BirkdaleSt George'sSunningdale

The Best Golf Courses in England

England · Guide

At a glance

Top links: Royal Birkdale · Royal St George's · Royal Liverpool
Top heaths: Sunningdale · Woodhall Spa · Walton Heath
Best months: May, June, September
Nearest airports: Manchester/Liverpool (NW) · London (SE)
Book ahead: 2–6 months for the Open venues

Why England

England is the quiet giant of British golf. It has a string of Open Championship links down the north-west and Kent coasts, and the finest heathland golf on earth — a sandy, pine-and-heather style found almost nowhere else. Where Scotland and Ireland are all links, England's glory is its range: raw seaside courses, the heaths near London, and inland classics laid out by the same architects who went on to shape Augusta National. You can play an Open venue on Monday, a Harry Colt heath on Tuesday and an Alister MacKenzie moorland on Wednesday, all within a couple of hours' drive.

This is not a ranking — it is an honest guide to the courses worth building a trip around, grouped by region and by the kind of golf you want. A note on access runs through it: several of the very greatest are private members' clubs that welcome visitors only on limited days, so plan ahead.

The championship links

Four of the game's greatest Open courses sit within easy reach of each other on the north-west coast and in Kent.

Royal BirkdaleSouthport, Merseyside · book direct

Widely rated the finest and fairest links in England, and the modern favourite of the Open rota. Its flat-bottomed fairways run through valleys between towering dunes, so the wind is the defence rather than blind luck — a ten-time Open host, most recently won by Jordan Spieth in 2017. Majestic, honest and welcoming to visitors.

Royal St George'sSandwich, Kent · book direct

The only Open venue in south-east England — big, wild and elemental, over humping, tumbling duneland by Sandwich Bay. It staged the 2021 Open won by Collin Morikawa, and a member, Ian Fleming, immortalised it as the setting for Bond's match against Goldfinger. Unpredictable bounces and deep bunkers make it a proper adventure.

Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)Wirral · book direct

One of the oldest links in England (1869) and a regular Open host — Rory McIlroy won here in 2014, Brian Harman in 2023. Deceptively flat and open, its defence is the internal out-of-bounds and the wind off the Dee estuary. A course of enormous history that has crowned amateurs and champions alike.

Royal Lytham & St AnnesLancashire · book direct

An inland links ringed by red-brick Victorian villas and the railway, defended by more than 200 bunkers and a famous opening par 3. Bobby Jones won the 1926 Open here, Seve twice, and Ernie Els in 2012 — a stern, cerebral test that rewards position over power.

The great heaths — golf's finest inland golf

No country can match England's heathland: sandy, fast-running turf between pine, birch and banks of heather, mostly within an hour of London. Several are private clubs — check visitor days and book ahead.

Sunningdale — Old CourseBerkshire · limited visitor days

The archetype of the great English heath — Willie Park Jr's 1901 layout, refined by Harry Colt, where Bobby Jones shot his “perfect” 66 in 1926 qualifying (33 shots, 33 putts). The spreading oak by the 18th is the club's emblem, and the Old and New together make what many call the finest inland day in golf.

Wentworth — West (Burma Road)Virginia Water, Surrey

Harry Colt's tree-lined “Burma Road,” long-time home of the BMW PGA Championship and the headquarters of European golf, remodelled by Ernie Els. It was an informal match here in 1926 that helped inspire the Ryder Cup. A private club, but a bucket-list round for the golfer who can arrange a game.

Walton Heath — OldSurrey · book direct

Heathland at its grandest and most exposed, high on an open common where it plays almost like a links. James Braid was professional here for 46 years; it hosted the 1981 Ryder Cup and the 2023 AIG Women's Open, and once counted Churchill and Lloyd George among its members.

Swinley Forest & The BerkshireAscot, Berkshire

Swinley Forest was the course Harry Colt himself loved best — short, exquisite and ultra-private — while the two loops of The Berkshire are among the most beautiful heathland golf anywhere, threaded through pine and heather at Ascot.

Woking & the “Three W's”Surrey

Woking (1893) is the oldest of the Surrey heaths and the birthplace of strategic bunkering, and with neighbouring West Hill and Worplesdon— the “Three W's” — and Colt's St George's Hill they make a day of understated, classic heathland.

Inland classics & MacKenzie country

Away from the Surrey belt, the Midlands and the North hold heathland and moorland with deep Ryder Cup history.

