Broadstone Golf Club is laid out on glorious rolling terrain. The elevated homeward nine provides panoramic views of the Purbeck Hills and Poole Harbour.
Broadstone Golf Club is laid out on glorious rolling terrain. The elevated homeward nine provides panoramic views of the Purbeck Hills and Poole Harbour.
Broadstone Golf Club
Broadstone Golf Club is a par-70 heathland layout spanning 250 acres of rolling Dorset countryside, founded in 1898 by Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, on his Canford Magna estate. Tom Dunn laid out the original course — then called the Broadstone Links at the Dorset Golf Club — before Harry Colt's landmark redesign between 1914 and 1922 removed all parkland holes and replaced them with pure heathland. The elevated inward nine delivers panoramic views across the Purbeck Hills and Poole Harbour, positioning Broadstone as one of the south of England's most architecturally significant inland golf courses.
Broadstone offers a rare opportunity to play a course shaped by Golden Age architects Tom Dunn, Herbert Fowler, and Harry Colt on terrain writer Bernard Darwin memorably described as designed by providence for golf.
The combination of severe elevation changes, four distinct par threes and a slope rating of 140 from the back tees makes this par 70 a more demanding proposition than its 5,777-metre (6,315-yard) length might suggest.
Lord Wimborne commissioned Tom Dunn to design the course in the summer of 1898, with the golf course officially opened on 16 November that year with a foursome featuring future Prime Minister A.J. Balfour partnered by five-time Open Champion J.H. Taylor against John Penn MP and Open Champion James Braid. Dunn, then the professional at nearby Meyrick Park in Bournemouth, was the most prolific Victorian-era golf course architect of his time.
Between 1905 and 1909, Herbert Fowler was retained to advise on Broadstone's bunkering. This represents one of the earliest documented examples of a golf course being altered by the architectural shift from the Victorian penal school to the Strategic school. The precise scope of Fowler's work remains the subject of historical debate, though his primary objective was to modify Dunn's penal bunkering philosophy.
Harry Colt was commissioned in 1914 to undertake a comprehensive redesign. His project — interrupted by the First World War — was completed by 1922. Colt's work involved routing new holes from the present 5th tee through to the 16th green across the heathland west of the disused Somerset and Dorset Railway line, eliminating all parkland holes from the layout. Writing in Golf Illustrated in 1916, Harold Hilton described the new Colt holes as 'bold' but 'eminently fair' and 'full of character'. The fifth and sixth holes, which remain today, were completed as the final stage of Colt's project in 1922.
Since the 1980s, more than three-quarters of the golf course land has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The designation was upgraded to Special Area of Conservation in 2005 in recognition of the heathland habitat.
In 2012, Dutch architect Frank Pont was engaged to begin a multi-year restoration project focused on reinstating Colt's original bunker strategy and style. Pont's first-year work addressed the sixth and eighth holes — both Colt par threes — and the fifth hole, where tee, fairway and bunkering were altered to reflect Colt's original design.
Ongoing improvement work is led by Connor J Walsh and Gordon Irvine, encompassing bunkers, drainage, irrigation and tree clearance.
Broadstone measures 5,777 metres (6,315 yards) from the back tees with a course rating of 71.6 and slope rating of 140. The par-70 layout features two par fives, four par threes, and 12 par fours across 250 acres of undulating heathland. Fairways run separately through stands of heather, gorse, birch, pine and rhododendron, with individual holes separated by natural terrain rather than planting.
The opening three holes occupy parkland terrain shared with the closing two, providing a gentler introduction before the course transitions to pure heathland from the 5th tee. Top 100 Golf Courses notes that the elevated homeward nine delivers panoramic views of the Purbeck Hills and Poole Harbour. The course requires every club in the bag across eighteen holes, with accuracy off the tee more consequential than length given the proximity of heather to mown fairways.
The stretches from holes 4–8 and 10–16 contain some of the finest inland golf holes in England. The 7th, a 422-yard par four playing as Stroke Index 1, demands a tee shot onto a heavily right-to-left sloping fairway before a long carry to an elevated, sloping green. The 8th is the longest par three on the course at 203 yards, with three greenside bunkers requiring an extra club for most visitors.
