Car crashes into Royal North Devon bunker

Top 20 Golf Courses in Devon 2015 Devon Best in County rankings updated Devon, in the southwest of England, is the fourth largest of England’s counties by area but, because there are only around a million people living in the region, it’s also one of the country’s least densely populated territories. With the Bristol Channel coastline to the north, the English Riviera to the south plus Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks in between, there’s plenty of scope to indulge in all sorts of outdoor activities when visiting Devon. A glance at the Visit Devon official guide will throw up lots of sporting options, from angling to cycling, horse riding to water sports. Search under “g” for golf and you’ll discover next to nothing (though you’ll find out all about “geocaching” and “glamping”) so perhaps it’s just as well that we have a handle on a wide range of golf courses just waiting to be discovered. The third edition of our Devon Top 20 chart has now been finalised and the results of this re-ranking process can now be revealed. All of the top five positions remain the same. Indeed, these courses have been placed in the same order since regional rankings were first introduced in 2012. Herbert Fowler’s mighty East links at Saunton Golf Club heads the Devon listings, with its younger sibling, the West course, edged into 3rd place by the oldest course in England still utilising its original fairways, Royal North Devon, or “Westward Ho!” as it’s more affectionately known. Top 100’s Editor-in-Chief Keith Baxter lives nearby and he played the old girl last month, with his review of the course touching on the natural allure of the links layout: “It is not the best course I’ve played but few have more charm and fewer still were established by Providence.” East Devon occupies the number 4 position and the course dates back to 1902, when it was first brought into play. Subsequently altered by Herbert Fowler then remodelled by Harry Colt, it commands fantastic coastal views from its cliff top location above Budleigh Salterton, on the edge of the Jurassic Coast. Bovey Castle remains at number 5 and this 1920s J. F. Abercromby track, revitalised by Tom MacKenzie and Donald Steel early in the new millennium, is set inside a beautiful wooded estate within Dartmoor National Park. The ground floor of the club’s hotel has also just been refurbished as part of an ambitious renovation programme so it looks like exciting times lie ahead for this particular golfing venue. The Championship layout at Dartmouth Golf & Country Club moves up one place to number 7 and it’s an early 1990s design from French-based British architect Jeremy Pern, regarded by many as one of his best. Teignmouth also rises one spot to number 8 and this Alister MacKenzie-designed track lies on Haldon Moor, a location which many locals thought would be unsuitable for a golf course back in the 1920s. Further down the chart, a couple of 18-hole layouts make a significant leap up the listings: Yelverton (up seven to 10) is an old Herbert Fowler layout, with fifteen of the original holes remaining in play, and the Oaks course at Woodbury Park Hotel & Golf Club (up six to 11), which sits in a magnificent 500-acre estate, with the front nine holes laid out around the inward nine. Two courses make their first appearance in the regional rankings. The first one, Tavistock, lies on Whitchurch Down, on land owned by the Duke of Bedford where he gave the twelve founding members of the club permission to set out the original 9-hole layout in 1890. The other debutant is Honiton, a pleasant parkland track that’s routed across the hills to the east of Honiton, with splendid views across to the Blackdown Hills. We’d like to thank the clubs and professional golfers that assisted with our re-ranking process for this county. To view more details about our Devon Top 20 rankings click this link. If you have extensive experience of playing across the south west 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. We never claim to publish definitive golf course listings but we do like to think they’re the most informed. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses

Chunks of Royal North Devon Golf Club being reclaimed by sea Frustrated 'potwallopers' watch as sea steals oldest golf course Northam Burrows England's oldest golf course is disappearing into the sea by up to 90ft a year after members were banned from protecting it by “potwalloping” - for the first time in more than a century. Officials at the 18-hole Royal Devon Golf Club, at Northam Burrows, near Westward Ho!, say large chunks of the links course are being reclaimed by the sea. The course was established in 1864 and takes a regular battering from the Bristol Channel. Every year Torridge District Council has protected its seaward ridges by using machinery to pile up pebbles to limit the damage of the sea. But Natural England has told it that it is no longer allowed to interfere with nature because the course lies on a site of special scientific interest. Members have also been banned from resurrecting the custom of “potwalloping”, where local people would pile the stones by hand. David Lloyd, 60, a club member and former chairman, said that unless the ridge was protected, the course would lose the 7th and 8th holes as early as next year. “I remember potwalloping as a child to protect the golfing green,” he said. “Twice a year, thousands of people would get together and potwallop on the beach.” From The Times

