The Best Golf Courses in Devon and Cornwall
England's far South West is the country's most underrated golf coast: a world top hundred dunescape at St Enodoc, the oldest course in England still on its original land at Westward Ho!, two championship links in the Saunton dunes and a string of clifftop courses that drop almost to the beach. Here are the ten that matter, ranked.
Photograph: St Enodoc, Cornwall, via Google
How we ranked them
We rank on the quality of the golf first: the land, the architecture, the greens and the walk. Then we weigh history, condition, visitor welcome and value, because a ranking for traveling golfers should reflect the whole day, not just the card. Every fee below is the club's own published 2026 visitor rate, verified in June 2026, and every designer and date has been checked against the club's history.
Geography matters here. The north Devon pair at Saunton and Westward Ho! sit thirty minutes apart, the north Cornwall cluster around Padstow holds St Enodoc, Trevose and Perranporth, and the south coast adds clifftop golf at East Devon, Thurlestone and Mullion with the Nicklaus designed St Mellion inland in the Tamar Valley. A full loop is five or six nights of wonderfully varied seaside golf at fees the famous links coasts cannot touch.
The 10 best golf courses in Devon and Cornwall
St Enodoc, Church Course
The region's one world ranked course and among the most charming links anywhere. Braid's routing tumbles through huge dunes above the Camel Estuary, over the vast Himalayas bunker at the sixth, cut into a sandhill some eighty feet high, and past the half buried thirteenth century church beside the tenth green where the poet John Betjeman lies. Quirky, beautiful and unforgettable, it is worth planning the whole trip around. Peak 2026 fee 175 pounds, with a handicap limit around 21.
Saunton, East Course
The purest championship test in the South West, laid by Herbert Fowler through the enormous dune country of Braunton Burrows. The East is a regular England Golf championship venue and a fixture of national top hundred lists, all firm fairways, cunning angles and greens that reward proper links flight. Many good judges think it the best course in England never to have hosted an Open. Summer 2026 fee 150 pounds, with discounted second rounds.
Royal North Devon (Westward Ho!)
The oldest golf course in England still playing over its original ground, laid out by Old Tom Morris on the common land of Northam Burrows in 1864, with the Royal title following in 1867. Sheep and horses still graze the fairways, the great sea rushes guard the inland holes, and the clubhouse museum is a history lesson in itself. As a living document of how golf began in England it has no rival. Summer 2026 fee 120 pounds Sunday to Friday, 140 on Saturdays.
Trevose, Championship
Harry Colt's great holiday links curves in two loops around Constantine Bay with the Atlantic in view from the opening tee. The golf is generous enough for the family week and sharp enough for the serious player, and the resort, with its second course, short course and accommodation, is the best stay and play base on the north Cornwall coast. Peak 2026 fees run about 130 to 140 pounds a round.
Saunton, West Course
The East's sibling shares the same monumental dunes and gives Saunton a claim to the strongest 36 holes in the South West. Frank Pennink's redesign, opened in 1973, is shorter and a touch friendlier than the East but every bit a true links, and the two together make Saunton a full day no traveling golfer should split. Same 2026 rate card as the East, 150 pounds in summer.
Perranporth
A cult favourite and the wildest ride in Cornish golf, Braid's 1927 routing pitches over giant dunes above Perran Beach with blind shots, heaving fairways and some of the boldest green sites in Britain. It rewards imagination over yardage and sends every golfer down the hill grinning. Summer 2026 fees top out around 95 pounds midweek and 100 at weekends, exceptional value at this quality.
East Devon
Clifftop heathland rather than links, with heather and gorse running to the edge of the red Jurassic Coast cliffs and views the club says Peter Alliss called the best in golf from the sixteenth tee. Colt's hand from the 1920s shows in the green sites, and England Golf has trusted it with national championships. A 2026 round is 110 pounds, with late afternoon times at 65.
St Mellion, Nicklaus Course
The first course in Europe personally designed by Jack Nicklaus and still the region's premier inland examination, a dramatically contoured target golf test that hosts the Challenge Tour's British Challenge. The resort holes from ten to twelve are the ones golfers argue about in the bar. Dynamic 2026 pricing runs from about 50 to 120 pounds depending on day and demand.
