Your Top 20 Favourites (or Best) in ENGLAND

[Thomas Dai]

I may be biased being half Welsh but I would argue that the Welsh are comfortably the friendliest and most welcoming British people.

Oggi, oggi, oggi!
Hymns and arrias, ............
atb

[Ryan Coles]

I've visited Deal (from USA) for a week each in 2006, 2010 and 2013 and found the people I met to be quite friendly and welcoming. There is a certainly a difference in affect and personal style evident in the south of England which is different from that in the north (as well as different from Scotland) but my perception was not of being less welcome but rather not being quite as solicitous and effusive.

For my part I've not experienced courses like Walton Heath, Royal Cinque Ports, Formby or Ganton to be any less appreciative of me as a visitor than was Royal Dornoch, Brora or Pitlochry. I will say that on my recent trip to Wales the folks I encountered at Harlech and especially at Aberdovey were positively delighted to welcome overseas visitors. A group of members I encountered at Aberdpvey were the most interested of any British residents I've ever met to hear about my part of USA and to share their own recollections of visiting America themselves in the past.

I may be biased being half Welsh but I would argue that the Welsh are comfortably the friendliest and most welcoming British people.

Correct Ed.

I've been to Cardiff City FC a few times and the locals are so generous they literally toss the coins in your direction.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

I've visited Deal (from USA) for a week each in 2006, 2010 and 2013 and found the people I met to be quite friendly and welcoming. There is a certainly a difference in affect and personal style evident in the south of England which is different from that in the north (as well as different from Scotland) but my perception was not of being less welcome but rather not being quite as solicitous and effusive.

For my part I've not experienced courses like Walton Heath, Royal Cinque Ports, Formby or Ganton to be any less appreciative of me as a visitor than was Royal Dornoch, Brora or Pitlochry. I will say that on my recent trip to Wales the folks I encountered at Harlech and especially at Aberdovey were positively delighted to welcome overseas visitors. A group of members I encountered at Aberdpvey were the most interested of any British residents I've ever met to hear about my part of USA and to share their own recollections of visiting America themselves in the past.

I may be biased being half Welsh but I would argue that the Welsh are comfortably the friendliest and most welcoming British people.

Correct Ed.

I've been to Cardiff City FC a few times and the locals are so generous they literally toss the coins in your direction.

Classic comment Ryan...made my day

[Paul Gray]

I've visited Deal (from USA) for a week each in 2006, 2010 and 2013 and found the people I met to be quite friendly and welcoming. There is a certainly a difference in affect and personal style evident in the south of England which is different from that in the north (as well as different from Scotland) but my perception was not of being less welcome but rather not being quite as solicitous and effusive.

For my part I've not experienced courses like Walton Heath, Royal Cinque Ports, Formby or Ganton to be any less appreciative of me as a visitor than was Royal Dornoch, Brora or Pitlochry. I will say that on my recent trip to Wales the folks I encountered at Harlech and especially at Aberdovey were positively delighted to welcome overseas visitors. A group of members I encountered at Aberdpvey were the most interested of any British residents I've ever met to hear about my part of USA and to share their own recollections of visiting America themselves in the past.

I may be biased being half Welsh but I would argue that the Welsh are comfortably the friendliest and most welcoming British people.

Correct Ed.

I've been to Cardiff City FC a few times and the locals are so generous they literally toss the coins in your direction.

Classic comment Ryan...made my day

Love it.

But in all seriousness, there is a recognised distinction between folk from the north and those from the south. It never fails to surprise me when I travel north just how much friendlier people are.

[Jim Nelson]

Is it also possible that, by and large, the English courses have a different business model?  Perhaps the top courses never really needed any additional revenue and having Yanks cluttering up the club house and course was just too much hassle and aggravation, particularly those closer to London.  I will say that getting from Walton Heath back to central London in the late afternoon took a long, long time.

[Thomas Dai]

But in all seriousness, there is a recognised distinction between folk from the north and those from the south. It never fails to surprise me when I travel north just how much friendlier people are.

West and south and east too.

Indeed, very generally speaking, the further away you are from urbanisation the more friendliness increases.

One of the nice things about golf courses, even ones within an urban setting, a little piece of peace and quiet amongst the hurly-burly.

atb

[Mark Chaplin]

Royal Dornoch welcome Americans with open arms, last time I was there the bar was packed with American members. Spotting a real live local was great sport.

Interesting to hear about travel time to central London, how many gofers base themselves in Princes Street or on the Royal Mile, not many I suspect?

[Jim Nelson]

Royal Dornoch welcome Americans with open arms, last time I was there the bar was packed with American members. Spotting a real live local was great sport.

Interesting to hear about travel time to central London, how many gofers base themselves in Princes Street or on the Royal Mile, not many I suspect?

Only those whose wife is shopping in London, so yes, not many.

