POOLE & BOURNEMOUTH GOLF HOLIDAYS
Reviews of the best golf courses for Dorset golfbreaks.

Hard to imagine that in the backstreets between Poole and Bournemouth lurks one of England's finest (and possibly tightest!) parkland courses.  How the land survived the developer's shovel is hard to know but thank the Lord it did!  Parkstone enjoys perfect golfing terrain: rises and dips across three distinct ridges through the tall pines and between the rhododendrons and lakes - even a glimpse of The Channel from some of the elevated spots.  The course layout sits beautifully into its setting, making the most of the natural hazards and shapes with just a few carefully added bunkers here-and-there.  Not to be missed.

Broadstone is a wild ride across hillsides clad with heather and gorse: if you didn't know better you would swear you were in the Scottish Highlands!  The course itself clambers up and down the slopes although the majority of holes are pretty level with exertion required from Green to Tee.  The course occupies a broad expanse of land so holes are generally well separated from each other and any buildings or roads: a peaceful game is ensured.  Broadstone is a great test of golf.

A contender for the prettiest course in England without a shadow of a doubt, but a serious golf course too.  Ferndown's Clubhouse is encircled by fantastical flowerbeds bursting with colour; beyond lies a carpet of purple heather that sprawls out in all directions across every corner of the golf course that lies below.  Fairways at Ferndown are not to be missed or you will find yourself battling with the dreaded heather!  The course layout is challenging and attractive in equal measure: intelligent Fairway bunkering engenders a little thought on many Tees and the dog-legs require good judgement to avoid being blocked-out by the pines.  The terrain is pretty flat, so you may have enough energy left to take on the nine-hole 'Presidents' course after lunch?

The golf course on the Isle of Purbeck is a thing of great natural beauty and a reminder of how golf used to be before pesticides and fertilizers were gaily scattered around (and perhaps how golf will be again, once they are no longer permissible?).  The course sits on Studland Head overlooking the bay and across to Sandbanks and Poole beyond.  Exposed to the sea-breezes, Islo of Purbeck has a rugged appeal: not really pure links golf, more seaside-heathland with its open reaches of heather and gorse - a sanctuary to endangered wildlife.  A very friendly welcome awaits you in the Clubhouse before and after your round - in many ways it epitomises Dorset golf.

Breaking out of Dorset into the heart of the New Forest, Brokenhurst Manor is a tranquil course where the game is all about keeping out of the New Forest!  The holes are isolated from each other by the dense dark woods, so all you will hear on your way around is your playing partners and birdsong.  Perhaps a little too far from Poole or Bournemouth for a day's golf but well worth a stop to break your journey to or from a Dorset golf holiday.

A very friendly (and very good value) local's Golf Club that is also very close to the centre of Poole.  An oasis of greenery atop a rounded hill, not far from all the chimmney pots, where you can escape and enjoy a not-too-taxing round of golf.  Holes have been well thought out around the hill and through the established trees and make the most of the gentle slopes of the landscape without ever becoming strenuous.  Well looked after, it should not be discounted on any golf trip to Dorset.

Between the Isle of Purbeck and Corfe Castle, a 27-hole complex that is very popular with holiday golfers due to the variety of high quality accommodation on-site (see our 'Hotels' page) and the quality of its three loops of nie holes: Woodland, Parkland and Lakeland.

Other courses to consider

A public course crafted by Tom Dunn way back in 1894 (resculpted by Sir Henry Cotton in 1924) that has stood the test of time; Common Land so lots of walkers (especially at weekends) a good test nevertheless and of interest to any golfing historians as it's the oldest public course in England (arguably with the toughest opening hole to boot!).  Meyrick Park also has a seventeen-room Lodge, should you wish to stay.