Britain & Ireland

Down, United Kingdom

Royal County Down Golf Club is at Newcastle, a little holiday town nestling at the feet of the majestic Mountains of Mourne. It’s an exhilarating location for a classic links golf course...

Fife, United Kingdom

No other course has hosted more Opens than the Old Course at St Andrews. Its 29th Open and the 144th Open Championship returned “to the Home of Golf” in 2015.

Antrim, United Kingdom

The Dunluce links at Royal Portrush Golf Club is named after the ruined Dunluce castle that overlooks the course. Seven years after the club's formation, the first professional golf tournament in Ireland, won by Sandy Herd in 1895, was staged here.

Lothians, United Kingdom

Muirfield is the course of “The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers” (HCEG), the world’s oldest golf club – according to direct written evidence – formed in 1744.

Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom

The Ailsa course at the Turnberry Resort is probably the most scenic Open Championship golf course. Located right next to the Firth of Clyde, with craggy rocks and superb views across to the Mull of Kintyre...

North Scotland, United Kingdom

Royal Dornoch Golf Club is spellbinding. It seems to mesmerise amateur and professional golfers from all over the world and many make the pilgrimage to this natural links at some point in their lives.

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.

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.

Kerry, Ireland

As you drive from the historic town of Ballybunion, along the winding road to the golf club, your eyes feast upon the most spectacular links land imaginable.

Clare, Ireland

Lahinch Golf Club is situated next to the lovely beach of Liscannor Bay. It's an enchanting place to play golf... rugged, distinctive, unusually varied and immensely entertaining.

Angus & Dundee, United Kingdom

Carnoustie is a big natural seaside golf links and the Championship course is considered to be one of the most difficult in the British Isles.

Donegal, Ireland

Construction of the new St Patrick’s links at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort began in April 2018, with Tom Doak’s lead associate Eric Everson working alongside Clyde Johnson and Angela Moser to complete the build during 2020.

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.

Lothians, United Kingdom

The West Links at North Berwick Golf Club is an immensely enjoyable golf course, located on the Firth of Forth with stunning sea views across to Craigleith Island and Bass Rock.

Fife, United Kingdom

One of the many delights of Kingsbarns Golf Links is that you can see the North Sea from virtually every part of the course.

Argyll & Bute, United Kingdom

Occupying a mainly cliff top location on either side of Jura House, the Ardfin Estate golf course is routed across a rugged landscape of peat and rocks...

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.

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...

North Scotland, United Kingdom

Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart now offers some serious competition to both Royal Dornoch and Nairn when it comes to attracting visiting golfers, but that's a good thing for the Highlands where the golfing bar of excellence is very high.

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.

South Wales, United Kingdom

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is located off the beaten track, east of Swansea and west of Cardiff. Despite being the highest ranked course in Wales, it remains relatively unknown.

North East Scotland, United Kingdom

Cruden Bay is an inspirational golf course, regarded by some as quirky and considered by others as a masterpiece. Either way, this is a thrilling place to play golf because the designers used the original lie of the land to fantastic effect.

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.

Dublin, Ireland

”I know of no greater finish in the world than that of the last five holes at Portmarnock Golf Club”, said Bernard Darwin

North East Scotland, United Kingdom

Occupying a three-mile stretch of North Sea coastline, Trump International Golf Links is the latest American-inspired, high profile course to open in Scotland since the start of the new millennium.

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...

Surrey, United Kingdom

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...

North East Scotland, United Kingdom

The Balgownie at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club is a traditional out and back links course running along the shore of the North Sea and it has one of the finest first nine holes in golf.

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...

Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom

The course at Prestwick Golf Club is a traditional monument, an authentic affair with a layout of holes that snake to and fro through rugged dunes and rippled fairways.

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.

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.

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.

Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom

Royal Troon is a traditional out and back links course on the current Open Rota. Host of the 152nd Open Championship, it is best known for the short par 3 Postage Stamp and strategic 11th, named Railway.

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.

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.

Argyll & Bute, United Kingdom

Machrihanish Golf Club must be one of the most natural, romantic and enjoyable places to play golf in the whole of the British Isles. It’s not long, but it's sheer fun...

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.

Perth & Kinross, United Kingdom

Gleneagles is the perfect setting for a game of golf and the King’s course is surely the best moorland track in the world.

Dunbartonshire, United Kingdom

Loch Lomond Golf Club is set in more than 600 acres of sheltered seclusion, sandwiched between the mountains and the historic lochside.

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.

Wicklow, Ireland

The European Club is located in the garden of Ireland, between the coastal towns of Wicklow and Arklow, about 30 miles south of Dublin.

Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom

The holes at Western Gailes Golf Club are wonderfully varied. The fairways undulate gently, interrupted occasionally by three meandering burns...

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.”

Kerry, Ireland

Waterville Golf Links plays on a promontory surrounded by the sea. It’s a stunning, remote location...

Fife, United Kingdom

Dumbarnie Links lies within the 5,000-acre Balcarres Estate, a property that’s been in the hands of Lord Balniel’s family for more than four hundred years. It’s a Clive Clark design which first opened its doors to the public as a pay-and-play facility in the spring of 2020.

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...