[Sean_A]

.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I've played about 100 courses in England. I think it is one of the great place to play. I got a list of favorites, not in any particular order.
Woodhall Spa
Sunningdale New
Sunningdale Old
St. Enodoc
Saunton East
Westward Ho!
Ganton
Rye
Royal St. George
Royal Birkdale
Alwoodley
Beau Desert
Cavendish
Prestbury
Reddish Vale
Walton Heath Old
Walton Heath New
Delamere Forest
Formby
The Berkshires (not much difference between the two)

[Bill_McBride]

Alwoodley 2*
-Beau Desert  1*
Cavendish  1*  
Cleeve Cloud  1*  
Church Stretton  r  
Cumberwell Park Orange  1*  
-Edgbaston  1*  
Formby Ladies  R
-Ganton  1*
Harborne R  
Hockley R
Huntercombe  1*  
Kington  1*
-Little Aston  1*
-Northamptonshire Co  1*
Oxford R  
Perranporth 1*  
Reddish Vale 1*  
St Enodoc  2*
Silloth on Solway  R
Sutton Coldfield Winter Course 1*
-Woking 1*  
Worlington 1*
Yelverton r  

Updated 11 June 2015: Ganton, Little Aston Northamptonshire & Hockley out; Formby Ladies, Huntercombe, Silloth & Sutton Coldfield Winter Course in.

Ciao

Where are Deal and Burnham & Berrow?  (i.e. Why not on your list?)

[Garland Bayley]

"The more americans that come, the higher the price."

My sincerest apologies Ed for hitting you in the pocket book.

I think the trophy course element is the big issue. How many US people want to go back home and tell their buddies "I played at Walton Heath and Hankley Common", or "St.Enodoc and Saunton" or even "Birkdale and Lytham" rather than "Turnberry and TOC" or "Ballybunion and Lahinch".

I went home and was proud to tell them I played Perranporth and Bude. All they wanted to know was why on earth I would choose England over Scotland.



"I may be biased being half Welsh but I would argue that the Welsh are comfortably the friendliest and most welcoming British people."

In my limited experience, I cannot argue with that a bit. Had a great time in Wales.

[Jon Wiggett]

Sean,

an interesting and eclectic list. I was not sure how anyone could put Formby Ladies ahead of Ganton but then as already pointed out if Ganton is in the company of the likes of Deal and Birkdale then it is in good company. Out of interest what does 'R' stand for?

Jon

[Sean_A]

Sean,

an interesting and eclectic list. I was not sure how anyone could put Formby Ladies ahead of Ganton but then as already pointed out if Ganton is in the company of the likes of Deal and Birkdale then it is in good company. Out of interest what does 'R' stand for?

Jon,

Jon

It depends on what you mean by "put ahead".  I won't argue that Formby Ladies is better than Ganton, but I would rather hand my (considerably less) money to FL than Ganton.  As stated before, my list is favourites, not best...and I prefer to see the favourites of others for two reasons.  1) Favourites gives me a better idea of a person. 2) A best list will always result in a much of a muchness listing, far less courses being mentioned and lessen the chances of me discovering some cool courses to play    Best is over-rated 

Ciao

[Jon Wiggett]

I guess when 'top' means favourite that makes sense especially with the often overlooked 'value for money' indexed in.

Jon

[Richard Fisher]

Taking Sean Arble's enticing 'favourites' challenge, then my English Top Twenty is currently

Brancaster
Westward Ho!
Alwoodley
Swinley Forest

(clear and fairly long-established personal favourite Top Four, two seaside, two inland)

Huntercombe (member/family bias)

St Enedoc
Burnham
Formby
Hoylake
Rye
Silloth

Aldeburgh
Broadstone
Liphook
New Zealand
Walton Heath (Old)
Woodbridge
Woking
R Worlington

This is not a list of 'the best', of course, and I can't quite decide where to put RStGeorge's, Deal, St George's Hill, Berkshire Red, Woodhall, Worplesdon, Hankley, Pulborough, Saunton (East and West), Hunstanton, S&A, Hayling, Seaton Carew, all of which I like and have greatly enjoyed playing over the years. Observant readers will note that my list only adds up to 19, so there is one vacancy, which could be filled by any of the above, or by Luffenham, Church Brampton (Northants County), Thetford (in its pre by-pass state), Pleasington or even (for purely nostalgic reasons) Kingsdown (Wilts), which can be a lovely and evocative place to hit golf shots even if unquestionably not a uniformly good golf course.

I do know that the final choice from my Top Four would depend on season, company, format etc etc: I am assuming that I am paying the green fees. We could not but fail to enjoy ourselves, whatever the choice.

[ward peyronnin]

Welcome aboard Richard. I believe we have met at severas Walker Cups and you call R St Davids home?

Will you be at Lytham this year?

Ward

[Richard Fisher]

Ward,

How kind of you to remember -  yes, that's me (the guy invariably in the bunkers in Ran's phototour of RStD). I think we first met at the Merion Walker Cup in 2009? Based in Cambridge (Gog Magog GC), but in golfing terms Harlech is very much my  home, with due nods also to Huntercombe and to Porthcawl. I have just booked my Walker Cup tickets for Lytham this September, and hope to see you and many other GCAers there.