West Cornwall (Lelant)
Cornwall's oldest course and the home links of Jim Barnes, the Lelant boy who won the first PGA Championship in 1916, the US Open in 1921 and the Open in 1925. Short by the card and endlessly interesting on the ground, it rolls through proper dunes beside St Uny church above the Hayle Estuary. At 65 to 75 pounds in 2026 it is the best golf per pound in the county.
Mullion
The most southerly course in mainland Britain, perched on the Lizard cliffs with holes that dive nearly to the beach and a membership roll that once included Conan Doyle and A.A. Milne. It is holiday golf of the highest charm rather than a championship test, and precisely the right way to finish a South West loop. A 2026 round runs about 50 to 75 pounds.
Near misses: Bude and North Cornwall, a true town centre links from 1891 where Harry Vardon set a course record; Thurlestone's Colt remodelled clifftops above Bigbury Bay; and Carlyon Bay's cliff edge resort golf at 65 pounds peak. Rankings are the editorial verdict of the GolfForKings desk; facts and fees verified June 2026.
Where they are, and indicative costs
Fly into Newquay, fifteen minutes from Trevose, or Exeter for the south coast and Saunton side, or drive four to five hours from London. The two north coast clusters are about ninety minutes apart on the Atlantic Highway with Bude roughly midway.
| Course | Cluster | Indicative 2026 peak fee |
|---|---|---|
| St Enodoc, Church | North Cornwall, Rock | £175 (premium times £225) |
| Saunton, East and West | North Devon, Braunton | £150 (second round £135) |
| Royal North Devon | North Devon, Westward Ho! | £120 to £140 |
| Trevose, Championship | North Cornwall, Padstow | £130 to £140 |
| East Devon and Thurlestone | South Devon coast | £100 to £110 |
| Perranporth, West Cornwall, Mullion | West and north Cornwall | £50 to £100 |
Indicative summer 2026 visitor green fees from the clubs' published rates, verified June 2026; April and October shoulder rates run 20 to 30 percent lower and winter lower still. Always confirm directly before booking.
Booking individual rounds? Compare live tee times through our partner: [TEE_TIME_AFFILIATE_LINK]. Hotels near the courses: [HOTEL_AFFILIATE_LINK].
Plan your South West England golf trip
St Enodoc and Saunton times, the right Padstow or Braunton base and a route that beats the holiday traffic. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge builds the trip and costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Devon and Cornwall golf questions
What is the best golf course in Devon and Cornwall?
St Enodoc's Church Course at Rock is the region's standard bearer, a James Braid dunescape above the Camel Estuary ranked among the world's top hundred, with the vast Himalayas bunker at the sixth and the half buried church beside the tenth green. Saunton East and Royal North Devon, the oldest course in England, complete the podium.
How much are green fees in Devon and Cornwall in 2026?
Peak 2026 visitor rates run from about 50 to 75 pounds at Mullion, West Cornwall and Carlyon Bay, through 95 to 140 pounds at Perranporth, Royal North Devon, Trevose, East Devon and Thurlestone, up to 150 pounds at Saunton and 175 at St Enodoc, with premium times higher. St Mellion prices dynamically from about 50 to 120 pounds. Always confirm directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in the South West?
May, June and September give the best mix of firm links turf, long daylight and availability. April and October offer real savings at the same courses. July and August bring peak holiday traffic on Cornwall's roads, and the links stay playable all winter on natural drainage at sharply lower fees.
How do you plan a Devon and Cornwall golf trip?
Think in two clusters. The north Devon pair, Saunton and Royal North Devon, sit thirty minutes apart near Barnstaple. The north Cornwall run, St Enodoc, Trevose and Perranporth, clusters around Padstow about ninety minutes further down the Atlantic Highway, with Bude roughly midway. Fly into Newquay or Exeter, or drive four to five hours from London, and give the full loop five or six nights.
Related
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.