This stretch of the Dorset coast packs a surprising amount of golfing variety into a small area. Across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Broadstone and Wimborne there are twelve clubs, and rather than one dominant style you get heathland, parkland, a links and a coastal course all within a short drive of each other. Green fees start from around £85, and the sandy soil that underpins much of the area means several courses drain quickly and stay playable through the winter months when heavier ground elsewhere is closed.
Heathland on the high ground
The heathland courses are the strongest suit here. Parkstone Golf Club, in the Luscombe Valley above Poole Harbour, was laid out by Willie Park Jnr in 1909 and expanded by James Braid in 1932, with Martin Hawtree's more recent work keeping it sharp; it's ranked among the top 100 courses in both Great Britain and Ireland and in England, and it hosted the European Ladies Amateur Championship in 2019. The views from the high ground stretch over the harbour to Brownsea Island and the Isle of Purbeck. A few miles away at Broadstone, the 1898 club sits on 250 acres of heather, pine, gorse and rhododendron and also features in national top 100 lists, with fast, true greens that reward accurate approach play. Knighton Heath, up near Canford Heath in Bournemouth, is smaller in scale at 90 acres but shares the same tree-lined, heather-fringed character, and its Standard Scratch Score of 70 matches par, which tells you the course sets a fair test without any padding.
Coast and links golf
For golf with the sea in view, Highcliffe Castle and Solent Meads cover the coastal and links ground. Highcliffe Castle, designed by Leslie Green and opened formally by Princess Christian and Princess Victoria in 1913, began as a nine-hole layout in the coastal village of Highcliffe-on-Sea before being extended to eighteen holes in 1927. It has been members-owned since 1949 and holds reciprocal arrangements with fifteen other clubs, useful if you're touring the area and want a game elsewhere too. Solent Meads, the county's links, sits below Hengistbury Head with views across to Christchurch Priory, Mudeford Quay and the Isle of Wight. It's one of the driest courses in the country, never needs temporary greens, and stays open all year, which makes it a dependable choice when winter golf elsewhere is off the table.
Parkland options and something different
Bournemouth & Meyrick Park is the area's senior parkland club, founded in 1894 across 120 tree-lined acres of sandy soil close to the Bournemouth coast. Its opening hole, a par 3 running well over 200 yards, was rated by Peter Alliss as one of the toughest openers in golf, and Henry Cotton singled out the 14th as exceptionally fine. Queens Park in Bournemouth offers a further parkland test, while Canford School Golf Club in Wimborne is a nine-hole course set within the school grounds, with a winding stream and mature trees, and eighteen different tee positions so the nine holes play differently depending on which set you use. Parley Court, also in Wimborne's near neighbour Christchurch and set beside Bournemouth Airport, has been completely redesigned with new holes including a par 5 stretching 624 yards from the back tee, and its 19-bay Toptracer facility gives it a practice-and-play dimension that suits golfers wanting more than just a round. For something looser still, Iford Golf Centre in Bournemouth runs FlingGolf sessions and a junior programme with no membership required, a reminder that this part of Dorset caters for casual visits as readily as it does for members chasing a low handicap on a heathland course above the harbour.