The Club at Meyrick Park operates an 18-hole layout close to Bournemouth city centre which was originally laid out 1894. For more than a century, this was a well-regarded municipal facility until The Club Company took over ownership and running of the set-up in the new millennium.
The Club at Meyrick Park operates an 18-hole layout close to Bournemouth city centre which was originally laid out 1894. For more than a century, this was a well-regarded municipal facility until The Club Company took over ownership and running of the set-up in the new millennium.
The Club at Meyrick Park
The Club at Meyrick Park operates an 18-hole layout that is close to Bournemouth city centre that was first laid out in 1894. For over 100 years, it was a well-respected municipal facility up until The Club Company took over control and management of the layout in the year 2000.
The new version of this course is 5,800 yards. The course plays up to a par of 69 (34 out and 35 in) There is only 1 par-5 on each nine at the 6th hole, which is 485 yards long and the 460-yard 14th. There are five par threes one of which is located on the first hole which measures 244 yards.
Highlights include the left-hand doglegging par four three (rated stroke index 1.) and the final (and shorter) among the par 3s on the 12th, which is 168 yards long; the compact par four fifteenth (rated stroke index 2.) and the slightly left-to-right par four 18th that has an edging green at home, secured by two bunkers that are located in right of the putting surface.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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New York, United States
Broadstone Golf Club, Broadstone, Dorset, England Click any of the large images to return to the main Broadstone course page Broadstone Golf Club - photo by Rod Wiltshire Broadstone Golf Club - 5th hole Broadstone Golf Club - 7th hole Broadstone Golf Club - 8th hole Broadstone Golf Club - 14th hole Broadstone Golf Club - 18th hole
Top 10 Golf Courses in Dorset 2015 Dorset Best in County rankings updated Dorset lies in the south west of England on the coastline with the English Channel and more than half of this rural county is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty. A large proportion of its southern boundary forms the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage site that extends almost one hundred miles, where international field studies have looked at the wide variety of geological features occurring along its length. There’s some great golf to be found along this coast – as well as further inland – with some of the golf clubs established as far back as the 1890s, when the likes of Came Down, Isle of Purbeck and Sherborne were all founded. We’ve recently revised our rankings for this region and present now our newly updated Top 10 for Dorset. Broadstone holds onto the number 1 slot in the county, which is not entirely unexpected as it currently occupies a position in our Top 100 chart for Great Britain & Ireland. This lovely old heathland track has attracted a flurry of recent complimentary reviews, exemplified by: “the layout never fails to deliver a great round of golf in wonderful surroundings with superb views over the surrounding countryside”. At number 2 in the Dorset listings, the position it has occupied since we first established our county rankings in 2012, is Remedy Oak, a John Jacobs design that opened for play almost ten years ago. A designated regional qualifying course for the Open from 2013 to 2017, this top woodland track also features in our GB&I rankings. Such is its undoubted quality (especially since the club’s recent investment in USGA greens), we think it’s a modern classic in the making. Rising one place to number 3, we have the course at Parkstone, where James Braid modified the original Willie Park Jnr. layout back in the early 1930s. Not much has changed at this terrific track since then and the course is all the better for it too, with fairways routed across heathland and around lakes and pine trees, in a wonderfully natural setting. At number 7, climbing two spots in the chart, the course at Dudsbury Golf Club, Hotel & Spa is a tree-lined parkland layout where water comes into play at no fewer than fourteen of the holes. Designed by Donald Steel and opened in 1991, it offers a really tough test of golf when played from the 6,900-yard championship tees. The only new entry in the latest edition of the Dorset rankings arrives at number 10 and it’s Knighton Heath, which is situated a few miles north of Bournemouth, with fairways set our around a compact 90-acre parcel of land. Extending to a modest 6,065 yards from the back tees, this tree-lined track is tight in places so playing to handicap is never a foregone conclusion when teeing it up here. Sincere thanks to all the clubs and professional golfers who assisted with our re-ranking process for this region. To view details of all the courses in our Dorset Top 10 rankings click the link. If you’ve played extensively across the southwest region of England and would like to contribute to our next re-ranking exercise then please email Editor-in-Chief Keith Baxter at keith@top100golfcourses.com. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses
Links golf changes with the seasons, and knowing when to go can make a big difference to a trip. Summer brings long days in Scotland and Ireland, while winter offers the chance to head south to Australia and New Zealand. Spring and autumn can also be good times to play, with different conditions and green fees to consider. Here's a look at where to play throughout the year, with options for different budgets and travel plans. Winter (December–February): Follow the sun south While winter brings the links season to a close at many courses in Britain and Ireland, it's summer in Australia and New Zealand. For golfers keen to keep playing through December, January and February, the Southern Hemisphere has some excellent options. Tasmania is a good place to start, with Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm sitting next to each other on the island's north coast. Tom Doak and Mike Clayton designed Dunes, which follows the natural contours of the towering dunes, with plenty of uneven lies and the wind rarely far from play. Lost Farm, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, takes a different approach to the same landscape. The 20-hole course moves between the dunes and more sheltered ground, giving golfers a different test from its neighbour. Playing both gives golfers two different tests in the same part of Tasmania. Cape Wickham, on King Island, is another option for those happy to travel a little further. The course winds through sand hills and limestone outcrops before returning towards the coast and the lighthouse that gives the property its name. The closing hole wraps around a sandy bay, with the shoreline providing a memorable backdrop to the finish. New Zealand has plenty to offer, too. Te Arai Links, north of Auckland, has two courses on a sandy stretch of coast. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw's South Course brings several holes right alongside the Pacific, while Tom Doak's North Course moves between the coastline and forest before returning to the sea for its closing holes. For a different kind of test, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, near Wellington, is one of New Zealand's best-known traditional links. Designed by Alex Russell in 1949, it has hosted the New Zealand Open 12 times. Wind can make club selection difficult, while the split fairway on the 17th gives players a choice of routes rather than a simple shot to the green. These destinations still get their share of bad weather, and reaching Tasmania's island courses takes more planning than a conventional city break. But for golfers willing to travel during the European winter, they offer the chance to play some excellent links while much of the northern hemisphere waits for spring. Green Fees: Barnbougle The Dunes & Lost Farm: A$285 Cape Wickham: A$315 Te Arai Links (North & South): NZ$975 Paraparaumu Beach: NZ$275 Spring (March–May): Get ahead of the summer rush Spring is a good time to start planning a links trip in the UK. Daylight increases through the season, and April and May can offer a chance to play some of the country's best courses before the busiest summer weeks arrive. March is less predictable, with cold, wet and windy conditions still very much part of the deal. Kent is an obvious starting point. Royal St George's, in Sandwich, has hosted The Open 15 times and is known for its undulating fairways, awkward lies and deep bunkers. The enormous bunker beside the fourth hole is one of its most recognisable features, but there are plenty of other places where a wayward shot can make the next one difficult. Royal Cinque Ports, known locally as Deal, is only a short distance away and makes a natural addition to a two-course trip. It's an exposed links that can be particularly demanding when the wind gets up, with the closing stretch a stern finish after a full day's golf. Playing both courses over a couple of days gives visitors two very different tests without spending much time travelling between them. Scotland has good options for a spring trip, too. North Berwick's West Links is one of the most distinctive courses in the country, with views across the Firth of Forth and a variety of holes that reward more than just hitting the ball as far as possible. Its unusual features make it a course worth playing with an open mind, especially for golfers used to more conventional layouts. Further along the coast, Dunbar is a strong option for anyone wanting another East Lothian round. The course runs beside the North Sea, with a rugged setting and plenty of exposure to the wind. It attracts less international attention than some of its neighbours, but it deserves a place on a trip to the area. Spring weather is never a sure thing, particularly in March and early April. By May, longer days make it easier to fit in multiple rounds, but demand starts to build. Booking tee times and accommodation ahead of time is still a sensible move. Green Fees: Royal St George’s: £235 (March), £430 (April to September) Royal Cinque Ports: £185 (March), £285 (April to October) North Berwick: £260-280 (March), £360-380 (April to November) Dunbar: £135-155 (March), £165-265 (April to October) Summer (June–August): The classic Scottish and Irish links trip Summer is peak season for links golf in the UK and Ireland. Long daylight hours make it possible to fit in extra rounds, visit more remote courses and cover plenty of ground on a golf trip. Green fees and visitor demand are at their highest, but this is also the time of year when golfers have the best chance of making the most of a long day on the links. St Andrews Old Course is the obvious centrepiece for many trips to Scotland. Its enormous double greens, deep pot bunkers and humps and hollows have challenged golfers for generations. The Road Hole, with its notorious bunker and narrow green beside the hotel, is one of the game's most famous tests. Getting a tee time takes planning and a degree of luck, with the ballot one of the main options for visitors who haven't secured a place in advance. For something further from the usual tourist route, Machrihanish Dunes sits on the Kintyre peninsula, where the rugged coastline and natural dunes make for an unpredictable round. Uneven lies and the Atlantic wind are part of the challenge, and the remote location means it takes more effort to reach than courses around St Andrews. Across the Irish Sea, Royal County Down is one of the major draws. Set beneath the Mountains of Mourne in Newcastle, Northern Ireland, the course combines views of the mountains and sea with a demanding test through gorse and heather. Blind shots and tricky approaches mean position matters, and the course can be a tough proposition when the wind picks up. On Ireland's west coast, Enniscrone is another trip worth building around. The Dunes course runs through towering dunes in County Sligo, with a scale and setting that make it feel a long way from the more familiar golfing hubs. The dunes provide plenty of drama, but the challenge is about finding the right lines and positions as much as it is about length. Summer comes with the highest prices and the most competition for tee times, particularly at the best-known courses. Book early, and consider adding a less familiar course or two rather than building an entire itinerary around the biggest names. Green Fees: St Andrews Links (Old Course): £380 Royal County Down: £495 Enniscrone (Dunes): €290 Autumn (September–November): Make the most of the shoulder season September and early October can be a good time to play links golf in the UK and Ireland. The summer rush begins to ease at some courses, while the weather can still allow for a full day on the links. As the season progresses, shorter days and more changeable conditions become increasingly important when planning a trip. Kingsbarns, just south of St Andrews, is a good fit for an autumn visit. The modern links hugs the Fife coastline, with several holes running right beside the North Sea. It can be paired with the Old Course and Carnoustie for a trip to the area, although its popularity means tee times still need to be booked well ahead. For golfers looking for another East Lothian round, Gullane No. 2 is worth considering alongside its better-known neighbour. Designed by Willie Park Jr and opened in 1898, it occupies elevated ground above the coast. It's shorter than Gullane No. 1, but still provides a demanding test, with the long par-three 11th among the holes to look out for. Ireland's Atlantic coast is another good place to head in autumn. Portsalon Golf Club, in County Donegal, sits beside Ballymastocker Bay on the Fanad peninsula. The early holes run close to the shoreline, the second skirts the beach, and an approach shot over a burn adds another challenge. Elevated tees provide views across the bay, and Portsalon is a useful option for visitors wanting to explore beyond Ireland's most heavily travelled golf destinations. Further south along Ireland's Atlantic coast, Carne Golf Links sits on the Belmullet peninsula in County Mayo. Its enormous dunes and rugged terrain make for a very different round from the more accessible parkland courses found elsewhere. The elevation changes and scale of the landscape are a big part of the challenge, and its remote position means it takes some planning to include in an itinerary. September and early October generally offer the best balance of daylight and playing opportunities. By November, shorter days and more unpredictable weather can make a trip harder to organise, so build some flexibility into the schedule and check tee-time availability before booking accommodation. Green Fees: Kingsbarns: £524 Gullane No. 2: £100-125 Plan around the season There isn't one perfect time to play links golf. Winter opens up the Southern Hemisphere, spring can bring better value in Britain, summer gives golfers the longest days in Scotland and Ireland, and autumn offers another chance to play before the weather turns. The best choice depends on the courses you want to play, your budget and how much uncertainty you're prepared to accept with the weather. Wherever you go, it's worth checking seasonal green fees and visitor access before committing to flights and accommodation. Note: Green fees are based on international visitor rates for the 2026/27 season and are listed in each course's local currency. Prices may vary by date and availability.
