Broadstone Golf Club: Course Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info
Broadstone is a heathland fan's dream, with changes in elevation, impressive variety and several cracking holes adding to its appeal
Broadstone Golf Club Key Information
Header Cell - Column 0 | Header Cell - Column 1 |
---|---|
Address | Wentworth Drive, Broadstone, Dorset, BH18 8DQ. |
Phone Number | +44 (0)1202 692595 |
Website | broadstonegolfclub.com/ |
office@broadstonegolfclub.com | |
Green Fees | £125-£140 per round April-Oct; £80 in winter months |
Visitor Times | No stated restrictions other than after 2pm only Fri-Sun |
Par | Men: 70 blue, white, yellow; Ladies: 72 red |
Slope Rating | Men: 140 blue, 139 white, 130 yellow; Ladies: 119 red |
Opened | 1898 |
Designed by | Tom Dunn, Herbert Fowler, Harry Colt |
Golf Monthly Verdict
A really fine example of heathland golf architecture across a diverse, heavily undulating landscape. It should perhaps have more notoriety as one of Harry Colt’s most inspirational redesigns.
It is perhaps the par 3s throughout that steal the show, with the long 15th arguably the most challenging. When your final putt drops on 18, your heart will sink with the realisation that your round is over, because when you’ve played it once, Broadstone is a course you’ll be eager to return to again and again.
REASONS TO PLAY BROADSTONE
- It's a fine example of a Harry Colt classic playing over rolling heathland terrain
- Some of Frank Pont’s dramatic bunkering on a number of holes has brought back more of the origjnal Colt flavour
- Combining it with games at neighbouring Ferndown and Parkstone makes for a superb short break
RANKINGS
UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2023/24 - 96
Every golfer will have his or her own view when it comes to a personal favourite among Bournemouth’s Big Three. All three reside in our Top 100 golf courses in the UK and Ireland rankings but whatever your personal preference, there’s no denying that the wonderful heathland layout at Broadstone ventures through considerably more elevation changes than its Parkstone and Ferndown neighbours.
The original course was created in 1898 by Tom Dunn before a Harry Colt redesign in 1914, which introduced a number of new holes to take fuller advantage of its stunning location on expansive heathland. In recent years, architect Frank Pont has been entrusted to take the course back closer to its Colt days with some eye-catchingly dramatic bunkering.
Having twice traversed the same stream on the 1st (if all has gone well), the elevation changes start on the 2nd, with the course playing up to a very steep-fronted green before coming back down immediately on the 3rd, where there is water to think about.
Pont’s work is in evidence on the gorgeous par-3 6th that plays up to another steep-fronted green with a copse of pines beyond, and again on the 8th just after the excellent, not-quite-halfway hut. In between lies the fearsome long par-4 7th, and just as the jury is out as to which is the finest of the three neighbouring courses all vying for best golf course in Dorset honours, so too is it for this ‘Marmite’ hole.
Whatever your thoughts, it is a strategically challenging par 4 thoroughly deserving of its SI 1 status, where the semi-blind drive is followed by a daunting or thrilling second (depending on your point of view!) across shallow valleys, heather and sand. Whether you like it or not, visually it is stunning.
The short par-4 14th provides yet another visual treat, playing from a highly elevated tee down and then up to a fairway surrounded by bunkers, but it is perhaps the par 3s throughout that steal the show, with the long 15th arguably the most challenging.
When your final putt drops on 18, your heart will sink with the realisation that your round is over, because when you’ve played it once, Broadstone is a course you’ll be eager to return to again and again.
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What The Top 100 Panel Said
Broadstone is a wonderfully challenging, well-balanced, undulating golf course that offers the perfect combination of being testing but also scorable if you’re on your game. The layout offers a brilliant mixture of holes in terms of shape, length, and style that often present you with elevated tee shots or natural carries from tee box to fairway or green.
A challenging course from start to finish with significant elevation change on many holes. This is rugged terrain, so away from the cut-and-prepared you will get some wild lies. HS Colt at his most unforgiving, with the usual excellent par 3s and a diverse set of challenging par 4s.
Broadstone Golf Club Location
Broadstone Golf Club Green Fees
April to October 2023 - 18 holes | £125 Mon-Thurs | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
April to October 2023 - 18 holes | £140 Fri-Sun after 2pm | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
April to October 2023 - 36 holes | £200 Mon-Thurs | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
Winter midweek from November | £80 | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
Contact the club via the golf bookings email address
Best Courses Near Broadstone
FERNDOWN
Ferndown is a pristine heathland course with sandy fairways and heather lurking to either side of the mown surfaces. With pine trees and firs also lining many of the holes, it’s an extremely attractive layout. Host to many top-level competitions, Percy Alliss was professional at Ferndown and son Peter counted the club as his spiritual home.
PARKSTONE
One of Bournemouth’s big-hitting trio, Parkstone is one of many UK courses that has been striving to rediscover its heathland roots in recent years. There are several thrilling tee-shots, such as the 3rd where you play from a causeway crossing water, and each of the short holes is a real gem.
Best Places To Stay Near Broadstone
Heatherdene House - Book now at Booking.com
This highly rated B&B is less than a mile from the golf club and just 6.2 miles from Poole Harbour. Heatherdene House offers good accommodation with free WiFi, free private parking, various breakfast options and a garden in which you are more than welcome to relax.
Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel - Book now at Booking.com
For the full hotel experience, the Highcliff Marriott Hotel enjoys a dramatic clifftop location just a ten-minute walk from the centre of Bournemouth. Guests enjoy free WiFi in all public areas. The hotel boasts a striking terrace overlooking Bournemouth Bay and lies ten miles from Broadstone Golf Club.
Broadstone Gallery
BROADSTONE HISTORICAL TOP 100 RANKING UK&I
- 2023/24 - 96
- 2021/22 - 93
- 2019/20 - 94
- 2017/18 - 96
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Harry Colt design the course at Broadstone?
The course - initially called The Broadstone Links at The Dorset Golf Club - was originally laid out by Tom Dunn, the professional at nearby Meyrick Park in Bournemouth, who was the most prolific designer of his time. Colt's contribution came in 1914, when he was tasked with laying out new holes in the heathland from the present 5th tee to the 16th green, thus cutting out the parkland holes to make the course entirely heathland.
What is the most photographed hole at Broadstone?
Several photographers have taken many fine images of the course here, including Golf Monthly staff photographer, Kevin Murray. The mid-length par-3 6th is one of the prettiest holes, playing 166 yards uphill from the tips to a well-bunkered, steep-fronted green with a stand of pines behind. In the right light it is a real visual treat.
Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.
Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf
Jeremy is currently playing...
Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft
3 wood: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft
Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft
Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Putter: Kramski HPP 325
Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)
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