Best golf courses: England - South West

England - South West: the table below provides brief details about the top golf courses in this country or region. Each golf club has been visited and/or researched by Where2Golf. Click on the course name below to discover more. The course ratings below range from 5 highest, to 2 lowest. They attempt to provide an indication of the golfing experience you might expect at the course (based on its design, condition and surroundings). Hover your cursor above the Rating Key for the rating definitions.
3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Plymouth
Taylor, J.H.

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Plymouth

Designer

J.H. Taylor

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Exeter
Abercromby, John

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Exeter

Designer

Original design by John Frederick 'Aber' Abercromby. Improvements made by Tom Mackenzie and Donald Steel based on the original layout (2003).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Barnstaple
Dunn, Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Barnstaple

Designer

Tom Dunn

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Bath / Bristol
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Bath / Bristol

Designer

Original design by Charles Gibson (1890); later modifications by Herbert Fowler (1890) and substantial changes by Harry Colt (1913).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Newquay
Hamilton Stutt, J.

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Newquay

Designer

J. Hamilton Stutt

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Plymouth
Pern, Jeremy

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Plymouth

Designer

Jeremy Pern

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Exeter
Tosswill, Robert

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Exeter

Designer

Original 1902 layout by Captain Robert Tosswill. Many others contributed to later improvements.

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Bath / Bristol
Stiff, Adrian

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Bath / Bristol

Designer

Adrian Stiff. Peter McEvoy designed the third nine (Badminton), which opened in 2002.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Newquay
Stutt, J. Hamilton

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Newquay

Designer

J. Hamilton Stutt

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Visitors welcome
Bath / Bristol
Huggett, Brian

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Bath / Bristol

Designer

Brian Huggett

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Newquay
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Newquay

Designer

James Braid

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Bath / Bristol
Stiff, Adrian

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Bath / Bristol

Designer

Locally-based golf course architect Adrian Stiff designed the Codrington course (2002) and subsequently the Stranahan course (2010).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Barnstaple
Morris, Old Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Barnstaple

Designer

Original design by Old Tom Morris (1864); modified to the current layout by Herbert Fowler (1908).

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Barnstaple
Fowler, Herbert

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Barnstaple

Designer

Herbert Fowler

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Barnstaple
Pennink, Frank

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Barnstaple

Designer

Frank Pennink

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Visitors welcome
Newquay
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Newquay

Designer

James Braid

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Plymouth
Hamilton Stutt, J.

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Plymouth

Designer

The original Old course designed by J. Hamilton Stutt was significantly revamped by Alan Leather in 2008. With nine new holes blended into nine from the Old course, the course was re-named as the Kernow course.

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Plymouth
Nicklaus, Jack

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Plymouth

Designer

Jack Nicklaus

Unrated: Well regarded course not yet visited by the Where2Golf team.
Visitors welcome
Exeter
MacKenzie, Dr Alister

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Exeter

Designer

Dr Alister MacKenzie

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Plymouth
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Plymouth

Designer

Harry Colt

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Newquay
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Newquay

Designer

Harry Colt

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Newquay
Tyack, Rev. F.F.

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Newquay

Designer

Rev. F.F. Tyack

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Visitors welcome
Bath / Bristol
Dunn, Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Bath / Bristol

Designer

Tom Dunn, with later significant modifications by Dr Alister MacKenzie (1922).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Exeter
Stutt, J. Hamilton

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Exeter

Designer

J. Hamilton Stutt

Unrated: Well regarded course not yet visited by the Where2Golf team.
Visitors welcome
Plymouth
Fowler, Herbert

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Plymouth

Designer

Herbert Fowler

Find a course

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Tournaments

124th US Open: the No.2 Course at Pinehurst once again plays host to this most illustrious championship (June 13-16). Wyndham Clark defends his title, having won at Los Angeles CC in 2023.

79th Women’s US Open: the second women’s major championship of the season gets underway at Lancaster CC in Pennsylvania. It’s the second time the championship has been held here.
(May 30-June 2).

Who's Who

Nelly Korda: won the Mizuho Americas Open (May 16-19) at Liberty National GC, continuing her extraordinary form in LPGA events. This was her sixth win in seven starts in 2024.

Xander Schauffele: recorded his first major championship win, and second record-equalling low score of 62 in a major. Only he, Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry have achieved this feat in a men’s major championship.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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