England Golf Courses

The finest inland course in the East Midlands — Willie Park Jr's 1901 heathland masterpiece "Hollinwell," a wild heather-and-bracken valley near Nottingham and a regular Final Open Qualifying venue.

The finest inland course in the British Isles — a stern Lincolnshire heathland (Vardon, then Col. Hotchkin) famed for the deepest bunkers in inland golf. Now the National Golf Centre; restored by Tom Doak in 2019.

Host of the first Ryder Cup on British soil (1929) and one of Alister MacKenzie's earliest designs — moorland heath north of Leeds, famous for the "Gibraltar" par-3 10th he built first to win over the members.

The oldest golf course in England (1864) — “the St Andrews of the south,” on Northam Burrows common where sheep and horses roam. Old Tom Morris links golf, giant sea rushes, and remarkable value.

Scene of GB&I's famous 1957 Ryder Cup win — their only victory between 1933 and 1985 — on high limestone-and-heather heath near Worksop, a Tom Dunn layout (1891) with superb greens.

A links that sits seven miles inland — Harry Vardon's club, on sandy Yorkshire ground clothed in gorse. Host of the 1949 Ryder Cup and refined by Colt, MacKenzie and Simpson.

A big, muscular links through the great dunes of Braunton Burrows in North Devon — Herbert Fowler's finest seaside design (1919), and one of England's best two-course destinations.

A classic championship links in the big Somerset dunes above the Bristol Channel (1890) — J.H. Taylor's first club, refined by Fowler, Colt and MacKenzie. Dramatic, and great value.

James Braid's wild, joyful links above the Camel estuary in Cornwall (1907) — home of the giant “Himalaya” bunker and the church where John Betjeman is buried. Quirky and unforgettable.

A classic Lancashire-coast links between Birkdale and Hillside — twice a Ryder Cup host (1933, 1937), redesigned by James Braid, and famous for the huge sleepered "Gumbleys" bunker on the par-5 16th.

Royal Birkdale's next-door neighbour on England's Golf Coast — with a back nine through towering dunes that many, Greg Norman included, rate among the finest in Britain.

A distinctive championship links (1884) that runs through both classic dunes and tall pinewoods (red squirrels and all), between Southport and Liverpool. An Amateur and Curtis Cup venue.

Alister MacKenzie's first-ever course (1907) on the moors above Leeds — one of England's finest heathland layouts, and a living blueprint for the man who would design Augusta National.

One of the oldest clubs in England (1874) and the north-east's only championship links — firm Teesside duneland with MacKenzie touches and one of the toughest finishes in English golf, the par-4 "Snag" 17th.

The oldest Surrey heath (Tom Dunn, 1893) and the cradle of strategic design — where Low & Paton's central fairway bunkers on the 4th founded modern course architecture.

The prettiest of the "Three W's" (Cuthbert Butchart, 1909) near Brookwood — tight, intimate heathland through pine and birch, with a famous par-3 15th across a heather valley.

An exclusive, immaculately kept Midlands parkland (Harry Vardon, 1908; refined by Colt) north of Sutton Coldfield — spacious, gracious and famously well-conditioned, a former Dunlop Masters host.

A lovely riverside parkland (1890) along the Wharfe beneath Ilkley Moor — famous for its early holes around the river and as the course where Colin Montgomerie grew up. Scenic and superb value.

The finest links in England — a fair, majestic championship course through valleys between towering dunes, host of ten Opens (an eleventh in 2026) beneath its famous art-deco clubhouse.

One of golf's cradles (1869) on the Dee estuary — 13-time Open host, home of the first Amateur Championship, and famous for the internal out-of-bounds “cops.” Tiger won here in 2006.

A great championship links with no sea in sight — hemmed by town and railway, riddled with 167 bunkers, and opening with a par 3. Eleven-time Open host; the Open returns in 2028.

The unspoilt Brancaster links (1892) on the north Norfolk coast — famous sleepered bunkers, tidal salt marsh that floods the approach road, and old-fashioned links golf frozen in the Victorian age.

The only Open venue in southern England — big, elemental links golf over huge Kent dunes at Sandwich, with the deepest bunkers in the game. 15-time Open host, and Bond's course in Goldfinger.

The archetypal English heathland course (1901) — Willie Park Jr and Harry Colt over sandy, heather-clad ground near Ascot, and the scene of Bobby Jones's near-perfect 66 in 1926.

One of the great Surrey–Berkshire heaths (Herbert Fowler, 1928) near Ascot — the Red famous for its unusual six par-3s, six par-4s and six par-5s through towering pine and heather.

The most private and beautiful of the heaths (Harry Colt, 1909) — the course Colt called "the least bad I ever built," famous for the finest set of par-3s in England, amid pine and rhododendron near Ascot.

Harry Colt at his most dramatic (1913) — a hilly, tumbling 27-hole heathland course through pine and heather on an exclusive private estate near Weybridge.

Grand, exposed heathland golf on a high Surrey common (1904, Herbert Fowler) — almost links-like in the wind. James Braid's club for 45 years; host of the 1981 Ryder Cup and 2023 Women's Open.

The famous “Burma Road” at Virginia Water — Harry Colt's tree-lined par 72, home of the BMW PGA Championship and European Tour HQ, where the Ryder Cup was born. A bucket-list round.

The most-used Ryder Cup venue in the world — a big, dramatic Warwickshire resort parkland with the famous water-guarded 10th and 18th. A bucket-list round anyone can book.

The finest links in East Anglia (1891) at Old Hunstanton — firm fairways through classic sandhills, superb greens, an Open Final Qualifying venue, and the scene of Bob Taylor's three-days-running hole-in-one.

A great traditional championship links on the Kent coast (1892) — twice an Open host, with one of the hardest homeward nines in golf, into the wind along the sea wall. Part of the Sandwich triangle.

The third of Kent's Sandwich Bay links — where Gene Sarazen won the 1932 Open with his new sand wedge. A big, open 27-hole links (Shore, Dunes, Himalayas) with on-site lodging.

The finest links on the north Cornwall coast (Harry Colt, 1925) above Constantine Bay near Padstow — rolling seaside golf with Atlantic views, and a relaxed family resort just across the estuary from St Enodoc.

The third of the "Three W's" (J.F. Abercromby, 1908) north of Woking — subtle, charming heathland with a lovely run of par-3s and holes around a lake; home of the Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes since 1921.