Linksland golf is the original form of the game.
Played on sandy turf that was once beneath the sea it is fast-running with fairways and green shaped by the ocean rather than machinery.
These are the courses that still host the Open but those particular layouts are difficult – or expensive – to play.
The good news is that there are plenty of other options.
In fact, the coast of Scotland, England and Wales is blessed with a variety of standards and prices.
There is also the happy medium: courses that are wonderful to play and also kind to the pocket.
Here’s our pick of five of the best linksland courses that offer tremendous value.
1. Gullane No. 3
Gullane is a special town.
Everyone in golf knows about St Andrews – the greatest golf town of them all – but Gullane, a few miles east of Edinburgh, is the next best thing.
On the outskirts of the town is Muirfield, Open venue and widely perceived to be among the best of them (and maybe the best of all).
But as you enter Gullane from Edinburgh the road sneaks between a wide expanse of golf holes that stretches in all directions including up and over the hill to your left.
These holes are not just one course, however. There are three of them and they all start and end from the edge of a town devoted to the game with shops, pubs and restaurants populated by locals as well as visitors who love to chatter about their latest round.
A hybrid of the Gullane No. 1 and No. 2 has hosted the Scottish Open in recent years and No. 3 is the lesser of the trio, but that’s very much a relative concept because it’s a cracker.
Just to play golf in this neck of the woods feels special and to make the journey up and over the hills is terrific fun. In all directions you see golfers swinging and yet you rarely hear them such is the isolation.
And then there are the views across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh in the west and the Kingdom of Fife in the north.
The only thing bouncier than this stretch of linksland is the bounce in your step.
It’s a little piece of golfing heaven and a weekday round starts at £70 (£80 for the day is a bargain, as is £125 to play No. 2 and No. 3 in the same day).
2. Perranporth
From Scotland to the toe of England – Perranporth in Cornwall – and a test that feels like a golfing rollercoaster.
There are vast sandhills and sweeping fairways, blind shots and dramatic views, rolling greens and tee boxes in the dunes.
The striking Perran Bay can be distracting, but not for long because the course calls for you to hit fun shot after fun shot.
This is what makes linksland golf special: it demands imagination and Perranporth calls for it even more than usual.
Tee times start at £60.
3. Elie
Back to Scotland and another golf town.
The Golf House Club is a rather confusing name for the venue so many just call it Elie for that is where it is – a small town on the south coast of the Kingdom of Fife, a short drive from St Andrews.
It was the club’s 150th anniversary in 2025 and right from the get go you know you are in for a treat.
Like St Andrews and Gullane the course starts and ends right in the town, the clubhouse is a cracker, and the starter famously has a submarine periscope at his (and your) disposal to check that the first fairway is clear for your first blow.
That hole makes its way inland before the course turns back towards the sea, eventually sweeping down to the coast in dramatic style.
Around the turn you sneak alongside the beach before climbing gently back toward the town.
This is a James Braid design and even his average layouts are good – this one is a cracker, full of fun challenges and sneaky traps.
A weekday round starts at £60 (weekend £75).
4. Newbiggin
The north-east coast of England is all too often overlooked by golfers despite having plenty of rugged splendour.
It also, of course, scarred by industry and Newbiggin is no different, with the early holes making their way towards Lynemouth Power Station.
But don’t let that put you off.
Newbiggin is flat but never one dimensional. At one point you tee off over an old coastal quarry. There is also gorse, subtle sloping and double greens to negotiate.
With green fees starting at £30 it’s an absolute bargain.
5. Borth
The coastline of Cardigan Bay is well served by the railway.
Royal St David’s in Harlech and Aberdovey are both a short stroll from stations, but their fine reputations are reflected in the green fees.
Borth is a couple of notches down on those two fine layouts but it represents excellent value nonetheless and is also an easy walk from the station.
It’s a quirky spot, one where the road sometimes attracts stray shots. At other times the beach does so. And there’s even a house that comes under threat from the tee.
But the course sneaks along the coast towards the Llanynys Dune complex with Snowdownia in the distance and the wide Dovey Estuary of another fine backdrop.
Green fees start at £43.
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