Best Parkland Golf Courses in the UK

Parkland golf is the everyday golf of the UK. Links courses on the coast win most of the headlines. However, most club golfers play their weekly rounds on parkland courses. These are tree-lined, inland layouts on softer ground, with clear fairways and greens that hold a good shot.

This guide explains what parkland golf is and how it differs from links golf. It then picks out some of the best parkland and woodland courses in England, Scotland and Wales. For the full picture of course styles, see our guide to the different types of golf course in the UK.

What is parkland golf?

The word “parkland” describes an inland course built through grounds that look like a private park. Trees frame the holes, the turf is lush, and the ground is soft underfoot. As a result, the contrast with open, windswept links golf is stark.

Parkland courses tend to share a few traits:

• Tree-lined fairways that frame each hole and shape the tee shot
• Softer turf on clay or loam soils, so the ball runs less
• An aerial game, since soft greens hold high approach shots
• Shelter from the wind, because the trees break it up

The playing style is different too. On parkland, you fly the ball to the green rather than run it on. For example, a bump-and-run that works on firm links turf often stalls in parkland rough. Players who hit lots of greens in regulation tend to do well.

Parkland or heathland?

Many of the UK’s best inland courses are really heathland. Heathland sits on sandy, free-draining soil with heather, gorse, pine and birch. The ground is firmer, so the ball runs further, much as it does on a links. Our guide to heathland golf in the UK covers that style in depth.

True parkland, by contrast, sits on heavier soils with broadleaf trees and lusher grass. In everyday talk, though, golfers often lump both under “parkland”. This guide follows that habit while flagging the heathland courses as we go.

The best parkland golf courses in England

England’s finest inland golf clusters south-west of London, across Surrey and Berkshire. Our guide to golf courses in Surrey covers that belt club by club. Still, there are fine parkland courses right across the country, and you can browse every course we list in England.

Wentworth Club (Surrey)

Wentworth is one of the best-known inland golf clubs in England. Its West Course, a Harry Colt design from 1926, hosts the BMW PGA Championship each year. The club also hosted the 1953 Ryder Cup. Because Wentworth is a private members’ club, visitor access is limited, so check with the club before you plan a round.

Sunningdale Golf Club (Berkshire)

Sunningdale has two heathland courses through pine and birch. Willie Park Jr. designed the Old Course, which opened in 1901, while Harry Colt designed the New Course, which opened in 1923. The club has hosted the Walker Cup, the Women’s British Open and the Senior Open. Visitors can play, although tee times need booking with the club.

Walton Heath Golf Club (Surrey)

Walton Heath is true Surrey heathland, with heather in play on almost every hole. Herbert Fowler designed both courses, and the Old Course opened in 1904. It stepped in to host the 1981 Ryder Cup, and it staged the AIG Women’s Open in 2023. Heathland purists rank it near the top of English inland golf.

Woburn Golf Club (Buckinghamshire)

Woburn is woodland golf at its purest, with holes cut through tall pines on the Woburn Abbey estate. The Duke’s Course opened in 1976 and the Duchess followed in 1978. Woburn has hosted the Women’s British Open eleven times, most recently in 2019. Meanwhile, the Marquess Course, added in 2000, has staged the British Masters.

Moor Park Golf Club (Hertfordshire)

Moor Park uses an 18th-century mansion as its clubhouse, just north-west of London. Harry Colt laid out its two courses, the High and the West, through mature parkland trees. The High Course is the championship layout, and it hosted the Women’s British Open in 1985.

Alwoodley Golf Club (Yorkshire)

Alwoodley, in north Leeds, was the first course Alister MacKenzie ever designed. He later laid out Augusta National and Cypress Point. The club dates from 1907, and its heathland course is still one of the best inland tests in the north. For more northern inland golf, read our guide to golf courses in Yorkshire or look up golf courses near Leeds.

More parkland golf across England

The Midlands is real parkland country, with tree-lined clubs around every big town. For instance, our page on golf courses near Birmingham lists many of them. Further east, there are golf courses near Nottingham on both heathland and parkland.

In the south, Kent and Hampshire add plenty of choice. Our guide to golf courses in Kent covers the Weald’s parkland clubs. Similarly, our Hampshire golf guide covers the county’s heath and downland courses.

The best parkland golf courses in Scotland

Scotland is famous for links golf. Yet it also has superb inland courses, especially in Perthshire and around Loch Lomond. You can browse every course we list in Scotland.

Gleneagles (Perthshire)

Gleneagles is Scotland’s best-known inland golf resort. It has three courses: the King’s, the Queen’s and the PGA Centenary. James Braid designed the King’s and Queen’s, while Jack Nicklaus designed the PGA Centenary. That course hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup and the 2019 Solheim Cup.

Loch Lomond Golf Club (Argyll and Bute)

Loch Lomond is a private parkland course on the shore of the loch. Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish designed it, and it opened in 1993. It hosted the Scottish Open for ten seasons, from 2001 to 2010. Because it is private, visitor play is rare, so treat it as a course to watch rather than book.

The best parkland golf courses in Wales

Welsh parkland golf clusters in the south, around Newport and the Vale of Glamorgan. You can browse every course we list in Wales.

Celtic Manor Resort (Newport)

Celtic Manor built its Twenty Ten Course for the 2010 Ryder Cup. It was the first course built just for that event. The resort also staged the Wales Open for many years. Since it is a resort, visitors can book tee times, which makes it one of the easier big-event courses to play.

Southerndown Golf Club (Vale of Glamorgan)

Southerndown is downland golf rather than parkland, on high ground above the Ogmore valley. It opened in 1905, and it gives wide views over the coast. It is a good pick if you want a change from tree-lined holes.

Which areas suit a parkland golf trip?

If you are planning a trip, these areas have a strong spread of quality inland courses:

• Surrey and Berkshire for heathland classics such as Sunningdale and Walton Heath
• Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire for woodland and estate golf such as Woburn and Moor Park
• West Yorkshire for MacKenzie’s Alwoodley and its neighbours around Leeds
• Perthshire for Gleneagles and Highland parkland golf

If you want to play where the pros play, our guide to championship golf courses in the UK explains which big-event venues take visitors.

Parkland golf at a glance

Parkland golf is softer, greener and more sheltered than links golf. That makes it kinder to beginners and steady for club golfers week in, week out. Even so, the best parkland and heathland courses are as testing as any links. Pick a region, check each club’s visitor policy, and book ahead for the famous names.

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