UK And Ireland Golf Destination Guide

published 17 March 2020

You don’t have to travel far to find some of the world’s greatest courses. Golfbreaks can help you put together the trip of a lifetime

UK And Ireland Golf Destination Guide

While it’s undoubtedly exciting to travel to sunny Europe and beyond for golf, in the UK & Ireland we are blessed with many of the finest courses in the world.

Not only that, but we have pretty much the greatest quantity, quality and variety that you will find anywhere.

Time is precious and budgets are finite, so why not save on both of these by exploring the treasure chest of golf we are lucky to have on offer close to home?

In England alone there are plenty of golfing hotspots packed with top-quality courses, as well as many one-off gems dotted about all over the country.

The Bournemouth area, for example, is home to a handful of excellent and remarkably varied courses.

At the heart of these is a trio of superb heathland courses, all of them in the Golf Monthly Top 100.

Broadstone is a beautiful, gently undulating course on an expansive site with far-reaching views, Ferndown is a superb and very classy pine-clad championship test to the north of the town, and Parkstone is an extremely interesting and engaging James Braid design incongruously tucked away in suburbia just a mile from the coast.

All are an absolute pleasure, as indeed is the relative youngster that is Remedy Oak – which runs through glorious, mature woodland – and the exquisitely situated Isle of Purbeck with its wonderful, elevated views out over the sea and the Isle of Wight.

One of the most compelling reasons for a home-based golfing tour is the fact that we can fill the car with all that we need.

This means unlimited equipment and clothing, and no worry at all about excess charges or delayed flights.

Simply get in the car and go, and you can let Golfbreaks take care of all the organisation.

It will know which courses make for good and practical options on a trip, as well as which hotels are convenient and offer the range of facilities you and your companions are looking for.

If links golf is more your thing, the area around Southport in the north-west is chock-a-block with fabulous examples.

The region is now renowned as England’s Golf Coast, and there are so many premier league and second tier courses you would never run out of new places to play.

The most famous is also the highest-ranked course in the country, Royal Birkdale – the host of ten Open Championships dating back to 1954.

(Photo by David Cannon/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

There are two more Open venues, Royal Lytham & St Anne’s and Royal Liverpool, not to mention Formby, Hillside, Southport & Ainsdale and West Lancs.

The supporting cast is also exceptional and a good number, such as Fairhaven, Hesketh and Wallasey, would be the names in light elsewhere.

There are also terrific courses that fly under the radar such as Caldy and Ormskirk, which offer very good value for money.

Indeed, links golf is playable at any time of the year, and by going off-season there are superb bargains to be had.

There is such incredible variety on offer that knowing where to start can be a little bewildering. Co-ordinating an itinerary can also be a logistical nightmare.

Happily, Golfbreaks has established relationships both with the clubs and the many and varied accommodation options.

It can therefore work with you to put together the perfect, custom-made timetable.

Better still, it gets to hear about all manner of special offers and deals that even include free places depending on group size.

Simply tell its experienced and knowledgeable staff what you are after and you can be sure there is a package that suits.

This summer, The Open Championship returns to Royal St George’s in Kent, a county gaining an ever-growing reputation for the strength in depth of its golf.

Royal St George's Golf Club Pictures — Royal St George's

Its immediate neighbours in the Sandwich area include the 27 constantly improving holes and excellent accommodation at Prince’s, and the supreme test that is Royal Cinque Ports.

Littlestone is another fine links, while Walmer & Kingsdown offers bracing clifftop golf and the London Club and Chart Hills provide inland, modern golf that makes for a perfect alternative.

Related: Kent Golf Destination Guide

In all three of these golfing destinations, there are plenty of other courses in the area that offer great value and very appealing courses playable by golfers of all standards.

There are equally varied, first-rate and extremely appealing pockets of golf throughout Scotland, Wales and Ireland, though you will clearly need to take a ferry or use a hire car if crossing the Irish Channel.

All these destinations have an enormous amount of appeal both on and off the course, and by going with the experts you can be sure you will have the golf, the accommodation and all the back-up that best suits your needs and budget.

For information on trips to any of the great golfing destinations featured here, as well as many more, contact Golfbreaks, the golf travel experts.

Visit golfbreaks.com or call 0845 678 2400

For more travel guides and all the latest golf news, check the Golf Monthly website and follow our social media channels @golfmonthlymagazine on Facebook and @golfmonthly on Twitter and Instagram

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