10 UK Golf Courses Worth Planning a Trip Around
By Jabunong – Golf Passport UK
Let me be straight with you from the start: I haven’t played all 10 of these.
Most “best UK golf courses” lists you’ll find online were written by someone who’s played none of them — pieced together from ranking sites, press releases, and other people’s articles dressed up as experience. This one is different. I’ll tell you exactly which ones I’ve played, what they were actually like, and what I know about the ones I haven’t — from 22 years of planning, researching, and building a UK course log that currently sits at 33 courses and counting.
This isn’t a ranking. It’s a planning guide — 10 courses that deserve a proper trip built around them, with honest notes on what to expect, what they cost, and how to approach booking each one. Whether you’re a first-timer planning your first proper golf break or a regular player building your bucket list, there’s something on this list for every level of ambition and budget.
When I tick a new one off, I’ll come back and update this post with my own round notes.
1. Royal County Down — Newcastle, Northern Ireland
Status: 🎯 On my list
Consistently ranked the number one course in the UK and Ireland. A links course laid out beneath the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland — and by all accounts one of those courses where the setting and the golf combine in a way that makes the round feel genuinely different from anywhere else.
The Mountains of Mourne as a backdrop. Blind tee shots over heather-covered dunes. A front nine that many consider as good as any nine holes in golf anywhere in the world. This is the course that makes Northern Ireland worth the flight.
Visitor slots are limited — Royal County Down is protective of its tee sheet — which means planning 3–6 months ahead for summer weekends. Green fees reflect the status of the course, but Northern Ireland as a destination is still considerably cheaper than equivalent Scottish golf once you factor in flights and accommodation.
| Par | 71 |
| Yardage | 7,186 yards |
| Green fees | From £250 |
| Best window | May–September |
| Booking | royalcountydown.org |
Planning note: Pair with Royal Portrush (90 minutes up the coast) for the definitive Northern Ireland double-header. Fly into Belfast City or Belfast International. A car is essential — get one before you land.
2. Royal St George’s — Sandwich, Kent
Status: 🎯 On my list — the most likely first tick
England’s top-ranked links course and my most realistic near-term booking. Sandwich is under two hours from London by high-speed train, which means this is the one Open-calibre links course in the UK that most people based in England can play as a long day trip without needing to fly anywhere or hire a car.
The course itself is pure links — undulating, uncompromising, and built to expose every weakness in your game. The rough is genuine rough. The bunkers are exactly as deep as you’d fear from the television. And the wind — almost always present — changes every club in the bag depending on which way it’s blowing.
If you’re looking for the most accessible bucket-list links course in England, this is it.
| Par | 70 |
| Yardage | 7,189 yards |
| Green fees | From £200 |
| Best window | April–October |
| Booking | royalstgeorges.com |
Planning note: Prince’s Golf Club is directly adjacent to Royal St George’s — same stretch of Kent coastline, same quality of links golf, from around £100. A two-round Kent weekend playing both is excellent value and easy to organise.
3. St Andrews Old Course — St Andrews, Scotland
Status: 🎯 On my list — the one I want most
Every golfer owes themselves this round at some point. The home of golf, 600 years of history, the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th that every golfer has seen a hundred times on television — and yet somehow it still stops people in their tracks when they walk it themselves.
The Old Course is not the hardest course on this list. It’s not even the most visually dramatic. But it carries a weight that no other course in the world carries. Standing on the 1st tee knowing that golfers have been teeing up on that exact strip of turf since the 15th century is something no ranking or review can fully explain. You just have to go.
Getting on is the challenge. Visitors access the Old Course mainly through the daily ballot — you apply online up to two days before your round, and there’s no guarantee of a place. Alternatively, book well in advance through St Andrews Links directly, or stay at a hotel with ballot priority access. Either way, don’t plan a trip to Scotland with the Old Course as the only course — build a 3–4 day Fife itinerary around it so a missed ballot doesn’t derail the whole trip.
| Par | 72 |
| Yardage | 6,721 yards |
| Green fees | From £230 (Peak Season) |
| Best window | April–October |
| Booking | standrews.com — Ballot or Advance Booking |
Planning note: Pair with Kingsbarns (40 minutes away, stunning clifftop links, easier to book) and the New Course or Jubilee Course on the same links complex. A 3-day Fife trip with Old Course, Kingsbarns and one other is close to the perfect Scottish golf itinerary.
4. Royal Birkdale — Southport, Lancashire
Status: 🎯 On my list
Often described as the fairest test of links golf in England. Open Championship pedigree. Fairways that snake through proper Lancashire sand dunes — dramatic in a way that photographs don’t fully capture, apparently, until you’re standing in the middle of it.
