The UK has some of the world’s best golf courses, beloved by professional players and enthusiasts alike. And, while St Andrews and Gleneagles are among the most famous, there will also be plenty you’ve not heard of, yet these are equalling deserving of your attention for their unique challenges and quirks. Scotland is certainly a premier destination — the game is said to have been standardised here, after all — but our guide features great places to tee off in every home nation.
A winning course often comes with a luxury hotel on site or nearby too. So once you’ve completed a round, be sure to take advantage of top-notch restaurants, bars and fancy spas. And look out for golfing academies run by pros past and present to help level up your game. Be sure to note whether your hotel has extra charges for popular tee times or equipment hire — or indeed if there is preferential access for guests or bespoke tuition as part of the package. These are the best golf and spa hotels in the UK.
This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue
1. Another Place, the Machrie, Argyll and Bute 
££ | THREE COURSES | Best for an island escape
Classic links golf can be enjoyed on the windswept Hebridean island of Islay, where the Machrie course dates back to 1891 with an original design by the Scottish golfing legend Willie Russell. Now revamped, the undulating 18-hole course features tees right beside the beach, holes that weave dramatically between the dunes and a near-constant bracing sea breeze, plus there’s the playful six-hole Wee Course, a 19-hole “social golf” course, driving range, short game area and a simulator. At the hotel, relaxation has an outdoor theme in the Wild Garden, which features a Nordic-style spa area with two wood-fired hot tubs, a cold tub and a sauna for soothing tired limbs. Bedrooms range from cosy doubles with countryside views to split-level suites with floor-to-ceiling windows offering sea and golf course vistas. The restaurant serves Scottish produce overlooking the 18th green.
2. Rockliffe Hall, County Durham
££ | SPA | ONE COURSE | Best for refining your game
Generally considered to be one of the top golfing hotels in northern England, Rockliffe Hall hosts the Northern Golf Masters on a course designed by top architect Martin Hawtree. Players will appreciate its inventive layout and challenges: there are five different tee positions for each hole, and it’s also one of the UK’s longest. There’s a top-class golfing academy that can help you refine your game too, and the course also stays open in winter. The hall itself is a grand affair, with a huge spa and dining at two restaurants, plus a café and the après-ski-style Alpine Terrace. A multimillion pound renovation project is also underway that will add a contemporary, purpose-built restaurant pavilion.
3. Bovey Castle, Devon
££ | SPA | ONE COURSE | Best for a moorland adventure
In Dartmoor National Park about an hour’s drive from Exeter, this imposing country house hotel makes a real statement from the gabled façade to the swish Elan Spa. Perched on a grassy rise, it offers sweeping views over the moor, and a choice of classically styled rooms in the main house, or private lodges in the grounds where gourmet provisions can be delivered to your door. JF Abercromby designed the 18-hole championship course in 1926, and it’s a notoriously challenging proposition, with the ever-fickle Dartmoor weather requiring you to up your game. Indulge with steaks at Great Western Grill or take afternoon tea, and relax in grand spaces like the Cathedral Room. Dogs are welcome in certain areas too.
4. The Grove, Hertfordshire
£££ | SPA | ONE COURSE | Best for mixed-ability groups
Host to the British Masters in 2016, the world-class course at the Grove is an immaculate parkland affair featuring fast, undulating greens and testing bunkers. Open to all, it’s a friendly, inclusive course that doesn’t require a low handicap to enjoy. An attractive, 18th-century manor house is at the heart of the hotel, home to its opulent suites and the glorious lounges that overlook formal gardens — there’s also the spacious Sequoia Spa and an unforgettable walled garden with outdoor pool, tennis courts and even a beach set-up in summer.
Read our full review of the Grove
5. Gleneagles, Perth and Kinross
£££ | SPA | FOUR COURSES | Best for all-out opulence
Fancy your golf with a side of Michelin-starred cuisine? There’s nowhere better than Gleneagles, where Restaurant Andrew Fairlie serves up indulgent dishes such as home-smoked Scottish lobster. Seeking a championship golf course? There are three. After something shorter? There’s a nine-hole course, as well as two putting areas, a short game area and a driving range. Non-golfers are well catered for too, with a top-notch spa using homemade products and beauty lodge, plus all manner of country pursuits, including riding, falconry and fishing. Golfing breaks don’t come more slick than this.
Read our full review of Gleneagles hotel
6. Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Gwent
£ | SPA | THREE COURSES | Best for keeping non-golfers happy
Celtic Manor is one of the UK’s most famous golf resorts for a reason — there is something for everyone here. Golfers can take their pick from three championship courses, including the Twenty Ten Course, the first designed specifically for the Ryder Cup, while non-golfers can settle into the award-winning Forum Spa for a treatment. There are numerous restaurants to choose from too, including the sixth-floor Steak on Six with its wonderful views, and Rafters with its menu of Welsh favourites served in the Twenty Ten Clubhouse.