Woodhall Spa — HotchkinLincolnshire · book direct

Widely regarded as the finest inland course in the British Isles — a heathland masterpiece defended by the deepest, most cathedral-like bunkers in the country. Now the National Golf Centre, home of English golf, and sympathetically restored by Tom Doak. Fearsome and beautiful in equal measure.

GantonNorth Yorkshire · book direct

A one-off: an inland course with the turf, gorse and bunkering of a links, miles from the sea. Harry Vardon was its professional, and it hosted the 1949 Ryder Cup — a genuine championship test and one of the best inland courses in England.

Alwoodley & MoortownLeeds, West Yorkshire · book direct

Alwoodleywas Alister MacKenzie's very first design — the moorland course where the future architect of Augusta learned his craft — and neighbouring Moortown hosted the first Ryder Cup staged on British soil, in 1929.

Notts, Lindrick & Little Astonthe Midlands · book direct

Notts (Hollinwell) is a magnificent heathland course in a hidden valley; Lindrickhosted the 1957 Ryder Cup, Britain's only win between the wars and the 1980s; and Little Aston is an immaculate, exclusive parkland near Birmingham.

The West Country links

Down in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset lie some of the most characterful — and historic — links in the country, perfect paired with a family holiday.

Royal North Devon (Westward Ho!)Devon · book direct

The oldest golf course in England (1864) and the oldest links outside Scotland — “the St Andrews of the south.” Laid out on common land where sheep and horses still graze the fairways, guarded by giant sea rushes, it gave the game J.H. Taylor, five-time Open champion. A living piece of history at a remarkably modest fee.

Saunton — EastBraunton, Devon · book direct

A magnificent championship links through the great Braunton Burrows dune system — long, firm and testing, and rated among the finest links in England. Uncrowded and superb value for a course of its quality.

St Enodoc & TrevoseCornwall · book direct

St Enodoctumbles through huge Cornish dunes past a half-buried church — home of the “Himalayas,” one of the biggest bunkers in golf — while Trevose near Padstow is the classic holiday links. Pure north-Cornwall golf.

Burnham & BerrowSomerset · book direct

A classic championship links in huge Somerset dunes, looking across the Bristol Channel to Wales. It gave J.H. Taylor his first job as a professional and was refined by Fowler, Colt and MacKenzie — a serious test that stays friendly and well-priced for visitors.

Ryder Cup parkland

The Belfry — BrabazonWarwickshire · book direct

The most prolific Ryder Cup venue of all, host four times, with two of the most famous holes in European golf: the drivable par-4 10th and the water-guarded 18th where so many matches have been settled. A resort parkland made for the drama of match play, and open to all.

For a specific type of trip

First time in England: Royal Birkdale, Hillside and Formby on the Golf Coast, then the Surrey heaths near London. See the England itinerary for a full routing.

Links pilgrimage: The Golf Coast (Birkdale, Hillside, Formby, Royal Liverpool, Royal Lytham) or Kent (Royal St George's, Deal, Prince's). See England's Golf Coast and the Kent coast.

Heathland tour: Sunningdale, Wentworth, Walton Heath, The Berkshire and Woking from a base near Ascot — golf's finest inland cluster. See the Surrey heathland guide.

West Country & family: Saunton, Royal North Devon, St Enodoc and Trevose, paired with the beaches of Devon and Cornwall. See the West Country guide.

Northern classics: Woodhall Spa, Ganton, Alwoodley and Moortown — heathland and moorland steeped in Ryder Cup history. See Yorkshire & the North-East and the Midlands, or build a route in the trip planner.

Royal Birkdale, Merseyside — Royal Birkdale · Co. Merseyside

Common questions

What is the best golf course in England?

It’s a two-horse race between the links and the heaths. Royal Birkdale is widely rated England’s finest links and a modern Open favourite; Sunningdale’s Old Course is the benchmark for inland heathland golf. You can’t go wrong with either.

Which English courses have hosted The Open?

Five current rota venues sit in England: Royal Birkdale, Royal Lytham & St Annes and Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) in the north-west, and Royal St George’s at Sandwich in Kent. All welcome visitors on set days.

Are England’s best courses links or heathland?

England is unique in offering both at the very highest level — world-class links along the north-west and Kent coasts, and the finest heathland golf anywhere on the sandy belt through Surrey and Berkshire.

Can visitors play Sunningdale and Wentworth?

Yes, both take visitors, though with conditions. Sunningdale welcomes visitors on weekdays and is the more traditional experience; Wentworth’s West Course is largely reserved for members and guests, so plan ahead and check current visitor policy.