Play Hanbury Manor, where Jack Nicklaus II laid out a back nine that held the English Open until 1999, then sleep above the course. Sussex weald at Dale Hill, Hampshire heath at Old Thorns and Bramshaw on the edge of the New Forest, all within an easy drive of home.
★★★★★4.9 from real golfers
· 35 courses · from £175pp (≈ €195) (≈ $225) (≈ CA$325) (≈ AU$325) (≈ NZ$395) (≈ CHF 185) (≈ kr 2,235) (≈ kr 2,255) (≈ kr 1,525) · ATOL-protected where flights are added
Golf holidays in Southern England start from £175 (≈ €195) (≈ $225) (≈ CA$325) (≈ AU$325) (≈ NZ$395) (≈ CHF 185) (≈ kr 2,235) (≈ kr 2,255) (≈ kr 1,525) per person, across 35 courses we can book, 13 hotels and resorts we sell. Sold ground-only, hand-priced around your dates, and arranged by us since 1981.
A hand-priced quote, no obligation, and no call centre.
You can play a James Braid heathland course one morning and a links laid out by W. Herbert Fowler the next, all within a couple of hours of the M25. Southern England packs a lot of golf into a small area, from the Cotswolds across to the Devon coast and down to the Sussex shore.
Golf Planet Holidays has been arranging tailored golf trips since 1981. We plan the hotel, the tee times, the transfers and every round for you, so the only decision left is which course to play first.
Why play golf in Southern England
The character here changes with the ground beneath you. On the Sussex coast, Cooden Beach Golf Club is a genuine seaside test designed by W. Herbert Fowler, the man behind some of England's better-known links, and it plays firm and honest when the wind comes off the sea. Inland, Pyecombe Golf Club near Brighton carries the name of James Braid, a five-time Open champion whose courses tend to reward thinking over brute force.
Add a Cotswolds round at Broadway Golf Club, laid out by Dr Alistair McKenzie, and you have three very different styles of golf without a long drive between them. That variety is the real draw of the region.
The courses you’ll play
The choice covers links, downland and parkland. The standout for many visitors is Prince's Golf Club in Kent, a 27-hole links with an original layout by Charles Hutchings and Percy Lucas, a post-war redesign by Sir Guy Campbell and John Morrison, and a modern restoration by Mackenzie and Ebert. Down in Devon, Saunton Golf Club gives you 36 holes of championship links.
Broadway Golf Club, Cotswolds, 18 holes by Dr Alistair McKenzie
Pyecombe Golf Club, Brighton, 18 holes by James Braid
Cooden Beach Golf Club, Bexhill-on-Sea, 18 holes by W. Herbert Fowler
The Kendleshire Golf Club, Bristol, 27 holes by Adrian Stiff
The Players Golf Club, Chipping Sodbury, 36 holes by Adrian Stiff
Foxhills, Bernard Hunt Golf Course, Surrey, 18 holes (par 73) by Fred Hawtree
Dyke Golf Club, Brighton, 18 holes, par 72
Piltdown Golf Club, Uckfield, 18 holes
Saunton Golf Club, Devon, 36 holes
Prince's Golf Club, Kent, 27 holes, par 72
Where you’ll stay
The hotels span golf resorts, town-centre bases and characterful stays, so the right one depends on how close you want to be to the first tee.
For golf on the doorstep, Old Thorns Hotel & Resort in Hampshire and Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Hertfordshire are resort properties with their own courses, while The Cooden Beach Hotel sits right by the Sussex links and works well for a longer four-night break (from £450 (≈ €525) (≈ $595) (≈ CA$845) (≈ AU$855) (≈ NZ$1,035) (≈ CHF 485) (≈ kr 5,745) (≈ kr 5,815) (≈ kr 3,925) pp). Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club in East Sussex is a straightforward two-night option (from £175 (≈ €195) (≈ $225) (≈ CA$325) (≈ AU$325) (≈ NZ$395) (≈ CHF 185) (≈ kr 2,235) (≈ kr 2,255) (≈ kr 1,525) pp).
Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club, East Sussex, from £175 (≈ €195) (≈ $225) (≈ CA$325) (≈ AU$325) (≈ NZ$395) (≈ CHF 185) (≈ kr 2,235) (≈ kr 2,255) (≈ kr 1,525) pp (2 nights)
The Royal & Fortescue Hotel, Barnstaple, from £295 (≈ €345) (≈ $385) (≈ CA$545) (≈ AU$555) (≈ NZ$675) (≈ CHF 315) (≈ kr 3,765) (≈ kr 3,815) (≈ kr 2,575) pp, a comfortable base for North Devon golf
Hotel du Vin & Bistro, Bristol, from £335 (≈ €385) (≈ $445) (≈ CA$625) (≈ AU$635) (≈ NZ$765) (≈ CHF 365) (≈ kr 4,275) (≈ kr 4,325) (≈ kr 2,925) pp, for those who want a city base near the Bristol courses
Late spring through early autumn, roughly May to September, gives you the best of the conditions and the longest evenings for a second nine. The coastal links at Cooden Beach, Saunton and Prince's hold up well into October when many inland courses are starting to soften.
This is English golf, so rain is always possible whatever the month, and the wind on the Sussex and Kent coast can change a round completely. Pack layers and waterproofs even in summer and you will not be caught out.
