite number, so reserve them with the booking rather than turning up hopeful. Buggies also speed the round up, which matters if you have a table booked.
- Clubs. Not everyone will own a set. Ask about hire when you book and confirm numbers, and remember that a group of ten needs ten sets of clubs, not five.
- Dress. Relaxed for Kent, but not anything goes. Golf shoes or flat-soled trainers, normal golf clothing, no football shirts or metal spikes. Our first-time visitor guide covers it, and it is worth forwarding to the group.
- Timing. The course is open seven days a week from 7am to 7pm. An early tee time on the Valley course means you are eating by lunchtime with the whole afternoon and evening still ahead, which is usually what a stag actually needs.
- Alcohol. There is a bar, and a golf course is a public venue with other people on it. Nobody minds a drink; everybody minds a group holding up the fairway behind them. Keep the serious drinking for after the round.
- Pace of play. Ten people is three or four groups. Agree beforehand that you let faster players through, and the day stays pleasant for everyone including you.
Afterwards, at The Lodge
The Lodge Café and Bar is on site, with a terrace looking over the course, and it serves breakfast, lunch and a full bar seven days a week. For a group meal, say so at the time of booking rather than walking in as a party of twelve, so the kitchen is ready and a table or an area is set aside. If your group wants to carry on into the evening, Chelsfield and Orpington are close, and central London is around half an hour back up the A20 and M25.
The short version
Ten or more players, the 9-hole Valley course unless everyone plays, a Texas scramble, buggies reserved in advance, an early tee time and lunch booked at The Lodge. That is a stag or birthday golf day in Kent that works for the whole group rather than for the two people who own clubs. Call 01959 583 019 to put a date in, or start with our green fees and visitor guide for the underlying rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you book a stag do golf day in Kent at Lullingstone Park?
Yes. Lullingstone Park takes group bookings on both courses, with a minimum of 10 players for either the 18-hole or the 9-hole. It is a public pay-and-play venue at Parkgate Road, Chelsfield, Orpington BR6 7PX, about half an hour from central London, so there is no membership requirement and no club to be invited by. Call 01959 583 019 with your date and group size.
How many people do you need for a group golf booking?
Ten. Packages are available for a minimum of 10 players on both the 18-hole and the 9-hole course. Below that you can still book ordinary tee times in consecutive slots, which works fine for a party of six or eight, but you will not get the group package rate or the catering built in.
What if half the group has never played golf?
Play the 9-hole Valley course and use a scramble format. The Valley is par 33 over 2,503 yards, so it is short, quick and far less punishing than the 18-hole course, and in a scramble the team plays the best ball each time, which means a beginner's bad shot costs nobody anything. It keeps the group together and stops the day turning into four hours of looking for balls.
How long does a stag golf day take?
Roughly two hours for nine holes and four to four and a half for eighteen, before food. A realistic half-day is a 9-hole round plus lunch at The Lodge. A full day is eighteen holes with breakfast beforehand and lunch afterwards. The course is open seven days a week from 7am to 7pm, so an early tee time leaves the whole afternoon and evening free.
Can we hire buggies?
Buggy hire and trolley hire are both available at the course, and for a group it is worth reserving them when you book rather than on the day, because there is a finite number. Buggies also speed the round up, which matters if you have a table booked afterwards.
What is the dress code?
Lullingstone is a pay-and-play public course rather than a private members' club, so it is relaxed by the standards of Kent golf, but golf shoes or trainers with a flat sole and normal golf clothing are expected. Football shirts, denim and metal spikes are the usual exclusions. Our first-time visitor guide covers the detail, and if the group is borrowing kit it is worth checking before you set off.