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England

Golf began in England soon after the unmarried Queen Elizabeth I of England died in 1603, when James VI of Scotland moved court to London, taking up residence at the Royal Palace in Greenwich becoming James I of England. His royal entourage is thought to have contained a number of golfers and they found the perfect ground at Blackheath on which to play their beloved game.

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  1. Royal St George's Golf Club

    Kent, United Kingdom

    There's nothing artificial about Royal St George’s Golf Club; there's a natural look and feel to the course that blends beautifully into its historical Sandwich surroundings.

  2. Sunningdale Golf Club (Old)

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    The Old course at Sunningdale is one of the British Isles’ most aesthetically pleasing inland courses. Arguably, it was the first truly great golf course to be built on the magical Surrey/Berkshire sand-belt.

  3. Sunningdale Golf Club (New)

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    Taken together, the New and Old courses at Sunningdale Golf Club represent the finest 36 holes of golf in the whole of the British Isles.

  4. Swinley Forest Golf Club

    Berkshire, United Kingdom

    Swinley Forest Golf Club is an absolutely charming golf course sited on the famous sand belt, but it’s a club that is frozen in time, exclusive, unusual and eccentric...

  5. St Enodoc Golf Club (Church)

    Cornwall, United Kingdom

    St Enodoc Golf Club is certainly a quixotic and rather hilly links course, set amidst towering sand dunes clad with tufts of wild sea grasses.

  6. Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club

    Lancashire, United Kingdom

    Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club is the most northerly of the English championship links courses, situated only 10 miles from Royal Birkdale.

  7. Ganton Golf Club

    Yorkshire, United Kingdom

    This sandy, gently undulating site was once a North Sea inlet. Consequently, Ganton Golf Club has all the characteristics of a links and a heathland course.

  8. Royal Birkdale Golf Club

    Lancashire, United Kingdom

    Royal Birkdale Golf Club is the favourite English course on the British Open rota according to the results of a Top 100 poll...

  9. The spectacular golfing panorama from the front of the St George's Hill clubhouse is a view that grabs you and makes your heart pound...

  10. Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club

    Kent, United Kingdom

    Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, or Deal as it is somtimes called, is an absolute brute of a links course. Its back nine, or rather the last seven holes, are relentless...

  11. West Sussex Golf Club

    Sussex, United Kingdom

    West Sussex Golf Club is one of our favourite inland courses. It is sheer delight to play golf on this charming sandy outcrop of heathland.

  12. Rye Golf Club (Old)

    Sussex, United Kingdom

    Rye Golf Club was founded in 1894 and was the inaugural design of 25-year-old Harry Colt. With a measly par of 68, and a layout that measures over 6,300 yards, Rye has to be one of the toughest courses in Britain.

  13. Woodhall Spa Golf Club (Hotchkin)

    Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

    Woodhall Spa Golf Club is an oasis in the heart of Lincolnshire, set amongst glorious pine, birch and broom, this heathland golf course is an absolute delight to play.

  14. Royal West Norfolk Golf Club

    Norfolk, United Kingdom

    Check the tide times before you plan your trip to Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, the course plays on a narrow strip of links-land which gets cut off at high tide, turning it into an island.

  15. Walton Heath Golf Club (Old)

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    Walton Heath Golf Club is where links golf meets inland golf. There is no salty whiff of sea air, but the course plays and feels like a seaside links.

  16. Royal Liverpool Golf Club

    Cheshire, United Kingdom

    Without doubt, Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a tough links. Only six holes are in the dunes – otherwise there is little protection from the ever-changing Hoylake wind.

  17. Alwoodley Golf Club

    Yorkshire, United Kingdom

    The Alwoodley Golf Club is home to one of the finest and most subtle inland courses in the British Isles, located in a secluded spot.

  18. Hollinwell

    Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

    “After being too long away I lately went back to Hollinwell, which, as all the golfing world knows, or ought to know, is the course of the Notts Golf Club.”

  19. Silloth on Solway Golf Club

    Cumbria, United Kingdom

    It’s well worth the time (and the money) to get to Silloth on Solway Golf Club and once you get here, you won’t want to leave...

