The Best Golf Resorts in Devon and Cornwall
England's far southwest does resort golf its own way: a Jack Nicklaus course carved into a Cornish valley, a Harry Colt links with lodges fifty yards from the first tee, a 1926 castle course on Dartmoor and a clifftop par 72 where hotel guests play free. The famous links of the region, Saunton, St Enodoc, Royal North Devon, are members clubs, but these seven places put the bed and the golf on the same estate. The season runs all year on the coast, with May to September the prime window. Here they are, ranked.
Photograph: St. Mellion Estate, via Google
How we chose
This list was researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk, and every designer, opening year and fee on it was checked against resort sources in June 2026. We held to a strict definition: a resort means the hotel, lodges or cottages and the golf sit under one roof or on one estate. That ruled out some of the best courses in the region. Saunton and Royal North Devon are members clubs with hotels nearby, and Thurlestone's course and hotel are separate operations, so honest as they are, they belong on our best golf courses in Devon and Cornwall list rather than here. What remains is still a remarkable spread: tour pedigree at St Mellion, true links golf at Trevose, and castle, clifftop and country house golf behind them.
We ranked on the quality of the marquee course first, then the depth of golf on property, then the stay itself. The southwest plays all year, with the coastal courses drying fast in winter and the high season running May to September. Fees quoted carry their season and year and are indicative rather than guaranteed, so always confirm directly before booking, and see our Devon and Cornwall green fees guide for the wider picture.
The best in Devon and Cornwall, ranked
St Mellion Estate, Saltash
The heavyweight of southwest resort golf. The Nicklaus Signature Course, opened in 1988 as the first course in Europe personally designed by Jack Nicklaus, plunges and climbs through the wooded edge of the Tamar Valley, and its tournament record is real: the Benson and Hedges International Open was played here from 1990 to 1995. It remains a serious, demanding round, all carries and sloping lies, and the gentler par 70 Kernow Course, redrawn by Alan Leather in 2010 from parts of the old course, gives the second day a softer landing. An 80 room hotel, self catering cottages, spa and PGA academy complete the estate. Standard 2026 visitor rates for the Nicklaus ran £50 to £110 Monday to Thursday and £55 to £120 Friday to Sunday from March through October, with the Kernow from £30, indicative only; always confirm directly before booking.
Access: public; resort guests get package rates. Check stay and play rates.
Trevose Golf and Country Club, Constantine Bay
The only true links on this list, and the best single course on it. Harry Colt laid out the Trevose Championship Course above Constantine Bay in 1925, and a century on it is still the complete Atlantic links: firm turf, sea views from almost every hole and a finish that turns into the wind. The 9 hole Headland Course and a par 3 Short Course handle the family, and the lodges, bungalows and apartments scattered around the property sleep around 130, which is why generations of British golfing families simply move in for a week. Published 2026 green fees on the Championship ran from £75 in winter to £130 to £140 per round from May through September, with discounts for resident guests, indicative only; always confirm directly before booking.
Access: public; residents book ahead for summer weeks. Check tee times.
Bovey Castle, Dartmoor
The grandest stay in the southwest. Bovey Castle is a five red star country house hotel inside Dartmoor National Park, and its 18 hole course, designed in 1926 by J. F. Abercromby, was built in the same golden age spirit as the great hotel courses at Gleneagles. It is a compact par 70 rather than a backbreaker, falling through the Bovey valley with the river and stone bridges in play and the castle on the skyline, and it rewards thinking far more than thrashing. The hotel, part of the Eden Hotel Collection, runs golf breaks for hotel guests and self catering lodge stays for groups. The resort publishes its visitor green fees seasonally rather than as a flat tariff, so confirm rates with the resort directly before booking.
Access: public; hotel and lodge guests get preferred rates. Check stay and play rates.
