A county with two coastlines and a moor in between
Devon has 37 golf clubs spread across a genuinely varied landscape, and the course-type mix reflects it: parkland dominates with fourteen clubs, but there are five links courses, four coastal layouts, three set on moorland and a lone heathland course. Few counties let you play sand-dune links in the morning and a Dartmoor-fringed parkland round the same afternoon, but Devon's geography makes that kind of day perfectly workable. Towns with golf run from Barnstaple and Ilfracombe in the north to Dartmoor's Okehampton and the South Hams around Bigbury-on-Sea, with green fees starting from as little as £18.
Links and coast: the north and the Jurassic side
Royal North Devon, at Bideford, is the oldest golf course in England, laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1864 over the common land of Northam Burrows, where sheep and horses still wander the fairways. The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, granted it the Royal title in 1867, and it has twice staged the British Amateur Championship. Nearby, Saunton's two links courses sit among the Braunton Burrows dune system, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; the East Course, shaped by Herbert Fowler in 1919, appears regularly in world top 100 rankings, while Frank Pennink's 1974 West Course ranks among the best in the UK and Ireland. Exhibition matches here once featured Harry Vardon, JH Taylor, James Braid and Henry Cotton. Along the Jurassic Coast, Sidmouth is another JH Taylor design, its undulating fairways overlooking Lyme Bay, while Budleigh Salterton Artisans occupies a Harry Colt clifftop layout from 1902 that has hosted England Golf Championships and ranks in England's top 100. Bigbury Golf Club, a JH Taylor course from 1923 above the Avon estuary and Burgh Island, keeps things sociable with its Friday Circus event for visitors. Further round the coast, Ilfracombe offers sea views from every tee across to Lundy Island and the Welsh coast, staying playable year-round thanks to its microclimate, and Axe Cliff at Seaton sits directly on the Jurassic Walk with views across Lyme Bay.
Dartmoor's edges and the parkland heart
Inland, several clubs use Dartmoor as a backdrop rather than a battleground. Ashbury, near Okehampton, spreads across 500 acres on the edge of the National Park and is reckoned the ninth largest golf resort in the world, with its par-3 course rated among the finest in the South West. Bovey Castle's 1926 course, designed by JF Abercromby at North Bovey, sits fully within the National Park boundary, and Okehampton Golf Club, founded in 1913, plays as a sheltered par 68 beneath the moor's highest tors. Elfordleigh, on Dartmoor's edge near Plymouth, has a testing double-dogleg par-5 4th and views back to the moor from its 7th fairway. Elsewhere the county's parkland majority shows its range: Downes Crediton, opened in 1976 with an exhibition match involving Ryder Cup players Neil Coles and Tommy Horton, was named Club of the Year in 2021; Dartmouth Hotel Golf & Spa was laid out by Jeremy Pern across 225 acres near the River Dart in 1992; and Dainton Park, an Adrian Stiff design from 1993 near Newton Abbot, runs an annual Open Week and a TopTracer-equipped driving range.
Practicalities for a Devon golf trip
Smaller clubs round out the picture usefully. Exminster Golf Centre's free-draining soil keeps it open through the wet months, with the Exe Estuary in view from several holes, and Great Torrington, founded in 1895 on common land above the town, has been recognised as Junior Club of the Year and holds a course record of 61. Holsworthy, out towards Ruby Country in North Devon, gives a clear sightline to Dartmoor from its 10th tee. With green fees from £18 and courses clustered around Exeter, Barnstaple, Newton Abbot and the South Hams, a week in Devon can move between links, moor and coast without much driving at all.