Best Golf Courses in Cornwall

Best Golf Courses in Cornwall

The best golf courses in Cornwall feature dramatic links and clifftop layouts to rival anywhere in the country – plus some outstanding parkland courses.

There are fewer than 50 golf courses across Cornwall, but this top 15 is packed with high-class venues incorporating myriad styles. 

St Enodoc’s Church Course is an outstanding links with exceptional views over the Camel Estuary. It is Cornwall’s best golf course, but then come two courses (both English Top 100 fixtures) of a very similar standard – the undulating, raw and often blind links of Perranporth (No.2) and, at No.3, Trevose, a jewel across the waters of the Camel Estuary.

RELATED: Best Golf Courses in Britain and Ireland

Why you can trust our ranking of the best golf courses in Cornwall

Our Top 100 panel has been ranking the finest courses in England for a decade and has the most comprehensive knowledge in the game, which is why you can trust this to be the most accurate reflection of the best golf courses in Cornwall.

We welcome your feedback on all of our rankings and know that everyone will have an opinion on their favourite’s position. We’d love to hear from you via email, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

And, once you’ve enjoyed this ranking, please do take a look at some of our others – including the best golf courses in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Europe.

Chris Bertram, Golf World Top 100 Editor

The Best Golf Courses in Cornwall

1. St Enodoc (Church Course)

The Church Course at St Enodoc offers wonderful scenery, but even more appealing are the unforgettable holes; the Church offers more memorable holes than almost any other golf course in England. The opening six and closing handful are especially good. 

Tom Watson is an admirer, describing it as “a wonderful course with a lot of variety,” while Luke Donald called it “a gem of a links”.

European Tour player Chris Wood, who hails from the south-west, regularly uses St Enodoc to hone his putting by virtue of the fast, undulating greens.

RELATED: St Enodoc Golf Club review

2. Perranporth

Perranporth is one of the best and most reasonably priced golf courses in Britain, especially for those who simply want to have fun out on the links. 

Perranporth Golf Club is located 10 miles south of Newquay in a gloriously picturesque part of the world. Perran Sands is a gorgeous stretch of beach whose three miles of golden sand may well surprise you with its beauty.

It certainly impressed us as we made our way round Perranporth, the course being plotted high above the beach and town on a piece of land that many of today’s designers might well turn their nose up at.

It was James Braid who took on the task in the 1920s, managing to set down a links which oozes character and appeal while also remaining a ‘proper course’.

Don’t come here, though, if you are routinely frustrated by a shot which is nearly perfect bounding down a slope and leaving you a pig of a chip.

Don’t come here if you like to know exactly what you are trying to do and where you are going on every single shot. But make sure you do come to Perranporth if you enjoy the occasionally bonkers nature of links golf – because this course offers it more often than most others.

The views of the Atlantic and the sandy beach from the 5th and 14th are especially fine but we found more interest in the topography of the land. Someone once likened it to playing on the surface of the moon and it is a description with much merit.

It is plenty good enough for our Top 100 Links ranking though, as well as a place in our Top 100 Best Golf Courses in England.

Perranporth has also recently invested in on-site accommodation in the shape of caravans and luxury lodges. They represent especially good value and make a fine base for a trip to Cornwall.

RELATED: The best golf courses you can play for £60 and under

3. Trevose (Championship Course)

Trevose Golf Club boasts some of the best views of the Atlantic from a course that is more playable than many championship golf courses.

The Championship course at Trevose (there are also two nine-hole courses here, Headland and Short) was laid out around the edge of Booby’s Bay in 1925 by Harry Colt.

It is something of a paradox; some think its wide fairways and spectacular views make it perfect holiday golf and yet it is regarded highly enough among the echelons of British golf administration to have hosted the 2008 Brabazon Trophy and the McGregor Trophy in 2012. These championships are not given to courses without pedigree.

Colt’s name and work perhaps help and certainly his familiar two-loop design is in evidence here, with the front half taking you along the coastline and the back nine heading inland and then back to the clubhouse.

And while we have emphasised its championship history and suggest that it is wise not to be taken lightly, Trevose’s main attractions remain its stirring Atlantic Ocean views and its praiseworthy ‘playable’ experience.

Tom Mackenzie of Mackenzie & Ebert has been renovating Trevose for several years and has made a significant difference to this scenic seaside course.

Incidentally, Trevose is also home to a range of holiday accommodation, from new Fairway Lodges which sleep up to six people to Dormy flats for two.

RELATED: Trevose Golf Club Review

4. St Mellion (Nicklaus Course) 

Set in 450 acres of prime rolling Cornish countryside, this was the first European course designed by the great Jack Nicklaus and has hosted six Benson & Hedges International Opens. After the occasion Nicklaus was quoted saying: “I knew it was going to be good, but not this good. It’s everything I hoped for and more. St Mellion is potentially the finest golf course in Europe”.

The mighty Nicklaus Course at St Mellion is long and demanding – arguably the toughest inland course in the UK – and easy-on-the-eye. It has been thrilling golfers from all over the world ever since opening in 1988. A masterpiece and must-play with one memorable hole following another. There’s quality on-site accommodation and outstanding facilities on offer too. 

St Mellion Hotel and Golf Club is big, bold and brassy…and you’ll love it to bits. In fact, once you’ve played here, virtually all other golf courses will pale into insignificance: precious few inland layouts can match St Mellion’s dynamic combination of quality, challenging golf and awe-inspiring aesthetics. 

