10 Best Inland Courses In The UK

Sunningdale New course pictured.

BEST INLAND COURSES IN THE UK

It’s true that the best links courses in the UK dominate the upper echelons of the Golf Monthly Top 100 golf courses UK & Ireland rankings, but that’s not to say our inland courses don’t cut the mustard. Far from it, for we are also blessed with some of the finest heathland and parkland courses in the world too, with the former particularly well represented in the top 50.

Here are what we believe to be the 10 best inland courses in the UK according to our rankings, made up of nine of the best golf courses in England and one from Scotland…

1. Sunningdale New

The fifth on the New Course at Sunningdale is a gorgeous par 3 (Image credit: Getty Images)

• Location: Sunningdale, Berkshire
• Opened: 1923
• Designed by: Harry Colt
• Top 100 Ranking: 9th

Few would dispute that a day out at Sunningdale is one of the finest golfing experiences there is, full stop. But many would argue as to which is the better of its two magnificent heathland layouts. Some feel the New edges it for the many visual and strategic thrills it serves up from start to finish. Is there a finer duo of back-to-back holes anywhere than the gorgeous par-3 5^th (pictured above) and expansive par 5 that follows? It's considered the tougher of the two and features more open expanses of beautiful heathland.

- Full Sunningdale Golf Club New Course review

2. Sunningdale - Old

The two closing holes on the Old Course at Sunningdale (Image credit: Getty Images)

• Location: Sunningdale, Berkshire
• Opened: 1901
• Designed by: Willie Park Jr
• Top 100 Ranking: 10th

The Old will always be the choice of many at Sunningdale on account of the history, tradition and great championships that have been staged there over the years. It plays over a simply wondrous piece of golfing terrain, via heather, broom and a whole spectrum of elevation changes. The magnificent 10th is a fine example of this, sweeping down and up to the fabled halfway hut, where the sausage sandwich is guaranteed to bring a smile however well you’re playing. It's undoubtedly the pinnacle of inland golf in the UK, and perhaps even Europe, and is one of the best heathland golf courses in the world.

- Full Sunningdale Golf Club Old Course Review

3. Woodhall Spa - Hotchkin

Woodhall Spa has been expertly improved under the guidance of Tom Doak (Image credit: Getty Images)

• Location: Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire
• Opened: 1905
• Designed by: Harry Vardon
• Top 100 Ranking: 12th

Mention Woodhall Spa to any reasonably travelled golfer, and it’s likely the first thing they will say in response is, ‘What about those bunkers?’ What indeed, other than that no other inland course in the UK, bar perhaps Ganton, serves up a more challenging, and indeed, deep collection of bunkers both fairway and greenside. Suffice to say that any round over this beautiful and challenging heathland course, which has been significantly upgraded in recent years, becomes as much about positioning and strategy as it about ball-striking and length off the tee. Keep out of the sand!

- Full Woodhall Spa Golf Club Hotchkin Course review

4. St George's Hill - Red and Blue

The closing hole on the Red nine at St George's Hill (Image credit: Jason Livy)

• Location: Weybridge, Surrey
• Opened: 1911
• Designed by: Harry Colt
• Top 100 Ranking: 25th

This glorious heathland course boasts wonderful variety among its holes, and countless memorable moments like the par-3 8^th on the Red nine that plays across a valley, whose far bank is heavily bunkered – but considerably less so than once it was! The unusual red-brick clubhouse, one of the best in the country, stands proud over proceedings, looking out over the opening and closing holes of both Red and Blue nines. There is drama, variety and challenge aplenty at this beautiful heathland club, which is number one when it comes to the best golf courses in Surrey.

- Full St George's Hill Golf Club review

5. Hankley Common

The approach to the par-5 sixth at Hankley Common with the wonderful seventh up on the hill beyond (Image credit: Jason Livy)

• Location: Farnham, Surrey
• Opened: 1897
• Designed by: Harry Colt and James Braid
• Top 100 Ranking: 31st

Another Surrey heathland treat that just keeps getting better on account of all the work that has been carried out here over the past decade, both in clearing trees and scrub and in significant improvements to many holes. There’s a real sense of peaceful seclusion to any game here, and a whole host of holes that will linger in the memory, among them the superb par-3 7th that plays across a heather-clad gully to a well-bunkered green.

