Dorset's golf is shaped by its geography as much as anywhere in England. On the coast you get proper links and cliff-top golf carved into the Jurassic Coast; inland, the county settles into gentler parkland and pockets of heath around Ferndown and Swanage. With twenty clubs spread from Lyme Regis in the west to Poole and Ferndown in the east, there's enough variety here for a week's golfing holiday without ever repeating a look.
Parkland dominates the county's course list, with eight of the twenty falling into that category, and the towns of Poole, Wareham, Ferndown and Wimborne carry most of them. Bulbury Woods near Poole rewards accuracy off the tee through its tree-lined, rolling layout, while Dorset Golf & Country Club at Wareham takes a different approach entirely — Martin Hawtree, the designer behind Trump International Links and an R&A consultant on St Andrews redesigns, laid out 27 holes across Lakeland, Parkland and Woodland courses, with clover-shaped bunkers and greens running up to 40 yards front to back. It's rated among the top 150 courses in England, and the Rhododendron Forest setting beneath the Purbeck Hills makes it one of the more distinctive parkland experiences in the South West. Remedy Oak, over at Woodlands, is newer again — a 2006 John Jacobs design through ancient woodland with water on eight holes, regularly ranked among the best courses in the South of England.
Links and Coastal Golf on the Jurassic Coast
The two clubs that define Dorset golf for many visitors sit within a few miles of each other on the coast. Bridport & West Dorset, founded in 1891, is the county's oldest club and plays across cliff-top and links terrain alongside Chesil Beach. Its short sixth — 129 yards with a 90-foot drop to the green — has been ranked among the top 100 holes anywhere in the world, and in 1952 Max Faulkner reportedly drove the 365-yard 13th during an exhibition match. The course has also turned up on screen in ITV's Broadchurch. A little further along the coast, Lyme Regis Golf Club occupies its own cliff-top site with views towards Portland Bill; it's an England Golf Championship Course that has hosted Dorset County Championships and English Girls' events, and doubles as a Junior European Tour qualifying venue.
Heathland and Downs Around Ferndown and Dorchester
Ferndown Golf Club, founded in 1913, plays over genuine heathland and has hosted the Women's British Open, the European Ladies' Championship, the British Boys' Championship and the Brabazon Trophy — a serious competitive pedigree for a club in a town better known for its suburbs than its sport. Isle of Purbeck, at Swanage, is heathland of a different character altogether, set within a nature reserve above Poole Harbour; its fifth tee gives views that King Edward VIII once called among the finest in his kingdom, and the club has passed through the ownership of Enid Blyton and her husband Dr Darrell-Waters. Came Down, on the downs between Dorchester and Weymouth, has arguably the strongest design lineage in the county: J.H. Taylor laid it out in the early 1900s, Harry Colt remodelled it in 1927, and Taylor played an exhibition there against James Braid in 1906. Braid's own hand shows up elsewhere too, at Sherborne Golf Club, which marked 130 years in 2024, and at Weymouth Golf Club in the centre of town, where his subtle doglegs sit against Jurassic Coast views.
Where to Start
For a first visit, pairing a coastal round at Bridport or Lyme Regis with an inland day at Came Down or Ferndown gives a fair sense of what the county offers. Smaller nine-hole courses such as Sturminster Marshall and Folke, near Sherborne, are worth knowing about too — good value, less demanding on time, and useful additions to any trip. Green fees across the county start from around £12, which keeps Dorset golf accessible whatever course type you fancy trying next.