To say it presents a stern test of golf is a gross understatement and you certainly have to be on the ball from the word go: the front nine is particularly demanding and you need to keep it on the fairway – or else! There are many outstanding individual holes. In fact there’s barely a single weak link at this Cornish cracker which truly lives up to its star billing and reputation.

RELATED: St Mellion Hotel and Golf Club review

5. Bude & North Cornwall

The Bude & North Cornwall Golf Club (surrounded by the town and the sea) is one of the best links golf courses in the West Country.

The natural all-weather fairways and greens are rarely unplayable. The greens have beautiful quick surfaces with both severe and subtle borrows.

The first five holes here are separated from the remaining 13 by a main road running through the course. Some blind shots await – and lots of fun!

The clubhouse has been extensively refurbished and now offers a comfortable and friendly bar and restaurant with an excellent choice of drinks and food.

RELATED: Golf World Top 100: Best Links Golf Courses in Great Britain and Ireland

6. West Cornwall 

Located on the southern shore of St Ives Bay at Lelant, West Cornwall Golf Club enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the most glorious ‘natural’ golf courses in the country. But also owing to its location at the foot of the country, it is something of an undiscovered, little-known links gem. On the other hand, it is extremely popular among golfing holidaymakers and no wonder.

This short-but-sweet links (par-69, 5,850 yards) is steeped in history and was the home course of the legendary Jim Barnes, the first winner of the US PGA Championship in 1916. It’s always in good nick and never switches to temporary tees or greens.

Ancient and somewhat quirky links – it’s the oldest course in the county – which bursts into life on the back nine. Be prepared to hit a number of blind shots though you’re guaranteed plenty of fun and excitement.

RELATED: Golf World’s Top 100 Resorts in the UK and Ireland

7. Newquay 

A highly popular holiday links which runs along the full length of the seaside town’s world-famous surf venue Fistral Beach. It’s relatively short but because it’s exposed, perched high above the Atlantic, it can be tough when it’s windy.

Newquay Golf Club’s 18-hole links course was designed by Harry Colt and built in 1890. The course features a large number of strategically-placed bunkers, along with the unpredictable coastal wind, as well as panoramic views over the Celtic Sea. Newquay promises a challenging and interesting game of golf for any golfer.

8. Mullion

Framed by sandy coves and protected reed beds, Mullion is situated on the cliffs of the Lizard Peninsula just a few miles from the most southerly point on the British mainland. It’s a great links course with stunning views across the Atlantic Ocean and typically plenty of wind.

RELATED: Best Golf Courses in Devon

9. Tehidy Park

A rarity in Cornwall in that we have a parkland venue, and one that serves up
a great challenge for golfers of all abilities. Avoid the strategically placed water hazards and you will score well.

10. Bowood Park 

Relatively young, but Bowood is fast establishing itself as a parkland test to rival Tehidy Park. A great all-rounder with on-site accommodation too.

11. The Point at Polzeath 

The Point at Polzeath has gone from strength to strength since being taken over by new owners Jeremy and Eva Davies and the golf course is now both looking and playing the part. Nowadays it’s a cracking all-round venue, boasting an outstanding restaurant and bar offering glorious views over the course and distant coast, a health club with a state-of-the-art gym, a brand new studio for various fitness classes, and a recently refurbished pool with sauna, steam room, and jacuzzi.

RELATED: Golf Clubs that Bounced Back from the Brink of Despair

12. Launceston 

A fabulous parkland on the Devon & Cornwall border, offering spectacular countryside views over both Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, plus the historic town and castle.

Launceston Golf Club originated in 1910 and continues to get better with age.

13. St Mellion (Kernow) 

With the arrival of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at St Mellion in 1988, the Kernow course was somewhat overshadowed, until in 2008 it was completely redeveloped, extended and modernised, along with nine exciting new holes. With wider fairways, larger greens and spectacular views, the Kernow course is a wonderful complement to the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course.

14. Carlyon Bay 

Stretching along the coastline towards the port of Par, Carlyon Bay Hotel & Golf Course offers 6,500 yards of the most stimulating golf in Cornwall, a comfortable club house and an extensive pro shop.

Clifftop golf courses don’t come more spectacular than this: Carlyon Bay Hotel & Golf Course towers above the Cornish coastline and as a result you’re treated to some fabulous views. Carlyon Bay is a round of two halves – two very distinctive and contrasting ones. Most of the clifftop action takes place on the dramatic front nine and around the turn in particular. The course then turns into a traditional parkland test and you cross the railway to play the final seven holes.

A golfing trainspotter’s paradise: the Great Western Railway runs through the heart of this classic clifftop/parkland layout outside St Austell – the 2nd tee and par-5 4th green sit just yards away from the GWR.

15. St Enodoc (Holywell Course) 

The 18-hole Holywell layout is a worthy – and recently upgraded – foil for St Enodoc’s links superstar, the Church course. At just 4,500 yards, the par-63 Holywell Course may fall short in yardage terms (it features nine par-3s and nine par-4s) but it will test you every inch of the way – the addition of some new bunkers and the small, testing target greens guarantee that, especially when the wind is blowing. It’s ideal for novices, juniors and seniors alike, plus for those seeking a ‘warm-up’ for the demanding Church course… or those just keen to play 18 holes in well under three hours!

RELATED: Best Golf Courses in England