The South West of England occupies a unique position in the nation's golfing landscape. Stretching from the Atlantic-battered tip of Cornwall through Devon's rolling moorlands, Dorset's heathland ridges, the Somerset Levels, the Cotswold escarpment, and the downland of Wiltshire, no other English region offers such dramatic topographical variety across its golf courses. Across six counties and more than 220 clubs, the South West has long been recognised as the second strongest golfing region in England. The latest rankings reflect a broader philosophical shift taking hold across Top 100 Golf Courses' assessments, placing architectural integrity at the heart of every evaluation. Best Golf Courses in South West England The Unchanged Elite St Enodoc Golf Club (Church), Cornwall, holds firm at the summit of the regional rankings, a position it has occupied without interruption since the inaugural South West Top 20 in 2017. Designed by James Braid in 1907, the Church course is widely regarded as the finest links in England outside the Open Championship rota. Saunton Golf Club (East) in Devon maintains second place, its ranking as rock-solid as the Braunton Burrows dune system that shields it from the Atlantic. Burnham & Berrow Golf Club (Championship) holds third, Somerset's great links on the Bristol Channel coast. Best Golf Courses in the South West by County Cornwall supplies the region's undisputed headline act in St Enodoc, alongside two more Top 15 entries in Perranporth and Trevose (Championship). Cornwall and its three Top 15 finishers confirm it as the go-to destination for anyone seeking pure, seaside links golf in the South West. Devon places five courses in the regional Top 15, the most of any county, with Saunton's twin links at second and seventh representing the finest 36 consecutive links holes in England. Royal North Devon at Westward Ho! brings historical gravitas, while East Devon and Yelverton represent the county's inland quality. Dorset contributes four Top 15 entries, clustered in and around Poole. Parkstone, Broadstone, and Ferndown (Old) form one of the finest heathland and coastal trios in English golf, all within a few miles of one another. Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire collectively account for one Top 15 entry — Cleeve Hill in the thirteenth position. Gloucestershire's listings are headlined by the Minchinhampton complex, Somerset offers a cluster of quality parkland and clifftop courses anchored by Burnham & Berrow, and Wiltshire's ranked courses include the fine PGA venue at Bowood and the superb downland layout at Tidworth Garrison. What the Rankings Tell Us The Enduring Primacy of Links Golf Nine of the 15 courses in the regional standings are either true links or coastal heathland layouts, a proportion that speaks to the South West's Atlantic-facing geography. St Enodoc, both Saunton courses, Royal North Devon, Perranporth, Trevose, Burnham & Berrow, and Parkstone are all defined by their coastal character. Dorset's Heathland Cluster The Poole basin, taking in Parkstone, Broadstone, and Ferndown within a five-mile radius, represents one of the most concentrated pockets of heathland quality in England. Willie Park Junior laid out Parkstone in 1909, later redesigned by James Braid. Harry Colt reshaped Broadstone from Tom Dunn's original 1898 layout. Harold Hilton, one of England's finest amateur champions, designed Ferndown's Old course just before the First World War. Three Golden Age architects, three outstanding courses, and a shared landscape of pine, heather, and sandy loam. Minchinhampton and the Gloucestershire Transformation The biggest story in the inland counties is the rise of Minchinhampton in Gloucestershire. The club operates three 18-hole courses across two sites — Cherington, Old, and Avening — and all three appear in the current county Top 5. The Minchinhampton (Old) course makes the most notable move in the Gloucestershire standings, climbing several places to third, recognition of a layout that has been quietly improving in esteem. Cleeve Hill's presence is also significant: the common land course near Cheltenham, with its sweeping Malvern Hills views, has long been underappreciated. The Architectural Depth of the South West Beyond the headline names, the South West's collective 87-course ranking reveals genuine depth. In Devon, courses like Teignmouth and Bovey Castle sit firmly inside the county Top 10. In Wiltshire, the double-figure depth of the county chart includes Manor House Golf Club and Tidworth Garrison, two of the more characterful inland layouts in southern England. Planning Your South West England Golf Trip The South West as a region divides naturally into distinct golfing bases, each with a different character. The Cornwall Circuit — Basing yourself in north Cornwall around Rock or Padstow puts you within easy reach of St Enodoc, Trevose, and Perranporth, three courses with entirely distinct personalities that together represent some of the finest links golf in England. Bude & North Cornwall and West Cornwall add further options for a week-long visit, and the peninsula's coastal scenery between rounds is among the most dramatic in the British Isles. North Devon and Exmoor — Saunton's twin links are the centrepiece of any North Devon golf trip. Adding Royal North Devon at Westward Ho! makes a natural and historically rich trilogy. Yelverton to the south gives access to Dartmoor for a change of scene, and East Devon near Budleigh Salterton, a Herbert Fowler and Harry Colt collaboration 400 feet above Lyme Bay, rewards those willing to venture off the well-trodden North Devon circuit. The Dorset Heathland Triangle — Parkstone, Broadstone, and Ferndown can all be played within a single day's drive of central Dorset, making this trio the natural hub of any Dorset golf stay. Isle of Purbeck and Remedy Oak extend the itinerary further east and west, respectively, and the combination of heathland golf with the Jurassic Coast as backdrop is genuinely unique in English golf. The Cotswolds and Wiltshire — Cleeve Hill is the gateway to Gloucestershire's inland riches, and the Minchinhampton complex offers outstanding value for a single-destination stay. In Wiltshire, Bowood and Tidworth Garrison are logical pairings for anyone visiting the county from the Cotswolds or the New Forest. For the complete South West England regional rankings across all six counties, visit the Top 100 Golf Courses South West England page.