Outstanding club2026

The best golf courses in England (2026)

Find the top golf courses in England, with rankings based on verified golfer reviews. England built the finest heathland belt in the world on the sandy soils of Surrey and Berkshire, then matched it with a Lancashire links coast that has no equal south of Scotland.Read more
Based on 352 verified reviews

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Purely focused on the design, challenge, and beauty of the golf course itself. Read more
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21
Club image Royal Liverpool Golf Club

The (Hoylake) Links

8.97
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Cheshire18 holes
Great maintenanceLinks course
22
Club image The Berkshire Golf Club

Red course

8.96
The Berkshire Golf Club
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire18 holes
Great facilitiesWoodland course
23
Club image The Berkshire Golf Club

Blue course

8.95
The Berkshire Golf Club
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire18 holes
Great facilitiesWoodland course
24
Club image Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club

Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club

8.92
Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club
Lancashire18 holes
Great maintenanceLinks course
25
Club image West Sussex Golf Club

West Sussex Golf Club

8.90
West Sussex Golf Club
Sussex18 holes
Great maintenance
26
Club image Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club

Old Course

8.86
Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club
Sussex36 holes
Heathland course
27
Club image Windermere Golf Club

Windermere Golf Club

8.85
Windermere Golf Club
Cumbria18 holes
Great maintenanceHillside course
28
Club image Burnham & Berrow Golf Club

Championship Course

8.84
Burnham & Berrow Golf Club
Somerset27 holes
Great clubhouseLinks course
29
Club image Silloth on Solway Golf Club

Silloth on Solway Golf Club

8.83
Silloth on Solway Golf Club
Cumbria18 holes
Great maintenanceLinks course
30
Club image Sunningdale Golf Club

New Course

8.80
Sunningdale Golf Club
Surrey36 holes
Great value for moneyHeathland course
31
Club image Wallasey Golf Club

Wallasey Golf Club

8.79
Wallasey Golf Club
Cheshire18 holes
Great clubhouseHillside course
32
Club image Delamere Forest Golf Club

Delamere Forest Golf Club

8.79
Delamere Forest Golf Club
Cheshire18 holes
Great value for money
33
Club image St Mellion Golf Club

The Jack Nicklaus Signature Course

8.75
St Mellion Golf Club
Cornwall36 holes
Great maintenancePark course
34
Club image Bearwood Lakes Golf Club

Bearwood Lakes Golf Club

8.74
Bearwood Lakes Golf Club
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire18 holes
Great value for moneyPark course
35
Club image Reddish Vale Golf Club

Reddish Vale Golf Club

8.73
Reddish Vale Golf Club
Cheshire18 holes
Great maintenancePark course
36
Club image De Vere Slaley Hall Golf Club

Hunting Course

8.71
De Vere Slaley Hall Golf Club
Northumberland36 holes
Great maintenancePark course
37
Club image Formby Golf Club

Formby Golf Club

8.70
Formby Golf Club
Lancashire18 holes
Great hospitalityPark course
38
Club image Royal Cromer Golf Club

Royal Cromer Golf Club

8.67
Royal Cromer Golf Club
Norfolk18 holes
Great maintenanceLinks course
39
Club image Perranporth Golf Club

Perranporth Golf Club

8.67
Perranporth Golf Club
Cornwall18 holes
Great hospitalityHillside course
40
Club image Camberley Heath Golf Club

Camberley Heath Golf Club

8.66
Camberley Heath Golf Club
Surrey18 holes
Great surroundingsHeathland course

Everything about the top golf courses in England

The best golf courses in England divide between two traditions that have shaped how the game is played and designed across the world. Both belong on this list, and the golfer arriving with a week and a serious intent will find that England delivers at a level most international visitors do not anticipate before they arrive. Sunningdale Old Course leads without question. It is the agreed reference point for English heathland golf, the course most consistently named by architects and experienced playing visitors as the single finest inland layout in the country. Willie Park Jr's design and H.S. Colt's revisions on naturally sandy Berkshire ground produce conditions and a strategic challenge that no other English inland course has matched. Walton Heath Old Course gives the Surrey moorland dimension and Ryder Cup credentials. Its open elevation, genuine heather rough and Herbert Fowler design place it clearly in the same heathland tradition as Sunningdale while offering a different and more exposed playing experience. Together these two establish that the London heathland belt is the most concentrated stretch of top-level inland golf in the world. Royal Birkdale is the Lancashire coast's anchor and England's most respected Open venue. Its championship record, the quality of its fairway valleys between genuine dunes, and the historical weight of nine Open Championships give this list its links credentials and its connection to the professional game at the highest level. Royal St George's at Sandwich provides the most authentic and eccentric links character on the Kent coast. Golfers who know English golf well will expect to see it, and it broadens the geographic reach beyond the London and Lancashire clusters. Woodhall Spa's Hotchkin Course addresses the inland midlands and gives the list architectural depth for golfers familiar enough with English golf to look beyond the headline names. Its bunkers are the most discussed individual design feature of any English course and make it immediately identifiable. Ganton in Yorkshire provides the northern England presence and Walker Cup and Ryder Cup credibility that confirms this list covers the full country rather than only its most visited golf corridors.

How we rank the best 18-hole golf clubs in England

This ranking of the best 18-hole golf clubs in England is based on the overall score from verified golfer reviews and represents the total experience at a club. The ranking is calculated by aggregating scores across all categories, including course design, maintenance, hospitality, facilities, surroundings, and value for money. To be included in this list, a club must have a sufficient number of reviews to ensure a reliable and representative average.

How we rank the best golf courses in England (Course Only)

This ranking isolates the quality of the playing surface from the rest of the club's amenities in England. While our "Golf Club" rankings include factors like the clubhouse and hospitality, this "Course Only" list focuses exclusively on the architectural layout, hole variety, and turf conditions. It identifies the best-rated golf courses in England for players who prioritize the technical challenge and design of the course above all else.

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