Rob Smith highlights some of England’s many great golfing destinations for you to visit
Golf Holidays in England – Our Top Destinations
Two main reasons for the popularity of overseas golfing trips are the weather and the more informal atmosphere that often prevails elsewhere.
Now, with the world a very different place, more and more of us are looking to the UK&I for our golfing breaks.
England has more courses than any other country in Europe.
So many, in fact, that you will never be able to run out of new, and extremely enjoyable designs to play.
Many of these exist in close proximity, and there are therefore plenty of golfing hotspots that make for a great base for a golfing trip.
Golf Holidays in England – Our Top Destinations
England’s Golf Coast
The north-west of the country is an absolute hotbed of top-quality links golf and a great destination for golf holidays in England.
Billed as England’s Golf Coast, it is home to a treasure chest of premier league clubs and courses.
There are no fewer than three current Open Championship venues; Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
There are also magnificent Top 100 courses at Hillside, Formby and Southport & Ainsdale.
The ever-improving Hillside is one of the finest links in the country
The accommodation is varied, there are plenty of really fun alternatives such as Formby Ladies, and enough off-course activities to make a real holiday of it.
Short but extremely sweet – the heathery course at Formby Ladies
Golf In Kent
In the far south-east, Kent is home to a collection of top-quality links which somehow have a quite different look and feel.
This includes the host of the 2021 Open Championship, the supreme and supremely challenging links at Royal St. George’s.
Looking back from behind the eighth green at Royal St. George’s
This is more than ably complemented both by Royal Cinque Ports, and the ever-improving Prince’s which has three terrific loops of nine as well as excellent accommodation.
Prince’s has improved greatly, both visually and strategically in recent years
Within an hour is further fine golf of many different styles including Chart Hills, Walmer & Kingsdown and the London Club.
Dorset Heathland
Further south and west, in and around Bournemouth, is a handful of exceptional and remarkably different courses.
Ferndown is a level, pine-lined course that was designed by Golf Monthly’s first editor, Harold Hilton.
Nearby, Broadstone covers a vast acreage of beautiful heathland with far-reaching views.
The short eleventh at the expansive and undulating Broadstone
Isle of Purbeck has a glorious, elevated location overlooking Poole and Studland Bay, Parkstone was redesigned by James Braid, and Remedy Oak is a modern classic that simply gets better.
Remedy Oak – still young in golfing terms but mature way beyond its years
Atlantic Coast & the West
Our next golfing hotspot covers a far wider area.
It begins with the wonderful Burnham & Berrow in Somerset; 27 quite fabulous holes with the bonus of excellent dormy accommodation.
Burnham & Berrow is the highest-rated Top 100 course in the south-west
There is then a bit of a gap, albeit dotted with some lovely hidden gems, before we arrive at Saunton and Royal North Devon, and further still, St Enodoc and the complete golf resort that is Trevose.
The iconic Himalaya bunker on the par-4 sixth at St Enodoc
All of these are in the Top 100, all are thoroughly recommended, and all have some very pretty and more modestly-prices courses not far away.
The Home Counties
Not so much a golf destination, the area surrounding London is absolutely packed with premier league golf.
Surrey alone has a ridiculous number of Top 100 courses, premium in quality but many also in price.
Happily, there are also plenty that are affordable and great fun such as Betchworth Park, Farnham, Puttenham and West Surrey.
The par-4 thirteenth at undulating Puttenham is stroke index one
Yorkshire
There are plenty of counties that may have one or two big names, but which also have a holiday’s worth of courses that are not so well-known.
Yorkshire is a perfect example with engaging delights such as Headingly, Huddersfield, Ilkley, Scarcroft, Shipley and many more.
The view from the tee at Ilkley’s par-4 sixteenth hole
The coastline of England, along with so many and varied inland landscapes, is home to countless golfing destinations that will cater for all golfing tastes and pockets.
This article is just the briefest introduction to the areas with a concentration of top quality golf.
As ever, our strong suggestion would be to look for some of the hidden gems out there as well as those in the Golf Monthly Top 100 and Next 100.
The strength, variety and value in depth is massive.
Related: Golf Holidays in Scotland – Our Top Destinations
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