Dir16 England

England

A feature from the IAGTO Directory 2016

England

England Glorious golf in England’s green & pleasant land...

The world, it seems, is finally waking up to the glorious golf available in England’s green and pleasant land – thanks to Golf Tourism England, which was established last year to promote the quality and variety of the country’s golf courses to golfers around the world.

Despite the fact that England is home to around half of Great Britain and Ireland’s top 100 golf courses, it has not to date enjoyed the benefits of having an organisation to represent the multi-million pound English golf tourism industry that exists in the country.

This is however changing with the work of Golf Tourism England.

After all, England’s golf offering is a strong and immensely viable one: it is home to more than 1,900 golf courses, many of which are widely recognised as some of the finest in the world.

With its long association with the game that dates back to over a century ago, England possesses some of the oldest golf courses in existence that ooze a sense of history and tradition which has developed over time and cannot be easily replicated.

Take Royal North Devon, designed by Old Tom Morris and England’s oldest links, having been founded way back in 1864. Incredibly, the golf course has hardly changed in 150 years and to play it is like taking a step back in time and experiencing how golf was played in Victorian England.

Royal North Devon Golf Club 88

England

Ganton Golf Club

Given its golfing history, it is no surprise perhaps that two of the game’s most respected golf course architects, Harry Colt and Alister MacKenzie, were English and created some of England’s greatest masterpieces that make this destination so special.

St Georges Hill Golf Club

Colt left his mark on many of England’s most cherished courses, including Royal Lytham & St Annes, Sunningdale New, St George’s Hill and Swinley Forest, while Mackenzie, creator of Augusta National, designed the inland gems of Ganton, Alwoodley and Moortown. Other notable course designers who have contributed to England’s rich tapestry of courses include James Braid, Donald Steel and William Herbert Fowler and, more recently, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Sir Nick Faldo.

Testament to the enduring quality of its courses, England boasts four venues on the current Open Championship roster – Royal Lytham & St Annes, Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool and Royal St George’s – with two other English courses (Royal Cinque Ports and Prince’s) having staged the event in the past.

It has also staged the prestigious Ryder Cup on no less than 14 occasions over nine different courses, including Southport & Ainsdale, Lindrick and Walton Heath.

Royal Birkdale Golf Club

England has also hosted numerous European Tour and Senior Tour events over the years and continues to be the home of the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, at Wentworth.

The Lindrick Clubhouse 89

England

St Enodoc Golf Club

Over time, England has turned out some of the most illustrious professional golfers in the history of the sport such as JH Taylor, Harry Vardon and Henry Cotton and, more recently, Tony Jacklin, Nick Faldo, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose.

England’s key attraction for travelling golfers is however that it is one of the most varied golf destinations in the world with its fine mix of links, heathland, parkland and cliff-top courses.

One of its best-known clusters of stunning courses is England’s Golf Coast in the north west, where besides a trio of Open Championship courses, a host of classic championship links including Formby, Southport & Ainsdale, Hillside and West Lancashire can be enjoyed from the bases of Southport, Liverpool and Manchester.

Fine championship links can also be enjoyed in Kent, where Royal St George’s, Royal Cinque Ports and Prince’s can be found along a three-mile stretch of the east coast around Sandwich and Deal.

Augmented by Littlestone, another links gem on Romney Marsh, and the distinctive clifftop course at North Foreland with views over the iconic White Cliffs, and its numerous inland courses, Kent is a golfer’s paradise in the Garden of England.

Meanwhile in the south west, England’s Atlantic Links offers a string of the six premier links set against the dramatic backdrop of the north Atlantic Coast from Burnham & Berrow in Somerset through to Devon’s Saunton and Royal North Devon and down to St Enodoc and Trevose in Cornwall.

Other unforgettable links can be found on the North Norfolk coast, where the wild and windy Brancaster, Hunstanton, Sheringham and Royal Cromer never disappoint, while the Northumberland Golf Coast includes the likes of Alnmouth, Goswick Links and Bamburgh, offering truly unspoiled yet stunning links experiences.

England is also revered for its traditional heathland courses that, with their trademark swathes of colourful heather, gorse, rhododendrons and pines, make for some of the most picturesque layouts in the world. Five of the finest in southern England have joined forces to market themselves as the Southern Counties Heathland Golf Tour. Together, West Sussex, the number one course in the county, Hampshire’s Liphook and Blackmoor, and Hindhead and Hankley Common in Surrey make for a tremendous golf tour in the heart of the English countryside.

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Hindhead Golf Club

England

Not far from this “must-play” group lies a host of venerated heathland tracks in Surrey and Berkshire that include Sunningdale, Worplesdon and The Berkshire, while the Dorset Heathland Tour is another treasure trove of heavenly heathland tracks.

More heathland stars can be found at Aldeburgh in Suffolk, designed with input from Willie Park Jnr, JH Taylor and Colt, Notts Golf Club in Nottinghamshire, seen as one of England’s bestkept secrets, and Staffordshire’s Beau Desert, a course once owned by the Marquess of Anglesey who commissioned Fowler to design it. The list goes on and on.

For golfers wanting to combine golf with Notts Golf Club (Hollinwell) accommodation, England has a diverse range of resorts, such as the luxurious Bovey Castle in Devon, Close House in Northumberland, St Mellion in Cornwall, The Belfry Hotel & Resort in the Midlands and The Lodge at Prince’s on Kent’s east coast. Conveniently located not far from London are numerous options that include the well-appointed Stoke Park, The Grove and Golf at Goodwood.

England’s wide spectrum of courses is complemented by a rich range of historical and cultural attractions, such as castles and cathedrals, bustling market towns and quaint seaside villages, stunning gardens and ancient monuments, fascinating museums and art galleries.

The numerous national parks and spectacular natural landscapes of England are ideal for outdoor pursuits such as walking, cycling and horse riding as well as the many water sports that the nation has to offer.

Moreover, easy access in and out of England – thanks to its many international airports all over the country, Eurotunnel and ferry ports to and from Europe, as well as excellent motorway network – make it an attractive proposition from wherever you are travelling.

Together with its glorious golf, these various components make England one of the most compelling golf destinations in the world and now, thanks to Golf Tourism England, it is looking forward to making its mark on the golf tourism map.

For more information, go to www.golftourismengland.com Edited from copy supplied by Golf Tourism England

St Mellion International Resort

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Cover Photo: Lumine Golf & Beach Club • www.lumine.com • © Kevin Murray Golf Photography

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