• Discover our full guide to the UK
• 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK
7. Marine North Berwick, East Lothian
£ | SPA | TWO COURSES (NORTH BERWICK GOLF CLUB) | Best for links golf and sea views
The North Berwick Golf Club is home to a glorious links course where the sea is in play on no fewer than six of the 18 holes. Having evolved over a lengthy history (since at least the 1670s), the main course is replete with hazards, including a wall in the middle of a fairway, which makes for a unique round. Numerous deep bunkers and significant humps and hollows make the beautiful setting a true links challenge. Marine North Berwick overlooks the course and offers luxurious rooms with high ceilings and feature windows, as well as the fabulous Spa at Marine Hotel, which has an indoor-outdoor hydropool and a thermal suite.
• Best places to visit in Scotland
8. East Sussex National, East Sussex 
££ | SPA | TWO COURSES | Best for enjoying the English countryside
Home to two mature parkland courses — the 7,154-yard West and the 7,081-yard East — as well as a driving range and golf academy, East Sussex National is a top-class golf resort on the fringes of the South Downs. Many of the bedrooms have golf course views, while the on-site Horsted Health Club & Spa offers a large indoor pool, sauna, hot tub and treatment rooms. The challenging East Course has hosted the European Open on two occasions and rewards golfers unafraid to take on the bolder shots.
• Best hotels in East Sussex
9. Rusacks St Andrews, Fife
££ | SEVEN COURSES (ST ANDREWS LINKS) | Best for playing on hallowed turf
When it comes to golf travel, there’s simply nowhere like St Andrews, the home of golf. The historic Old Course hosted the Open in 2022 for a record 30th time and although there are numerous golf hotels, the pick of the bunch has to be the recently refurbished and extended Rusacks, which overlooks the 18th green of the world-famous Old Course. Rooms are stylish, all warm woods and deep greens, and golfers can take on the course before settling in at the Bridge for afternoon tea and a debrief overlooking the Swilcan Bridge.
• Best day trips from Edinburgh
10. The Belfry, Warwickshire
££ | SPA | THREE COURSES | Best for following in Ryder Cup footsteps
No golf resort has hosted the Ryder Cup more times than the Belfry, and the Brabazon course here also currently hosts the annual British Masters. Prepare to be challenged if you take on its 7,255 yards, packed with tight fairways and perilous bunkers. Make time for at least one more round, on either the PGA National, which has hosted European Tour events, or the gentler 6,099-yard Derby. The luxury hotel has simple, elegant rooms and an extensive spa with an indoor pool and the Fire & Ice thermal circuit.
11. Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, Wiltshire
££ | SPA | ONE COURSE | Best for a family golfing holiday
This boutique-style country house hotel in the heart of Wiltshire is home to one of the South West’s leading golf courses. The 18-hole PGA parkland course makes full use of the estate’s mature woodland and, despite its spacious fairways, will challenge golfers of all abilities. The hotel is sumptuous, with elegant rooms, afternoon tea in the library and an extensive glass-fronted spa that makes the most of the garden views. Bring the kids too — Bowood is home to one of the best adventure playgrounds in the country.
12. Golflinks Hotel Portrush, Co Antrim
£ | TWO COURSES (ROYAL PORTRUSH) | Best for an Atlantic vista
Next to the world-renowned Royal Portrush, the Golflinks Hotel couldn’t be better placed for enjoying its famous Northern Irish championship course, the Dunluce Links. Hosting the Open in 2025, the links challenges golfers with its crumpled fairways and windswept greens, towering sand dunes and seemingly endless natural hazards, while the Atlantic stands alongside throughout, distracting with glorious views — and some invigorating weather conditions. There’s also the Valley Links course, tucked away a little lower in the landscape, its 18 holes cut between the dunes. The hotel offers 23 comfy bedrooms, a restaurant with a wood-fired pizza oven and a pub with a roaring fire and Guinness on tap.
13. Royal Golf Hotel Dornoch, Highland
£ | TWO COURSES (ROYAL DORNOCH) | Best for a Highland escape
Few hotels are as well located for early morning golf as the Royal Golf Hotel, with the first tee of Royal Dornoch just a 50-yard stroll from the front door. This is one of Scotland’s leading links courses, in a breathtaking location along the Dornoch Firth and providing a challenging line up of raised, domed greens, as well as all the ridges, dunes and undulations you’d expect from a links course. The hotel has a country club feel, with many of the bedrooms featuring fairway and sea views, while staff are able to organise activities aplenty, from guided mountain bike rides to paddleboarding.
• Best spa hotels in the Lake District
• Best spa hotels in Ireland
Additional reporting by Oliver Berry
We regularly reassess and refresh this list, adding the latest advice and inspiration
Have we missed any? Please share your tips in the comments below