Carlyon Bay Hotel, St Austell
The best value trick in Cornish golf: stay at the Carlyon Bay Hotel and the golf is included. The hotel's championship course dates from 1926 and runs its opening ten holes straight along the clifftop above St Austell Bay, a par 72 of around 6,400 yards with sea views that rival anything in the county, before turning inland into parkland for the run home. A 9 hole approach course and a large practice ground round out the golf, and the hotel itself is a classic seaside resort with spa and pools, the kind of place where half the party never touches a club. Day visitor green fees are published seasonally and Country Card rates ran around £40 in the March to October season, indicative only; always confirm directly before booking.
Access: complimentary for hotel guests; visitors welcome. Check stay and play rates.
The Dartmouth Hotel, Golf and Spa
The big modern test of the South Hams. The Championship Course at what is now The Dartmouth Hotel, Golf and Spa opened in 1992 to a Jeremy Pern design, and it is the longest examination in this corner of England, a par 74 stretching to 7,156 yards across 225 acres of rolling Devon countryside with water in play on the signature holes. A shorter second course keeps mixed groups happy, and the hotel and spa sit directly above the golf, making this the most conventional stay and play package in Devon. It lacks the history of the names above it, but as a pure golf base for the south coast, with Dartmouth and Salcombe twenty minutes away, it earns its place. Green fees and packages are published seasonally; confirm with the resort directly before booking.
Access: public; stay and play packages through the hotel. Check stay and play rates.
Lanhydrock Hotel and Golf Club, Bodmin
Cornwall's quiet middle option, and perfectly placed for it. The course at Lanhydrock, laid out by J. Hamilton Stutt and opened in 1990, is a par 70 of 6,078 yards that tumbles through a wooded valley on the edge of Bodmin, tight, pretty and far hillier than the card suggests. The 45 room hotel arrived in 2006 under the same family ownership that built St Mellion into a tour venue, and the two make a natural double act on a Cornish golf week. Sitting just off the A30 in the center of the county, it is the most convenient base for raiding both coasts, with the north coast links half an hour away. Green fees and packages are published seasonally; confirm with the resort directly before booking.
Access: public; golf break packages through the hotel. Check stay and play rates.
Budock Vean Hotel, Helford Passage
The charmer of the list. Budock Vean's golf course was designed by five time Open champion James Braid in the 1920s, intended as 18 holes until part of the land was sold, and survives as a 9 hole, 18 tee parkland loop in the subtropical gardens above the Helford River, playing to a par of 68 over two circuits. The ninth green, set in a sunken flower bowl, is one of the prettiest short holes in Cornwall. This is not a championship test and does not pretend to be; it is a gentle country house hotel where the golf, the boats on the Helford and dinner all sit within a few hundred yards. Day visitor fees ran roughly £18 to £40 with reduced rates for hotel guests, indicative only; always confirm directly before booking.
Access: public pay and play; hotel guests play at reduced rates. Check stay and play rates.
Designers, opening years, host events and fees verified June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk from resort and ranking sources. Rates shown carry their season and year and are indicative only; always confirm directly with each resort before booking.
Plan a Devon and Cornwall golf trip
Tell us roughly when and who is traveling. One concierge sequences the two counties sensibly, books St Mellion and Trevose tee times alongside the great members links, pairs the right rooms, and prices the trip honestly. We reply within one working day, with no obligation.
Building the trip
The smart week mixes resort comfort with the members links the region is famous for. Base the first half at Trevose or Lanhydrock and raid the north coast, where St Enodoc's Church Course and Saunton's East Course are essential bookings, then swing southeast through Carlyon Bay to finish at St Mellion or Bovey Castle. The full route, fees and booking windows are in our guide to how to play golf in Devon and Cornwall, and the Devon and Cornwall destination page maps the whole region. For packaged options see Devon and Cornwall golf holidays, set the region against the national picture with the best golf courses in England, or follow the coast east with our 7 day England south coast itinerary. When you are ready, plan my trip puts the whole thing in one brief.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Courses, designers, fees and access verified June 2026. Last reviewed: June 2026. See how we rank.