A sense of Southern England
History & heritage
Chichester is the cathedral city worth breaking a run for. The cathedral carries a Chagall window and a Sutherland altarpiece, both commissioned by one determined dean, and the Hussey collection he left behind sits a few minutes away at Pallant House. Wells is smaller and odder, and the scissor arches repay the drive west. Sussex holds the thickest of it, though: Charleston and Monk's House at Rodmell for the Bloomsbury set, Bateman's at Burwash for Kipling, Cotchford Farm at Hartfield for the Hundred Acre Wood. Underneath all of it is the geology that decides how the golf plays. Sandy heath and greensand through the Weald, chalk downland from Brighton east to Beachy Head. Both drain fast. At Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club the forest byelaws forbid digging into common land, which is why there is not one bunker on the Old Course.
Food & wine
English sparkling wine has stopped being a curiosity, and the best Sussex estates sit close to the Sussex courses. Ridgeview at Ditchling Common, Rathfinny above Alfriston in the Cuckmere valley, Nyetimber over at West Chiltington. Sussex has its own protected designation now, which tells you how seriously the growers take themselves. Book lunch at Rathfinny and you get the wine and the valley in one sitting. In Lewes, Harveys still brews Sussex Best on the bank of the Ouse. Kent means Whitstable oysters and cobnuts. Dorset gives you Portland crab and Blue Vinny. West of Bath, Somerset has the unpasteurised cheddars, Montgomery's and Westcombe, and Wilkins's farmhouse cider at Mudgley. That last one is not gentle. In north Devon and Cornwall the seafood does the talking, and Padstow has more of it than anywhere else in the west country.
Beyond the fairways
Non-playing afternoons are easy to fill. Based around Fletching or Uckfield you have Sheffield Park garden and the Bluebell Railway on the doorstep, with Glyndebourne close enough to make a proper evening of it in season. From Eastbourne, walk west over the Seven Sisters from Birling Gap and turn back when the wind decides for you. Dorset gives you Corfe Castle, Studland and the Purbeck cliffs. In north Devon the Tarka Trail runs flat and traffic free out of Barnstaple, Braunton Burrows is the largest dune system in England, and the Oldenburg sails to Lundy from Bideford. In Cornwall the Camel Trail covers five and a half easy miles from Wadebridge into Padstow. Cheltenham has the racing in March and the literature festival in October. Bath has the thermal spa, Bristol the SS Great Britain. The non-golfers will not be bored.
Getting around & exploring
North to south is easy here. East to west is the problem. There is no continuous motorway along the south coast, so Sussex to Dorset means the M25 or a slow run on the A27 and A31, and the A27 through Arundel is still the only single carriageway stretch between Worthing and the New Forest. You will sit in it. Kent is the M2, then the A256 for Sandwich and Deal. North of London it is simpler: the A10 from M25 junction 25 for the Hertfordshire golf, the M1 for Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes. North Devon is the M5 to junction 27, then the A361 link road, wide but single carriageway for most of its length. Braunton is ten minutes from Barnstaple, Westward Ho! about fifteen. For Isle of Purbeck Golf Club, take the Sandbanks chain ferry, four minutes across and no long loop through Wareham.
Good to know before you book
Getting there
For most UK golfers this is a self-drive trip. The Cotswolds, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent venues are all reachable by car within a few hours of London and the Midlands, and Devon is a longer but straightforward run down the M5.
If you are travelling from further afield or prefer not to drive, we arrange private transfers to and between venues, and we can book flights as an ATOL-protected add-on where they suit your plans. Just tell us where you are starting from and we will sort the rest.
Good to know
The venues here are spread across several counties rather than clustered in one resort, so a multi-course trip will involve some driving between rounds. That is the honest trade-off for the variety on offer. It is worth deciding early whether you want a single base with day trips out, or a moving itinerary that follows the golf, because it changes which hotel makes most sense. Tee times at the better-known links such as Prince's and Saunton can book up well ahead in peak season, so the earlier you talk to us the more flexibility we have.
★ 4.9 from real golfers · ATOL & PTS protected · Arranging golf since 1981
What golfers say about Southern England
4.997 reviews
We loved the Griffin Inn, service and food was great. We played Crowborough Beacon for the first time, it was a great and challenging course. Due to heavy rain we did not play Westerham GC to following day, …
Bell Hotel at Sandwich as good a venue as ever. Central to our golfing and eating needs, with very good attentive service. Golf courses difficult, especially in such windy conditions. …
Frequently asked questions
Golf holidays in Southern England. The questions our golfers ask most.
Where should I play in the United Kingdom?
From challenging links to impressive parkland courses, the UK has it all. Tell us your dream golf holiday scenario.
It is easy to get around the United Kingdom?
Yes, getting around the UK for golf is very straightforward. Self-driving is the most popular choice — the motorway network connects major cities and virtually all golf courses have excellent road access. For Scotland, flights from London to Edinburgh or Glasgow take around 90 minutes, or take the scenic East Coast Main Line overnight. In England, most golf regions — Surrey heathland, Kent links, Yorkshire moorland — are within 2-3 hours of London. We include all transfers in our UK packages and can advise on the best travel approach for your group.
Is the United Kingdom good for groups?
Yes. There are plenty of great options if you are going away with your golfing friends.
What about if I am looking for somewhere special in the United Kingdom?
We offer superb hotels all around the United Kingdom, ideal if you wish to combine high levels of comfort with great golf courses.
Are flights included?
Our golf holidays are arranged ground-only — hotel, golf and transfers. You can add flights through us, and those flights are ATOL protected as part of your booking.
How do golf holidays with Golf Planet Holidays work?
Every trip is hand-built. Tell us your group, dates and the destinations you fancy, and we build a personal itinerary — hotel, golf and transfers — around them. There are no fixed packages to squeeze into; we shape the whole break to suit how your group likes to play.
Still have a question? Ask our golf travel team A free quote, no obligation, and no call centre.