  20. The Berkshire Golf Club (Red)

    Berkshire, United Kingdom

    Many people say that there is nothing better than a day’s golf amongst the forest, heather and springy turf of the Berkshire Golf Club.

  21. Hillside Golf Club

    Lancashire, United Kingdom

    Hillside Golf Club is an underrated gem, separated only by a footpath, but hiding in the shadow of its noble next-door neighbour, Royal Birkdale.

  22. Formby Golf Club

    Lancashire, United Kingdom

    Formby is the prettiest of the eight top-notch links courses located between the seaside town of St Annes and the city of Liverpool. It is bordered on three sides by pine trees, giving the links a decidedly softer, heathland feel.

  23. If there is a need for another seaside Open Championship venue, then the East course at Saunton Golf Club might be a worthy candidate.

  24. Wentworth Club (West)

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    The West course at the Wentworth Club is Surrey's most famous golf course. It closed for its latest makeover in 2017 and reopened prior to the 2018 BMW PGA Championship.

  25. Hankley Common Golf Club

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    There is an overwhelming feeling of spaciousness at Hankley Common, so much so that it seems plausible that a second or third course could be intertwined between the existing 18 holes.

  26. Burnham & Berrow Golf Club has played host to many important amateur championships over the years and the course is regularly used for Open Championship qualification.

  27. Woking Golf Club

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    There is absolutely no doubt that Woking Golf Club is located in an idyllic spot and the unusual pavilion clubhouse only adds to the charisma.

  28. Queenwood Golf Club

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    Queenwood Golf Club, in a similar mould to Loch Lomond and the Wisley, is reserved for its small but perfectly formed membership and their very lucky friends.

  29. Hunstanton Golf Club

    Norfolk, United Kingdom

    Hunstanton Golf Club is a connoisseur’s golf course, jammed full of memorable quality golf holes.

  30. Liphook Golf Club

    Hampshire, United Kingdom

    Liphook Golf Club is as pretty as a picture. A delightful, classic heathland course for the connoisseur, not for the dilettante.

  31. Worplesdon Golf Club

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    Worplesdon Golf Club is one of the prettiest and most delightful of Surrey’s many heath and heather courses and it’s arguably the best of the trinity of “Ws”...

  32. West Hill Golf Club

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    If it’s charm that you are looking for, then you need look no further than West Hill Golf Club. This is a truly delightful golf course.

  33. Parkstone Golf Club

    Dorset, United Kingdom

    We’ve classified Parkstone Golf Club as a seaside heathland course. It’s not a traditional links and neither is it very far inland.

  34. The Berkshire Golf Club (Blue)

    Berkshire, United Kingdom

    The Blue course at the Berkshire Golf Club is the Red’s more conventional and slightly shorter sister. A more standard four par 3s, three par 5s and eleven par 4s make up the configuration for this delightful par 71 course.

  35. West Lancashire Golf Club

    Lancashire, United Kingdom

    Its esteemed Royal neighbours keep West Lancashire Golf Club out of the limelight but it is a truly classical links course, located on a charming stretch of prime links land.

  36. In 1932, Prince’s Golf Club proudly hosted its first and only Open Championship. "The Squire", Gene Sarazen, was the eventual winner.

  37. The Addington Golf Club

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    The Addington Golf Club is a natural inland golfing paradise, with plenty of heather, pine, bracken and silver birch. Very little has changed since the club was founded in 1914.

  38. Broadstone Golf Club

    Dorset, United Kingdom

    Broadstone Golf Club is laid out on glorious rolling terrain. The elevated homeward nine provides panoramic views of the Purbeck Hills and Poole Harbour.

  39. JCB Golf & Country Club

    Staffordshire, United Kingdom

    Constructed on a 240-acre site next to multi-national engineering and construction company JCB’s main manufacturing site in Staffordshire, the course at JCB Golf & Country Club was designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design.

  40. Hindhead Golf Club

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    The front nine at Hindhead Golf Club is laid out through heather strewn Ice Age valleys and the back nine plays on a heathland plateau.