Southport itself is a proper seaside town with good accommodation and easy access to several other quality Lancashire links courses. If you’re going to fly or drive to Lancashire for golf, Royal Birkdale works best as the anchor of a 2–3 round trip rather than a standalone day.
| Par | 70 |
| Yardage | 7,156 yards |
| Green fees | From £175 |
| Best window | May–September |
| Booking | royalbirkdale.com |
Planning note: Hillside Golf Club sits alongside Royal Birkdale and is regularly ranked in England’s top 20. From around £100, it’s an excellent second round on the same Lancashire coast without the premium price tag. Royal Lytham & St Annes is 40 minutes further south if you’re doing the full Lancashire links tour.
5. Sunningdale Old Course — Ascot, Berkshire
Status: 🎯 On my list — need a member
The most beautiful inland course in England by just about every account. Heathland golf 25 miles from London, which makes it logistically close enough to feel tantalising — and yet the member-guest policy keeps it just out of reach unless you know someone.
Visitors must be accompanied by a member. That’s the reality. For most golfers it means either knowing someone who plays there or finding a golf travel package that includes Sunningdale access. Some of the better golf travel operators include it in their Surrey heathland packages — worth checking before assuming it’s impossible.
When I get there, the Old Course will be the round. The New Course is also excellent but the Old is the one with the reputation for a reason.
| Par | 70 |
| Yardage | 6,568 yards |
| Green fees | From £150 (must be accompanied by a member) |
| Best window | Year-round (heathland drains well) |
| Booking | sunningdalegolfclub.co.uk |
Planning note: The Surrey and Berkshire heathland belt — Sunningdale, Wentworth, Walton Heath, Swinley Forest — is one of the most concentrated areas of top-quality inland golf in the world. If you can access Sunningdale through a member or a travel package, build a 2-day heathland trip around it.
6. Muirfield — Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
Status: 🎯 On my list
Home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers — the world’s oldest golf club. Strictly traditional, visitors only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and famously one of the more difficult courses to access as a visitor without a formal introduction. But it’s not impossible, and the East Lothian location makes it easier to combine with other excellent courses nearby.
What draws me to Muirfield specifically is the reputation for fair but unforgiving golf. No hidden tricks, no gimmick holes — just 18 holes of links golf that exposes whatever weaknesses you bring to the first tee. Multiple world number ones have called it the best course they’ve ever played. That doesn’t happen by accident.
| Par | 71 |
| Yardage | 7,245 yards |
| Green fees | From £200 |
| Visitor days | Tuesdays and Thursdays only |
| Booking | muirfield.org.uk |
Planning note: East Lothian is a goldmine. Muirfield, Gullane (3 courses), North Berwick West, Renaissance Club — all within 20 minutes of each other. A 3-day East Lothian trip with Muirfield as the anchor is one of the better Scottish golf itineraries you can plan outside of St Andrews.
7. Turnberry Ailsa Course — Ayrshire, Scotland
Status: 🎯 On my list
Set on the Ayrshire coast with Ailsa Craig — the distinctive volcanic island — sitting out in the Firth of Clyde as your backdrop on almost every hole. The 9th tee, perched on a clifftop, is one of the most photographed spots in golf. Recently renovated and fully restored to Open Championship standard.
Turnberry is a resort first — the Ailsa Craig hotel is part of the experience — and the green fees reflect that. But stay-and-play packages often bring the per-round cost down to something more reasonable than the rack rate, especially midweek.
| Par | 70 |
| Yardage | 7,489 yards |
| Green fees | From £200 |
| Stay & play | Resort packages at trumpturnberry.com |
| Best window | May–September |
| Booking | trumpturnberry.com |
Planning note: Turnberry works best as a resort stay rather than a day trip. The Ayrshire coast also has Royal Troon and Prestwick within easy reach — a 3-day Ayrshire links tour is one of the great Scottish golf itineraries.
8. Woodhall Spa Hotchkin — Lincolnshire, England
Status: 🎯 On my list — the value pick on this list
This is the one I’d recommend first to any golfer who wants to tick off a genuine top-tier UK course without the £200+ price tag.
Voted England’s best inland course consistently year after year. Deep heather-lined fairways, bunkers that have been described as “the most unfair in England” (a badge of honour, not a complaint), and a layout that forces you to think on every tee. Green fees from £95. For a course of this calibre, that’s remarkable value.
