Golf Tips & Guides

This blog collects the guides that sit behind our course directory. Some explain how course types differ — links, parkland and heathland golf all play differently. Others are regional guides, covering courses within reach of cities such as Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh. For example, our links guide explains why sandy coastal turf rewards a low, running shot.

Beginners will find a plain-English guide to golf rules and how to get a UK handicap. More skilled golfers can read about championship courses or plan a golf break with friends. Visiting golfers are covered too, since several guides list courses that welcome non-members. Whatever your level, the aim is advice you can use before your next round.

We write every guide ourselves rather than copying generic content from elsewhere. Facts about each course come from club websites and official sources. However, opinions on the best courses draw on published rankings and golf writers we credit directly. That keeps the guides useful without claiming too much.

Regional guides go further than a simple list of names. A guide to golf near Manchester, for instance, groups courses by type and rough distance. Similarly, our coastal golf guide covers conditions that differ from inland courses, including wind and firmer turf. Reading a region's guide first can help you avoid a wasted trip to a busy course.

Reading a guide is never essential, yet it often makes a round more enjoyable. Understanding a links course's firm ground, for example, changes which clubs you'd choose near the green. Guides on etiquette and rules matter too, especially before visiting a new club. None of this replaces local knowledge, but it gives you a useful head start.

Every guide below links back to the relevant course listings. That way, you can move from reading straight into browsing. Start with a course type or region that matches your next trip. Or simply scroll through everything we've published so far.