The best golf venues in the UK

One of the UK’s finest historic houses, Woburn Abbey has been home to the Dukes of Bedford for over 300 years. The estate offers four different venues for events, with beautiful woodland providing the backdrop. The highlight is the Sculpture Gallery, set in an elegant period building overlooking the Rose Garden and Camellia Lake, while the modern Safari Lodge is a less formal option, located in the estate’s safari park. In the Deer Park, large marquees can hold up to 15,000 people for corporate entertaining and open-air concerts. The estate also has three championship golf courses, a hotel and the highwire forest adventure Go Ape!.

Venue review of The Inn at Woburn

Weddings at Woburn Abbey Estate

Christmas at Woburn Abbey Estate

Neo-classical Gosford House is a 200-year-old country pile set in 5,000 acres of coastal parkland. Its two-tier Marble Hall, which boasts an imposing double staircase, is the standout event space, housing one of the greatest private art collections in Scotland and holding up to 400 guests for a reception. The main dining room can seat up to 100 for a gala dinner, and the whole house can be hired exclusively for parties of up to 600. The grounds are made for activity days and incentive trips, with the award-winning Craigielaw golf course (one of four on the estate), a boathouse, curling rink and marquee space for up to 2,000 on site.

Starting life in the 12th century as a manor house, The Belfry is now home to one of the UK’s most prestigious golf clubs, hosting more Ryder Cup matches than anywhere else in the world. The club’s most famous course, the Brabazon, continues to challenge the world’s best, while the PGA National and The Derby courses will keep all handicaps challenged with hard and fast fairways.

When Gleneagles opened in 1924 it was described as a ‘riviera in the Highlands’. Its collection of well-equipped conference suites includes the traditional rooms in the main building and contemporary facilities in Braid House. We particularly like the Edwardian design in The Ballroom, that comes with a stage, balcony and sprung dancefloor. On-site dining options include Scotland’s only two-Michelin-starred restaurant – Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles – while a meal at the Sommelier’s Table offers a grand alternative. A trip wouldn’t be complete without a round on one of the resort’s three championship golf courses. In 2015 the five-star hotel opened an arena that can handle conferences, concerts, gala dinners and teambuilding activities.

Surrounded by a moat and 500 acres of parkland, Leeds Castle offers a historic setting for conferences, activity days and banqueting. We like the dining room that showcases Chinese porcelain and French tapestries, as well as the standalone Maiden’s Tower (once a Tudor bake house) with its five en-suite bedrooms. The carefully restored timber-framed barn of Fairfax Hall is our pick for receptions, while the Garden House is the spot for small meetings.

In 450 acres of countryside, this resort consists of the four-star Lingfield Park Marriott Hotel Country Club, Breathe Spa and an 18-hole golf course – and, of course, the storied racecourse. For race-day hospitality or a business meeting, access is easy. The station, with direct trains to Victoria, is a five-minute walk; Gatwick and the M25 are a 10-minute drive. An abundance of outdoor space makes it a good spot for activity-based away days.

Hospitality at Lingfield Park Racecourse

Donnington Valley is an impressive hotel, conveniently located two miles from the M4 at Newbury. It has 111 individually designed bedrooms and 10 meeting rooms, holding between 10 and 160 delegates. The largest of these, The Cromwell, is the most recently refurbished and is equipped with a private bar. The hotel is suited to both large and small meetings, including training courses, and overlooks the greens of its own challenging golf course. Its award-winning WinePress Restaurant serves up locally sourced dishes in an informal atmosphere and sits alongside a 50-capacity private dining room. The venue also hosts teambuilding activities, and can organise quad biking and laser clay pigeon shooting off site. To ensure it really makes its mark as a group destination, the hotel offers a large health club and award-winning spa complex which has an 18m pool, a gym, a sauna and several treatment suites.

This five-star hotel and country club is a well-positioned retreat for Londoners: it sits among 200 acres of Hertfordshire parkland, within an hour from the capital. The stately Jacobean property has 161 elegant bedrooms, and there are 14 event spaces, many of which have retained their open fireplaces and period features. The most impressive is Poles Hall, formerly a convent chapel, which lends itself to atmospheric dinners. Among the resort’s strengths are its leisure facilities, which include a health club and tennis courts, along with an 18-hole championship golf course that has played host to the English Open.