Thanks

Richard

[Sean_A]

A sort of Gourmet Guide...definitely not top 20 best.

Kington  2*
Cavendish  1*
St Enodoc  2*
Alnmouth Village 1*
Cleeve Cloud  R
Pulborough  1*
Reigate Heath  1*
Goswick 1*
Sacred 9  1*
Perranporth  1*
Appleby  R
Reddish Vale  R
Oxford  R
Princes 1*
Leckford Old  R
Silloth on Solway  R
Dunstanburgh Castle  R
RAC Old Course  R
Woking 1*
Hunstanton  1*
Seahouses Back 9
Minch Old  R
Rye  1*

Updated 27.09.19

RECOMMENDATION GUIDE                  

3* Don’t Miss For Any Reason                 

2* Plan A Significant Trip Around This Course                 

1* Worth An Overnight Stay                 

R Worth A Significant Day Trip (no more driving than it takes to play and have drinks)                 
r  A Good Fall Back On/Trip Filler                 
NR Not Recommended                 

Ciao

[Jon Wiggett]

Alwoodley 1* (stripped of  star due to stupid rough)

Alas, I suspect that wonderful Alwoodley is falling into the image trap. It has been a wonderful and magical place to play golf place to play golf even though it was little known outside Yorkshire. Now its reputation has grown I wonder if the club is trying to keep up with the Jones instead of just maintaining that which was appealing in the same place?

USGA spec greens, sharp canted bunkers, perfectly defined fairways/semi-rough and now thick rough. Is Alwoodley in the process of selling its soul 

Jon

[Sean_A]

Jon

When I played Ganton and Alwoodley back to back in 2014 it was when the penny heavily dropped for rough.  Playing the two courses made it ever so clear to me the devastating effect rough can have on the enjoyment of the game regardless of architectural merit.  It was very sad to see Alwoodley with essentially the same issue as Ganton.  Perhaps its an aberration and the rough will be dealt with in this off-season.  But there can be no doubt that our very large group of well traveled golfers were perplexed by the rough. 

I have no truck with the USGA greens so long as the appoaches can be kept at roughly the same firmness.  Bunker looks, meh, I don't worry so much about that stuff unless things have gone badly astray.

Ciao

[Richard Fisher]

Dear Sean,

Sadly I don't have any pictures to hand of Woodbridge, but I do thoroughly recommend it on the basis of a handful of visits (both summer and winter) over the years: it's quite distinct in its own way from Aldeburgh, and to my mind a notch above  both Thorpeness and Purdis Heath (Ipswich) although I know that others disagree. Interestingly Woodbridge is named, along with Aldeburgh, as one of England's best inland courses in Bernard Darwin's essay on Famous Courses in the Lonsdale Library volume to which he contributed several chapters. I have never sampled the newer 'Forest' nine at Woodbridge, although I understand it is emphatically a proper course, and not just a secondary bolt-on. The summer twilight rate on the main course is, or certainly was, a very good deal.

[Jon Wiggett]

Sean,

back in the 80's Alwoodley used to mow their fairways about 12 to 15 times a year but now they are mowing multiple times a week. This extra growth has not improved the playing quality of the fairways as they were always great even in winter but has altered the cosmetic appearance. I suspect the thick rough is a consequence of this extras growth in the fairways. For me it is another case of aesthetics over substance though I find that Alwoodley has lost much of its aesthetical charm.

As to the greens. The vast majority of the greens were those built by Mackenzie and had provided very good playing surfaces for 80+ years. I wonder then, why then change proven greens  for a system that will need redoing in a fraction of this time?

Jon

[Niall C]

Jon

Alwoodley - USGA spec greens ? When did that happen ? When I visited ahead of the Silloth BUDA I got the impression that any work being done was mainly to the bunkering to bring it back to the way MacKenzie designed it. FWIW, I didn't have an issue with the rough. Perhaps they had chopped it down compared to Seans visit or perhaps it was the time of year, or perhaps just maybe I'm not as wild as Sean  .

Niall

[Sean_A]

Jon

I never saw Alwoodley prior to the green conversion so I don't really know what the story is, however, the greens are in good order. 

Niall

Ahhh...it isn't just me that is the wild driver, we had a ton of players from very good to very bad on hand and nearly to a man the reaction to the rough was  (it was bad enough that many people preferred Moortown).   Its nearly the same situation as Ganton.  The course is actually in good nick with rolling fairways and fairly firm turf.  Why the club would choose not to support that type of condition (which means more space is necessary) with thinned out rough is beyond me.  It is clear the heather areas have been invaded by other grasses causing lost ball situations. 

Richard

I haven't heard much praise for Suffolk golf, but the area is charming (or at least it was 20+ years ago!).  I will get back that way some day.

Ciao