  41. Walton Heath Golf Club (New)

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    Both courses at Walton Heath Golf Club are intertwined and have a very similar look and feel. The Old is tougher, although the New is a demanding course with memorable holes of great variety.

  42. Delamere Forest Golf Club

    Cheshire, United Kingdom

    Delamere Forest Golf Club is a classical Herbert Fowler designed course where the architect made full use of the natural, undulating heathland.

  43. Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club

    Lancashire, United Kingdom

    Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club is a relative youngster and it is set amongst exhilarating dunes and tangly heather.

  44. Moortown Golf Club

    Yorkshire, United Kingdom

    Moortown Golf Club is classic moorland golf course with lovely peaty turf that provides the bouncy cushion-effect when walking, a course that is gentle on the feet.

  45. Wallasey Golf Club

    Cheshire, United Kingdom

    Wallasey Golf Club, world famous as the "Home of Stableford". An undiluted links course with its undulating fairways framed with spectacular dunes.

  46. New Zealand Golf Club

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    Founded in 1895 and designed by Samuel “Mure” Fergusson, New Zealand Golf Club is a top-class course located within the famous Surrey heath belt.

  47. Ipswich Golf Club (Purdis Heath)

    Suffolk, United Kingdom

    The Purdis Heath course at Ipswich Golf Club compares favourably with any inland layout in the British Isles... it's a James Braid classic.

  48. Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club is set stunningly, affording fantastic views from the high parts of the course across the forest and the rolling Sussex countryside.

  49. Beau Desert Golf Club

    Staffordshire, United Kingdom

    One of the many treats at Beau Desert Golf Club is that you play most holes in splendid isolation; you can lose yourself in the trees here. Additionally, the holes are varied and memorable.

  50. Wentworth Club (East)

    Surrey, United Kingdom

    Wentworth West is the course that everybody rushes to play, but the East is more enjoyable for the average player. It is also more sandy, intimate and charming.

  51. Aldeburgh Golf Club (Championship)

    Suffolk, United Kingdom

    Founded in 1884, Aldeburgh Golf Club is one of the oldest golf clubs in Suffolk and is separated from the tidal Alde estuary by an unusual strip of coastal heathland.

  52. Sherwood Forest Golf Club

    Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

    Sherwood Forest Golf Club is set on a Site of Special Scientific Interest because it contains the largest area of low-lying heathland in the Midlands.

  53. Ferndown Golf Club (Old)

    Dorset, United Kingdom

    Ferndown Golf Club plays across a sandy outcrop of land where there is a proliferation of heather and pines... it’s an inherently pretty golf course.

  54. Woburn Golf Club (Marquess)

    Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

    The Marquess course at Woburn Golf Club straddles the county boundary of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and is set within 200 acres of majestic mature woodland...

  55. Hayling Golf Club

    Hampshire, United Kingdom

    Hayling Golf Club is set upon a Site of Special Scientific Interest, on the South West peninsular of Hayling Island.

  56. The West is the second course at Saunton Golf Club and was originally laid out in the mid-1930s. It’s shorter than its older sister but, nonetheless, the West represents a challenge.

  57. Woburn Golf Club (Duke's)

    Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

    With fairways flanked by stately pine, birch and chestnut trees, the Duke’s at Woburn Golf Club is an intimate golf course. Each hole is played in splendid isolation.

  58. Bearwood Lakes Golf Club

    Berkshire, United Kingdom

    Bearwood Lakes is an oasis of calm and beauty with dramatic views of the whole Bearwood Estate. An exclusive golf club which appears mature beyond its age.

  59. Stoneham Golf Club

    Hampshire, United Kingdom

    Designed by Willie Park Junior in 1908, Stoneham Golf Club is set in a delightful, historical deer park which was originally planted by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown.

  60. Little Aston Golf Club

    Staffordshire, United Kingdom

    Little Aston Golf Club is hidden away on the edge of exclusive suburbia in acres of tranquil, mature parkland. The former grounds of Little Aston Hall.