On the banks of Killarney’s largest lake, Lough Leane, The Europe Hotel & Resort reopened in 2008 after a £70m redevelopment. Five years on, the venue is still winning plaudits – and awards – for the standard of its hospitality. Among its assets is one of Ireland’s largest spas, ESPA at The Europe, as well as 187 swish bedrooms with lake or golf-course views. The sleek conference centre, surrounded by spacious terraces, is just what you’d expect at a five-star venue. Each of the eight meeting rooms has natural daylight, ceiling-mounted projectors, automatic screens and blackout blinds. The largest event space is the impressive Ballroom with a large pre-function area and bar. The Panorama Restaurant, with stunning views over the lake and mountains, can also be hired for 400. The Europe Hotel and Resort lies immediately adjacent to Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, which hosted the 2010 Irish Open.

One of the country’s finest historic houses, Woburn Abbey has been home to the Dukes of Bedford for over 300 years. The 13,000-acre estate offers four completely different venues for events against the glorious backdrop of surrounding woodland. The estate also encompasses Woburn Golf Club with three championship courses. The Woburn Hotel offers five stylish meeting rooms – The Canaletto Suites (1 and 2), Red Room, Conservatory and Covent Garden – that can accommodate groups of between eight and 100 delegates, and come with AV facilities and Wi-Fi. The hotel has 48 contemporary en-suite bedrooms available while, across the courtyard, there are seven individually decorated cottages, offering further accommodation for corporate guests. Close to Milton Keynes and the M1, Woburn is about an hour from London, with great transport links from around the UK.

The Inn at Woburn

Weddings at Woburn Abbey Estate

Christmas at Woburn

The golf club at Bovey Castle is situated within the five-star resort at the centre of Devon’s Dartmoor National Park. Only two hours by train from London Paddington, Bovey offers weekenders and corporate guests a range of over 70 activities, including fishing, horse riding, falconry and golf on the private 18-hole championship course. Conceived in 1926 by JF Abercromby, one of the country’s finest golf course designers, the Old Course rivals its sisters at Gleneagles and Turnberry – it’s undeniably challenging, but rewards golfers with beautiful views of the surrounding moorland. For events, the largest spaces in the main hotel are the art deco-style Edwardian Grill and the Cathedral Room. Dedicated conference facilities are located adjacent to the main hotel in the Mews, which includes the 120-capacity Dartmoor Suite and the three smaller meeting rooms.

Venue review of Bovey Castle

Family-owned Tewkesbury Park has impressive views across the Cotswolds. Delegates can enjoy them through the glass façade of the Cotswolds Suite, a £3m events facility completed in 2017 as part of a £9m overhaul. Other spaces include the adjoining Berkeley Bar and Terrace, which features a private wood-fired-pizza bar – just the spot for post-meeting wind-downs.  An 18-hole golf course and health club are also on-site for leisurely pursuits.

This beautiful five-star hotel is best known for its outstanding location, overlooking the 17th hole of the Old Course at St Andrews, then across the beach and out to sea. It also has plenty of event space. With some of the most modern meeting rooms in Scotland, its state-of-the-art conference wing provides a flexible base for a range of events, accommodating up to 300 seated or 600 standing guests. Eating and drinking options include the Road Hole restaurant, which has three AA Rosettes, and an award-winning bar with more than 300 malt whiskies. Travelling from London is straightforward, with flights from London City to Dundee Airport (15 minutes away) or train journeys on the Caledonian Sleeper. Billed as the ‘home of golf’, the venue has been named as the official hotel of the 2015 Open Championship. It also has a fantastic spa, while off-site activities include helicopter rides and castle dinners.

Five minutes’ walk from Richmond rail and bus station, and quarter of an hour by train from Waterloo, Richmond Athletic Association has a versatile sports ground. Best known for its corporate 7s tournaments, Richmond Athletic Ground is a popular choice for teambuilding events, conferences, Christmas parties, training days and company fun days. It boasts a grandstand that seats 1,000 and a Grade II-listed Pavilion with a boardroom overlooking the pitches. The old-school changing rooms and rugby club function rooms are testimony to its history and create a warm and inviting atmosphere. There’s a Members Bar that can accommodate 750 when a marquee is attached, while the Sports Bar can take 225 and the Boardroom a more intimate 20. With 25 acres at your disposal there is plenty of space for other installations and the in-house events team can organise bespoke packages.

Christmas at Richmond Athletic Association

Hospitality at Richmond Athletic Association

This Bedfordshire hotel is well placed to host meetings, conferences and training events. Sixty-four meeting rooms and two bright conference rooms are all fitted with up-to-date AV facilities, making business events here a straightforward affair. Located in 380 acres of scenic rural countryside, it feels less clinical than many business-focused venues and, situated near the A1, has convenient transport links. There’s a hotel and spa for guests needing to stay in the area, as well as flexible dining options that cater for varying budgets, including formal three-course dining in the hotel’s main restaurant.

