Best golf courses: Surrey / Berks heathland

Golf Surrey / Berks heathland: Between 1890 and 1910, as golf rapidly developed throughout Britain, golfers in the nation’s capital eagerly sought land on which to indulge their newfound pastime. To the south and west of London, in the counties of Surrey and Berkshire, an expansive area of fast draining, gently undulating, open heathland proved ideal terrain for golf. Today the legacy of golf course development on “the heath” is found amongst the many top quality golf clubs in Surrey and Berkshire. To make the most of your golfing trip, and to help in your planning, you can look up the location of the best courses in Surrey / Berks on our customised maps.

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Guildford
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

James Braid, with later revisions by Harry Colt.

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Wkends restrictd
Guildford
Cotton, Pennink & Lawrie

Visitors?

Wkends restrictd

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

After several relocations, the club settled into its current site in the early-1970s, and a course designed by C.K. "Ken" Cotton, Frank Pennink and Charles Lawrie (1974).

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Guildford
Smith, Clive

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

Designed by original owner, Clive Smith.

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Guildford
Fowler, Herbert

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

Herbert Fowler

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Visitors welcome
Guildford
Alliss & Clark

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

Peter Alliss & Clive Clark

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Guildford
White & Nicholson

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

Original 18-hole course designed by the reigning Open Champion and Sunningdale GC professional Jack White (1904). Significant revisions made by Mr R.T. Nicholson (a director of the Club) (1923).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Wkends restrictd
Guildford
Braid, James

Visitors?

Wkends restrictd

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

Original design by James Braid (1904). Later revisions by Harry Colt (1913), Tom Simpson (1930) and Donald Steel (2001).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Weekdays only
Guildford
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Weekdays only

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

Harry Colt

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Guildford
Taylor, J.H.

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

Laid out as a six-hole course (1886), which was gradually expanded to 18 holes by 1901. Course subsequently redesigned by J.H. Taylor, assisted by Frederick G. "Fred" Hawtree (1925).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Not Saturdays
Guildford
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Not Saturdays

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

Original design by Harry Colt; restored by Tom Mackenzie of Mackenzie & Ebert (2018).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Guildford
Taylor, J.H.

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Guildford

Designer

J.H. Taylor

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
London
Alliss & Clark

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Peter Alliss & Clive Clark

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Mon thru' Thur
London
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Mon thru' Thur

Nearest city

London

Designer

Harry Colt, with later modifications made by Tom Simpson (1934) and later still by Ken Cotton.

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Weekdays only
London
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Weekdays only

Nearest city

London

Designer

Harry Colt

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
London
Jacobs, Player & Gallacher

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

London

Designer

Co-designed by John Jacobs, Gary Player & Bernard Gallacher.

Unrated: Well regarded course not yet visited by the Where2Golf team.
Visitors welcome
London
Abercromby, John

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Original layout (called Bleakdown GC) by Cuthbert Butchart (1906). Significant redesign by John Frederick "Aber" Abercromby (1922). Subsequent minor changes by Arthur Croome, James Braid and John Morrison. Recent renovation by Tom Mackenzie & Martin Ebert (2022).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
London
Park Jr, Willie

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Old Course designed by Willie Park Jr (1907).
New Course designed by Simon Gidman (2001).

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Visitors welcome
London
Fowler, Herbert

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Herbert Fowler

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
London
Gidman, Simon

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Old Course designed by Willie Park Jr (1907).
New Course designed by Simon Gidman (2001).

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
On application
London
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

On application

Nearest city

London

Designer

Harry Colt

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
London
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Harry Colt

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
London
Hawtree, Fred

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Fred Hawtree

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
London
Jones Jr, Robert Trent

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

London

Designer

Robert Trent Jones Jr, and his lead designer Kyle Phillips.

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
London
Park Jr & White

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Original layout designed by Willie Park Jr & Jack White. Further improvements made by Cuthbert Butchart, the Club's first professional.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
London
Hawtree, Fred

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Fred Hawtree

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
London
McLay-Kidd, David

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

London

Designer

David McLay-Kidd

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
London
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

London

Designer

Original design by Harry Colt, with later improvements by Ernie Els (2006).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
London
Fowler, Herbert

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

London

Designer

Herbert Fowler

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
London
Colt, Harry

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

London

Designer

Harry Colt

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Weekdays only
London
Fergusson, Samuel Mure

Visitors?

Weekdays only

Nearest city

London

Designer

Samuel Mure Fergusson (with later changes by Tom Simpson in 1929).

5-PLUS: In the world’s elite - has few peers; one of our top-rated 5s!
Mon thru' Thur
London
Park Jr, Willie

Visitors?

Mon thru' Thur

Nearest city

London

Designer

Original layout by Willie Park Jr (1900), with later modifications by Harry Colt.

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Weekdays only
London
Abercromby, John

Visitors?

Weekdays only

Nearest city

London

Designer

Original layout by John Frederick 'Aber' Abercromby, with greens and bunkers constructed by Willie Park Jr. Later revisions made by Harry Colt.

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Weekdays only
London
Dunn, Tom

Visitors?

Weekdays only

Nearest city

London

Designer

Tom Dunn

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Reading
Fergusson, Samuel Mure

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Reading

Designer

Samuel Mure Fergusson

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Reading
Hawtree, Martin

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Reading

Designer

Martin Hawtree

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Weekdays only
Reading
Paxton, Peter

Visitors?

Weekdays only

Nearest city

Reading

Designer

Peter Paxton

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Reading
Steel, Donald

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Reading

Designer

Donald Steel

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Reading
Tucker, Jonathan

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Reading

Designer

Current course designed by Jonathan Tucker.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Wkends restrictd
Reading
Park Jr, Willie

Visitors?

Wkends restrictd

Nearest city

Reading

Designer

Willie Park Jr.

Find a course

Or

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

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Whistling Straits (Wisconsin, US)

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)