A golf weekend two hours from home
Ayrshire, Kent, Norfolk, Surrey or the Lancashire coast. One round a day, booked direct, Stableford rather than medal.
Section
Courses
Courses worth the drive and the green fee, from seaside links to affordable municipal tracks. What each asks of you, what it costs, and when to book.
Nine-hole and par-3 courses: Britain’s best value
Two hours, half the price, fully qualifying for handicap. Britain is unusually well supplied and mostly ignores them.
Which tees you should actually be playing
Multiply your driver carry by 28. Most amateurs play a course two sets of tees longer than the one built for them.
Flying with clubs: how to pack a travel bag
Damage happens at the top of the bag. A support rod, heads turned inwards and clothing around them prevent nearly all of it.
The seaside courses of Wales you have never heard of
Royal Porthcawl at £125 midweek in winter, Nefyn around £70, and neighbours from £48: the best value links in Britain.
A week of golf in Scotland: the itinerary that works
East Lothian, Fife and the Highlands in seven days, with the Old Course ballot planned around guaranteed rounds.
The best affordable golf courses in England and Scotland
Municipals, pay-and-play, twilight rates and the lesser-known courses at famous venues: where British golf is still cheap.
The great links, and how to actually get a tee time
The Old Course ballot, the six other St Andrews courses, and the links that take visitors without ceremony.