The setting for the 2010 Ryder Cup, Celtic Manor was voted Europe’s Golf Resort of the Year 2011 and offers three championship courses. Purpose-built for the Ryder Cup, the Twenty Ten poses a spectacular challenge for all standards of golfer with a sting in the tail at the 18th. More than golf is catered for, with 400 luxury bedrooms, six restaurants, a luxury spa and an award-winning convention centre on offer.

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The Celtic Manor Collection has just opened The Coldra Court Hotel. As part of a £2m upgrade, it will also refresh its conferencing facilities

Carden Park Hotel – Cheshire’s Country Estate is located within 1,000 acres of verdant countryside. There are two championship golf courses here, along with a three-acre vineyard and 18 event spaces. An extensive programme of teambuilding activities includes a Segway tour, the Kong high-ropes course and laser clay-pigeon shooting. The standout function room is the Carden Suite, which can be split into three spaces for smaller conferences or dinners.

Built in 1789, Stoke Park became the UK’s first ‘country club’ in 1908 and has offered first-rate hospitality ever since. James Bond has played a round on its championship golf course (in both Goldfinger and Tomorrow Never Dies) and there’s world-class tennis each year with the Boodles championship. Nine function rooms offer fine views of its Capability Brown grounds. For special occasions, the Fountain Room looks across a private terrace to a fine water feature.

Surrounding a Georgian manor house, Tracy Park’s two championship courses rate as among the most challenging parkland courses in the south west. A renovated driving range and high-spec practice green help everyone get their eye in. Its high ceilings and handsome furnishing, make the house good for group dinners. The Carriages Bedroom Block has four-poster beds and views across the courses.

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A traditional country house atmosphere is the order of the day at Brocket Hall, just 22 miles north of Hyde Park Corner. This Grade I-listed country house matches a classically English setting to elegant modern facilities. The Hall is available for exclusive use, and its two challenging courses and renowned academy facilities make it a great golfing destination. Meeting and dining facilities are also available at nearby Auberge du Lac Restaurant and the Clubhouse.

Sitting in 300 acres of Hertfordshire countryside just 30 minutes from the West End, it’s no surprise that ‘London’s country estate’ is such a hit with corporate groups. The 18th-century manor house’s interiors are refreshingly relaxed. As well as 227 bedrooms and suites, three restaurants and modern meeting spaces, there’s a championship golf course and an awardwinning spa. For alfresco entertaining, the three-acre Walled Garden is an enticing space, and the events team organises teambuilding exercises like barbecue masterclasses or beach volleyball. A refurbishment of the hotel will end summer 2016.

This 400-acre Surrey estate, just 25 minutes from Waterloo and Heathrow, comprises a resort hotel, destination spa and three golf courses – two 18-hole and one 9 hole. There’s also a driving range and a number of country club facilities – tennis, squash and a state-of-the-art gym – which are made available to overnight guests. Nine conference rooms seat between four and 100 delegates, with natural light, garden views and modern AV equipment, while numerous well-run teambuilding activities can be put on inside or outdoors. The 19th-century manor house features attractive traditional interiors and casual breakout space in The Manor Lounge, where guests can enjoy free Wi-Fi, as well as an all-day menu, starting with breakfast at 8am and going right through to afternoon tea at 6pm. For those looking to make a night of it, there are also 70 bedrooms available to guests.

A landmark addition to the North East hotel market when it opened in late 2009, Rockliffe Hall is a five-star resort which encompasses a 61-bedroom hotel, an 18-hole golf course and one of the country’s largest spas. Less than three hours from London by train, the 19th-century manor house has been extensively restored, with period features, generous proportions and slick design throughout. Three restaurants and bars run from the informal Clubhouse to fine dining in The Orangery. Eleven luxurious function rooms benefit from natural daylight and the stand-out space, the Rockliffe Suite, has its own private entrance, foyer and terrace.

Rockliffe Hall | Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort from Rockliffe Hall on Vimeo.

Once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, today, Hever is well set up for events. Formal banquets suit the grand Castle Dining Room, with its carved-wood minstrels gallery. In the Astor Wing, the Tudor Suite overlooks formal lawns and is a lovely setting for drinks receptions. Set within its 600-acre grounds, the Guthrie Pavilion is the largest event space, while the Italian Loggia, by the venue’s lake, is our favourite spot for summer receptions.

Venue review of The Astor Wing at Hever Castle

The Manor House is a five-star country house hotel and golf club, set in 365 acres of Cotswolds countryside. Of its spaces, we like the vaulted Dunstanville Suite which leads to a couple of sun terraces with fine valley views. The interconnecting boardrooms, Gorges and Saxam, look out across the property’s lawns and beyond, suiting private dinners as much as meetings. Ask too about the Potting Shed, a new treatment room.

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