Dublin, Ireland

The Island Golf Club is a no-frills golf course. There is nothing manicured and it’s all very harmonious and in tune with its surroundings.

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.

Louth, Ireland

The approach road to the links of County Louth Golf Club, or Baltray as it is better known, named after the local fishing village, is especially uplifting.

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.

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.

Devon, England

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

North Scotland, United Kingdom

The Championship links at Nairn Golf Club is one of the most spectacular seaside courses in Scotland, boasting sea views from every hole.

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.

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.

Sligo, Ireland

County Sligo Golf Club – or Rosses Point, as it is better known – is an exhilarating west coast links, situated in the heart of Yeats country.

Clare, Ireland

Doonbeg is the course that Greg Norman built, but it was redesigned by Martin Hawtree over a two-year period after the property was acquired in 2014 by Donald Trump and renamed Trump International Golf Links.

Argyll & Bute, United Kingdom

The refurbished Machrie golf course reopened for play in May 2017 and it's now geared up to handle visitors long into the future... the 48-bedroomed hotel opened in 2018.

Limerick, Ireland

Following J. P. McManus’s acquisition of Adare Manor in 2015, the old RTJ-designed parkland course has gone, replaced by a new Tom Fazio layout which opened in May 2018.

Lothians, United Kingdom

Gullane Golf Club is blessed with the most exquisite turf – winter rules are not needed here. If you hit the No.1 course fairways, a perfect lie awaits, even in the depths of winter.

Somerset, United Kingdom

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.

Mayo, Ireland

The Carne links at Belmullet sits in splendid isolation on the Atlantic edge of County Mayo, where holes are laid out on a peninsula amidst gigantic dunes with far-reaching views across Blacksod Bay to the islands of Inis Gloire and Inis Geidhewild.

Donegal, Ireland

Ballyliffin Golf Club is often described as “the Ballybunion of the North” or “the Dornoch of Ireland” and the reason is simple; all the aforementioned are set amidst towering natural sand dunes.

Donegal, Ireland

Rosapenna's fabulous new Sandy Hills golf course was designed by Pat Ruddy and opened for play in July 2003.

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.

Kerry, Ireland

At Tralee Golf Club, Palmer has designed a golf course that will stimulate the senses every bit as much as the enchanting and breathtaking scenery.

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.

Norfolk, United Kingdom

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

Sligo, Ireland

The location is ravishing; Enniscrone Golf Club is set on a promontory, which juts out into Killala Bay at the mouth of the Moy Estuary.

Hampshire, United Kingdom

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

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”...

North Scotland, United Kingdom

The Carnegie Club is located on the edge of the beautiful Dornoch Firth with views of the Struie Hills, the 7500-acre Skibo Castle estate is something very special. It’s a place where fairytales meet reality.

Lothians, United Kingdom

The Renaissance Club opened in April 2008 with future tournament golf in mind and it's Tom Doak's first Scottish course design.

Cork, Ireland

Laid out on a narrow headland, jutting out for two miles into the Atlantic Ocean, Old Head Golf Links has to be one of the world’s most exhilarating golf courses...

Londonderry, United Kingdom

The Strand course at Portstewart Golf Club is exhilarating. Set amidst imposing, gigantic sand dunes with panoramic views across the Atlantic mouth of Lough Foyle to the Inishowen peninsula beyond.

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.

Donegal, Ireland

Tucked away in the southwest corner of Donegal, Narin and Portnoo Golf Club is a links that deserves to be bracketed with many other natural, unspoilt courses that should be given greater recognition.

South Wales, United Kingdom

Pennard Golf Club is a delightful old-fashioned affair and without doubt, this is one of the very best links courses in the British Isles.

Perth & Kinross, United Kingdom

The Queen’s course is the pretty little sister at the Gleneagles Hotel. She’s only short course but she's exquisitely delicate and stunningly beautiful.

North Wales, United Kingdom

The glorious setting for Royal St David’s Golf Club is nothing short of beautiful and romantic. The forbidding medieval Harlech castle and towering sand dunes guard the course.

Argyll & Bute, United Kingdom

Machrihanish Dunes was the vision of Australian tycoon Brian Keating. Only a small fraction of this 270-acre property was disturbed by architect David McLay Kidd and associate Paul Kimber when they laid out the golf course.

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.

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.

North Wales, United Kingdom

Aberdovey Golf Club is set enchantingly within the Snowdonia National Park at the mouth of the Dovey Estuary...

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.

Kent, United Kingdom

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Isle of Man

Castletown Golf Links is located at the southeastern tip of the Isle of Man on a triangular links headland which is bordered on three sides by the Irish Sea.

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.

Lancashire, United Kingdom

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

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.

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.

Dublin, Ireland

Royal Dublin Golf Club is located on Bull Island, in Dublin Bay. The island was formed following the building of a sea wall in the early 1800s. The result is a perfect sandy island, superb terrain for a golf course...

North Scotland, United Kingdom

Brora Golf Club is a fine, natural seaside links. A Highland delicacy to be tasted alongside Royal Dornoch. Brora is one of the jewels in James Braid's crown.

Fife, United Kingdom

Situated adjacent to the Old course, the New course at St Andrews is often referred to as the local’s favourite because it is tighter and more defined than the Old.