Representative links golf landscape, not a photograph of Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Best Golf Courses in England

24 ranked courses in England

England has 24 courses in this guide, and every one is a members' club: 21 private and three semi-private, Royal Lytham & St Annes, Formby and Silloth. None is public or a resort course, but all 24 take visitors, 22 of them by day, handicap or group-size conditions, so the terms matter more than the label. Twelve are links and 12 are heathland. Royal Birkdale in Southport ranks highest, followed by Royal St George's in Sandwich, Sunningdale, St Enodoc in Rock, Swinley Forest in Ascot, Royal Lytham & St Annes and Ganton. Birkdale takes visitors on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and some Sundays, and closes to them in January, February, November and December. Royal St George's welcomes visitors on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a handicap index of 18.4 or less. Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, Royal Lytham and Royal Cinque Ports in Deal have all hosted the Open. Silloth and Saunton accept visitors without day restrictions. Eight heathland courses form the southern belt: Sunningdale, Swinley Forest, The Berkshire in Ascot, St George's Hill in Weybridge, Walton Heath, Hankley Common in Tilford, West Sussex in Pulborough and Woking. Woodhall Spa, Ganton, Alwoodley in Leeds and Notts in Kirkby-in-Ashfield are heathland courses elsewhere.

— Top 10 Rankings

Top 10 Best Golf Courses in England

Updated

  1. Royal Birkdale Golf Club
    Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom links Par 70
    4.7
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  2. Royal St George's Golf Club
    Sandwich, Kent, England, United Kingdom links Par 70
    5.0
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  3. Sunningdale Golf Club — Old Course
    Sunningdale, Berkshire, United Kingdom heathland Par 70
    5.0
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  4. St Enodoc Golf Club
    Rock, Cornwall, United Kingdom links Par 69
    4.5
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  5. Swinley Forest Golf Club
    Ascot, Berkshire, United Kingdom heathland
    4.5
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  6. Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
    Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, United Kingdom links Par 70
    4.5
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  7. Ganton Golf Club
    Ganton, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom heathland Par 71
    4.5
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  8. St George's Hill Golf Club
    Weybridge, Surrey, United Kingdom heathland
    4.4
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  9. Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
    Deal, Kent, United Kingdom links
    4.4
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  10. West Sussex Golf Club
    Pulborough, West Sussex, United Kingdom heathland Par 68
    4.3
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— More Courses

More Courses in England

About Golf Courses in England

Southport, Formby, Hoylake and Lytham St Annes make one links trip; Sandwich, Deal and Camber make another. The southern heathland courses at Sunningdale, Ascot, Weybridge, Woking, Tilford, Walton-on-the-Hill and Pulborough suit a week of weekdays. Braunton, Rock and Burnham-on-Sea form a western trip, with Brancaster, Silloth, Woodhall Spa, Ganton, Leeds and Kirkby-in-Ashfield separate.

Ranked courses
24
Course styles
heathland 12 · links 12
Access
private 21 · semi-private 3
Opened
1869–1931
Playable without membership
3 of 24

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