The only complication is location — Woodhall Spa is in Lincolnshire, which doesn’t naturally sit on most people’s travel routes. But it’s reachable from the Midlands in under two hours, and from most of England in three. If you’re planning a Midlands or East Midlands golf trip, this is the anchor course worth building it around.
| Par | 73 |
| Yardage | 7,080 yards |
| Green fees | From £95 |
| Best window | April–October |
| Booking | woodhallspagolf.com |
Planning note: Woodhall Spa is home to England Golf — the national governing body — so the facilities and presentation are as good as you’d expect for a national centre. The Bracken Course on the same site is a strong second round at a lower green fee if you want two days without leaving Lincolnshire.
9. Royal Portrush — Portrush, Northern Ireland
Status: 🎯 On my list
Host of the 2019 Open Championship. Set on the Antrim coast with views to Islay on a clear day, Royal Portrush is everything a links course should be — exposed, demanding, wind-affected, and completely absorbing from the first tee to the last.
The Dunluce Links is the championship course and the one worth the trip. But Portrush also has the Valley Links on the same site — a more accessible course at a lower green fee that gives you the same coastal setting without the full championship challenge if you’re warming up or on a tighter budget.
The surrounding area adds to the trip in a way few golf destinations manage. The Giant’s Causeway is a 10-minute drive from the clubhouse. The Antrim Coast road is one of the most spectacular drives in the British Isles. Portrush town has restaurants and accommodation worth staying for. This is a proper destination, not just a tee time.
| Par | 72 |
| Yardage | 7,337 yards (Dunluce) |
| Green fees | From £200 (Dunluce) / From £60 (Valley) |
| Best window | May–September |
| Booking | royalportrushgolfclub.com |
Planning note: Pair with Royal County Down for 4 days in Northern Ireland. Portstewart Strand Course (20 minutes away, world-class links, from £120) is worth adding as a third round if your legs hold up.
10. Celtic Manor — Twenty Ten Course, Newport, Wales
Status: 🏌️ Played the resort (Montgomerie Course) — Twenty Ten still on my list
Full disclosure: I’ve played Celtic Manor — the Montgomerie Course, not the Twenty Ten. But I’ve been on the resort, I know the standard of what Celtic Manor delivers, and the Twenty Ten is firmly on my list as the course I’m going back for.
The Twenty Ten was purpose-built for the 2010 Ryder Cup — the only course in history designed and built specifically to host that event. It plays along the valley floor of the Usk Valley, with grandstand mounds and amphitheatre greens that still feel like they’re waiting for a crowd. The Montgomerie is an excellent course in its own right but the Twenty Ten is the main event.
What I can tell you from experience: Celtic Manor as a resort is genuinely excellent. The facilities are world-class, the staff know what they’re doing, and the accommodation makes a weekend stay feel like a proper occasion rather than just a place to sleep before a tee time. For Wales as a golf destination, this is the anchor that makes the whole trip worth planning around.
| Par | 71 |
| Yardage | 7,493 yards |
| Green fees | From £135 (Twenty Ten) / from £85 (Montgomerie) |
| Stay & play | Resort packages at celtic-manor.com |
| Best window | April–October |
| Booking | celtic-manor.com |
Planning note: Don’t day-trip Celtic Manor. Stay at least one night at the resort, warm up on the Montgomerie or Roman Road Course on day one, and save the Twenty Ten for when you’re rested and dialled in. The full experience is the point. Royal Porthcawl (45 minutes away) is an excellent second course to add if you’re making a proper Wales golf break of it.
How to Plan Around These Courses
A few things that apply across all 10:
Book the headline course first. Everything else — hotel, travel, second-round — fits around the tee time. The most common planning mistake is sorting accommodation before securing the tee sheet.
Stay-and-play always worth pricing. For Celtic Manor, Turnberry, Gleneagles, and The Belfry, resort packages regularly beat the cost of booking hotel and green fees separately. Always compare both before committing.
Go late May or early September. For most of these courses, this is the sweet spot — courses fully open, weather reasonable, prices not yet at peak summer levels.
Budget the total, not just the green fees. Travel, accommodation, food, and a contingency all add up quickly. My How to Plan a UK Golf Trip guide has a full breakdown by trip type if you want the honest numbers.
What’s Next
Royal St George’s is my most likely next tick — close enough to London to stop making excuses, and the Kent links experience is one I’ve been planning for two years.
When I play each of these, I’ll come back and update this post with the Played tag and a link to the full round review. The Reviews page is where all the write-ups live as they go up.
Got a course you think belongs on this list — or somewhere worth adding that won’t drain the wallet? Drop me a message. I read every one.
Jabunong — Golf Passport UK | 33 UK courses played · 22 years · Still working through the list
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