The Best Parkland Courses in the United Kingdom
Britain is famous for its links, but its inland golf runs just as deep, through avenues of oak and pine on courses that have staged Ryder Cups and flagship tour events. Our ranked eight parkland courses, with the verdict on each, the designers and the championship pedigree.
How we chose
Parkland golf is the inland game played through mature trees, soft turf and the manicured estates of the home counties and beyond, a world apart from the windswept links of the coast. It is the setting most British golfers know best, and at the top end it is where the modern professional game comes to town: Wentworth, The Belfry and Celtic Manor have all carried the weight of a Ryder Cup or a flagship tour event. We have weighed the quality of the architecture first, then the pedigree and tournament history, the conditioning and the sheer enjoyment of the walk, and finally how realistic it is for a visiting golfer to arrange a game.
The result is a top eight that spans all four home nations, led by the Harry Colt classic at Wentworth and the lochside drama of Loch Lomond, and completed by the great resort and championship courses a visitor can build a trip around. Several are attached to hotels and welcome paying guests, two are private and need a member introduction, and all reward the player who can shape a ball through the trees and hold a fast, well guarded green.
The ranking
Wentworth Club, West Course
The grande dame of English inland golf, Harry Colt's 1926 design through the pines and rhododendrons of the Wentworth estate, and the long time home of the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour. Remodelled more than once in recent years to toughen the greens and bunkering, it remains a stern, stately test that finishes with a reachable par 5 made for theatre. Visitor access is limited and prized.
Indicative 2026 private club, limited visitor access. Always confirm directly before booking.Loch Lomond Golf Club
The most beautiful parkland in Britain, a Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish design from 1993 laid along the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond beneath Ben Lomond. For years it hosted the Scottish Open the week before the Open Championship, and its mix of woodland, water and mountain backdrop is unmatched in the inland game. An intensely private club where a round depends on an introduction from a member.
Indicative 2026 private members club, member introduction required. Always confirm directly before booking.Woburn, Marquess Course
The youngest and most acclaimed of Woburn's three courses, the Marquess opened in 2000 to a Peter Alliss and Clive Clark design that threaded fairways through ancient oak and silver birch without felling the best of the woodland. A British Masters host with firm, fast turf and a wonderful sense of seclusion, it sits on a sandy ridge that drains beautifully and plays well year round. Open to green fee visitors by arrangement.
Indicative 2026 green fee, peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.The Belfry, Brabazon Course
The most storied match play stage in Britain, a Dave Thomas and Peter Alliss design from 1977 that has hosted the Ryder Cup four times, more than any other venue. The water guarded tenth and the lake fronted eighteenth are among the most famous finishing holes in Europe, the scene of Sam Torrance and Christy O'Connor Jr in their pomp. A resort course built for the big occasion, open to hotel guests and visitors.
Indicative 2026 green fee, peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Celtic Manor, Twenty Ten Course
The first course ever built specifically to host a Ryder Cup, a Ross McMurray design for European Golf Design that opened in 2007 and staged Europe's famous 2010 win in the Welsh rain. Cut into the Usk valley with a run of lake lined holes along the floor, it is a big, modern amphitheatre of a course made for galleries and drama. A resort layout that welcomes visiting golfers throughout the season.
Indicative 2026 green fee, peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.The Grove
London's country estate, a Kyle Phillips design from 2003 set in the parkland of a Georgian mansion just outside the M25, and a course that punched above its youth by hosting the 2006 WGC American Express, won by Tiger Woods, and the British Masters. Generous, beautifully conditioned and framed by specimen trees and the River Gade, it is a polished, five star day out within easy reach of the capital. Fully open to visitors and hotel guests.
Indicative 2026 green fee, peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Stoke Park
A genuine golden age treasure, Harry Colt's 1924 parkland in the grounds of a Palladian mansion west of London, and the backdrop to the famous Bond against Goldfinger match on screen. The short seventh is said to have inspired the twelfth at Augusta, and the elegant routing through cedar and parkland remains a Colt masterclass. Now a private club, so access follows a member's introduction.
Indicative 2026 private club, member introduction required. Always confirm directly before booking.Hanbury Manor
A Jacobean style country house hotel wrapped around a Jack Nicklaus II design from 1990 that hosted the English Open on the European Tour through the 1990s. The back nine climbs into rolling parkland with strong, strategic holes, while the front plays through the old walled estate, and the whole makes an easy luxury break north of London. Open to resort guests and visiting golfers.
Indicative 2026 green fee, peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Designers, opening years and championship history verified June 2026. Loch Lomond and Stoke Park are private and require a member introduction. Rankings reflect our editorial view. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows.
How to play them
The smart way to string these together is to base in two clusters. The home counties hold Wentworth, The Grove, Stoke Park, Hanbury Manor and Woburn within an hour or so of each other and of London, which makes for an easy three or four night trip that mixes marquee parkland with the city in the evenings. The Belfry sits alone in the Midlands and pairs naturally with a night near Birmingham, while Celtic Manor anchors a Welsh leg and Loch Lomond a Scottish one for those building a longer tour. Book the resort courses well ahead in the season, and treat any chance at Loch Lomond or Stoke Park as the bonus it is.
Inland golf in Britain is at its best from late spring to early autumn, when the sandy based courses run firm and the trees are in full leaf, though the better drained estates like Woburn hold up through the shoulder months too. Tell us which courses matter most and roughly when you want to travel, and we will build the route and chase the tee times around them.
Plan your UK parkland golf trip
Tell us the courses you want and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
UK parkland golf questions
What is the best parkland golf course in the UK?
Wentworth's West Course, Harry Colt's 1926 design in Surrey and the home of the BMW PGA Championship, is the most celebrated parkland course in England, while Loch Lomond in Scotland is widely considered the most beautiful inland course in Britain. Visitor access to both is limited, so the great resort courses at Woburn, The Belfry, Celtic Manor and The Grove are the easiest top tier parkland golf to actually book.
What is the difference between parkland and links golf?
Parkland golf is played inland through mature trees and soft, lush turf on courses that are often watered and tree lined, as at Wentworth or The Belfry. Links golf is played on sandy coastal ground among dunes, with firm fast turf, few trees and the wind as the main defence. Heathland is a third British type, inland but on sandy, sparse ground, which is why courses like Sunningdale sit apart from the classic parklands.
Which UK parkland courses have hosted the Ryder Cup?
The Belfry's Brabazon Course has hosted the Ryder Cup four times, in 1985, 1989, 1993 and 2002, more than any other venue, and Celtic Manor's Twenty Ten Course in Wales hosted the 2010 match, the first course ever purpose built for the event. Both are resort courses open to visiting golfers, so always confirm tee times and fees directly before booking.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Tee windows at the great parkland clubs, the championship calendar to plan around and the best of British inland golf. Every other week.
Hero photograph of Wentworth Club via Google Places, contributor Mark Ren.