The four par threes at the 6th, 8th, 11th and 15th holes constitute one of the most celebrated sets of short holes in English heathland golf. Frank Pennink, writing on Broadstone, described it as a first-class test without being unduly long — a characterisation that reflects the course's reliance on precision rather than power. Pont's Colt restoration work reinstated dramatic bunker profiles on holes 5, 6, 8 and 14 to match original Colt designs documented in early photographs.
The 13th, a 442-yard par four running along the top of the ridge, features a hollow known as 'Pugh's Grave' that must be avoided front-left of the green. The 14th sweeps downhill before climbing sharply to the right, creating one of the more visually dramatic par-four sequences in the south of England heathland golf.
Broadstone's greens complex conversion programme, moving from annual meadow grass (Poa annua) to Browntop Bent, has been overseen by agronomist Gordon Irvine, restoring the fast-running surfaces consistent with the course's heathland heritage.
Broadstone sits at the heart of what is arguably the finest concentration of heathland golf in southern England. Parkstone Golf Club lies approximately 8km (5 miles) to the south-east near Poole, a 15-minute drive that completes the celebrated Bournemouth 'big three' alongside Broadstone and Ferndown Golf Club (Old Course), situated approximately 8km (5 miles) to the north via the A348.
Isle of Purbeck Golf Club lies approximately 15km (9 miles) to the south, around 20–25 minutes via the A351 to Swanage, offering clifftop heathland play with distinctive coastal views across the Purbeck coastline.
Remedy Oak Golf Club, approximately 15km (9 miles) to the north-west near Verwood, provides a modern heathland alternative opened in 1993 and designed by Martin Hawtree.
A four-round itinerary combining Broadstone, Parkstone, Ferndown and Isle of Purbeck remains the benchmark south coast heathland golf holiday, with Poole or Bournemouth the logical accommodation base.
Broadstone is a private members' club requiring booking and a current handicap certificate. Visitors are welcome on weekdays; weekend availability is restricted.
The club provides a full-length driving range with matted and grass tees, a short game area and a putting green. Buggy hire is available subject to prior arrangement.
A valid handicap certificate from a recognised golf club is a prerequisite for visitor rounds.
Bournemouth Airport (BOH): approximately 14km (9 miles), around 20 minutes via the A338 and A349. The airport handles domestic routes and European connections with car rental on site.
Southampton Airport (SOU): approximately 60km (37 miles) to the east, around 45 minutes via the M27 and A31. Major car rental facilities with direct motorway access.
London Heathrow (LHR): approximately 160km (100 miles), under two hours via the M3 and A31.
Rail: Poole station is the nearest mainline station, approximately 3km (2 miles) to the south. Direct services run between Poole and London Waterloo in approximately 2 hours. Weymouth to London Waterloo services call at Poole on a frequent basis.
Ferry: Poole Harbour operates cross-Channel services from Cherbourg, France, making Broadstone a practical destination for visiting golfers travelling from continental Europe by ferry.
Road: Broadstone is accessible directly from the A349, with the A31, A35 and A350 all within close proximity. The postcode BH18 8DQ provides accurate SatNav routing to the club.
Spring (April–May): Optimal for heathland conditions. Rhododendrons provide colour across the course during May, and the bentgrass greens reach prime playing condition as moisture levels stabilise. Advance booking essential for weekend visits.
Summer (June–August): The driest period, which can place pressure on fairway surfaces during prolonged drought spells. Heather in full bloom creates the characteristic purple-gold palette typical of English heathland in July and August. Extended evening daylight allows early morning and late afternoon rounds.
Autumn (September–October): Shoulder season with reduced visitor pressure relative to summer. Heathland conditions tend to firm and fast in September, delivering quick-running surfaces consistent with the course's bentgrass conversion objectives.
Winter (November–March): The course remains open year-round, though temporary greens may be in use during periods of heavy rainfall. SSSI designation requires careful management of foot traffic on protected heathland areas during winter.
Broadstone's claim to genuine significance in British golf architecture rests on the quality of Colt's 1914–1922 work and the calibre of terrain he was given to work with. Bernard Darwin's 1910 assessment, that Broadstone holes have definite, individual characters that stay in the memory, remains an accurate description of the course's most distinctive quality.
The combination of Colt's original routing and the agronomic shift towards fast-running bentgrass greens positions Broadstone as a golf course progressively recovering the qualities that rank it among the finest heathland layouts in England.
For travelling golfers building a south coast heathland itinerary, Broadstone forms the natural centrepiece alongside Parkstone and Ferndown.
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