- Full Hankley Common Golf Club review

6. Ganton

Ganton is blessed with plenty of sand and gorse (Image credit: Getty Images)

• Location: Vale of Pickering, Yorkshire
• Opened: 1897
• Designed by: Tom Chisholm and Robert Bird
• Top 100 Ranking: 32nd

Ganton’s heathland course in the Vale of Pickering hosted the 1949 Ryder Cup when USA just edged out Team GB. It’s often referred to as an inland links, and while such a description may sit uneasily with some, it certainly exudes many of the playing characteristics of a links. The winds that often blow across the course place a great premium on accuracy, for the bunkers are almost up there with Woodhall Spa’s! There are many excellent holes, among them the 6^th, with shades of Gleneagles, and the pretty par-3 10^th, whose inherently fair green is heavily bunkered, yet slightly concave to gather balls in.

- Full Ganton Golf Club review

7. SWINLEY FOREST

• Location: Ascot, Berkshire
• Opened: 1909
• Designed by: Harry Colt
• Top 100 Ranking: 33rd

Looking back down the closing hole at Swinley Forest with the first green up to the left (Image credit: Getty Images)

This very private club is a hidden delight. Magnificent hole follows magnificent hole from start to finish through beautiful Berkshire heathland that’s ablaze with colour in the heart of the season courtesy of the flowering shrubs that adorn a number of fairways. It may not look long on the scorecard, but don't be fooled – the par 5s are few and far between, and a number of lengthy par 4s ensure a test well beyond the overall yardage. Several holes have recently been lengthened a little too. A day at Swinley is a very special day.

- Full Swinley Forest Golf Club review

8. Walton Heath - Old

The penultimate hole on the Old Course at Walton Heath (Image credit: Getty Images)

• Location: Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey
• Opened: 1904
• Designed by: Herbert Fowler
• Top 100 Ranking: 35th

Herbert Fowler’s Walton Heath masterpiece is famed the world over for the quality of its test. This classic course plays over an expansive tract of Surrey heathland, with the opening stretch providing a sterling test in any sort of breeze, not least the 200+ yard opener. There are chances to score over the closing holes with three par 5s from the 13th onwards, but staying out of the sometimes-thick heather is essential if you are to take full advantage.

- Full Walton Heath Golf Club - Old Course review

9. GLENEAGLES - KING'S

The par-4 ninth on the King's Course at Gleneagles (Image credit: Getty Images)

• Location: Auchterarder, Perthshire
• Founded: 1919
• Designed by: James Braid
• Top 100 Ranking: 36th

James Braid’s Perthshire masterpiece, one of the best golf courses in Scotland, may no longer have what it takes to host tour events like the Scottish Open, but it is just a breath-taking place to play golf amid some of most majestic scenery. The opener is memorable for the sharp incline up to the green, and raised greens are a common defence courtesy of Mr Braid, many of whose original features have recently been reinstated during an extensive improvement programme. Once a classic, always a classic.

- Full Gleneagles - King's Course review

10. The Berkshire - Red Course

The fourth hole on the endlessly varied Red Course at The Berkshire (Image credit: Kevin Murray)

• Location: Ascot, Berkshire
• Opened: 1928
• Designed by: Herbert Fowler
• Top 100 Ranking: 42nd

High in the Top 100 Golf Courses UK & Ireland, the Red Course is the senior of two wonderful Herbert Fowler designs at the club. Each is a heathland beauty with the holes separated by majestic pine on a quite lovely site. Together, in a strong area for golf, they are two of the very best golf courses in Berkshire. The Blue is almost certainly the tougher to score well on, while the Red tends to be the more talked about. The primary reason for this is that it has a brilliant and exciting configuration made up of six of each par.

- Full The Berkshire - Red Course review

What is the best inland golf course in the UK?

The best inland golf course in the UK is the New Course at Sunningdale. The stunning heathland club to the south west of London is also home to the Old Course, which many feel rivals the New for beauty if not, quite, for challenge. There are many exceptional inland courses in the UK, with a number of the best layouts located in close proximity in Surrey and Berkshire, although you'll find great inland golf all around the UK.

What is an inland golf course?

Inland golf courses are, as the name clearly conveys, golf courses that are located away from the coast. The game started on 'links' courses, which traditionally 'link' the land between the sea and arable farm land. Inland courses tend to be newer and play over a range of different terrains, from parklands to heathlands to woodlands and 'inland links' style courses. Links courses tend to be on fast-draining sandy soil whilst inland courses play over sand, clay, chalk and other soils. The best inland courses play over sandy soil, which helps create the best fast-draining playing surfaces all year round.