Best Harry Colt golf courses

Location: Berkshire, England | Style: Heathland | Par: 70 | Yardage: 6,627 yards | Founded: 1901

Originally laid out by Willie Park Jr. in 1901, the Old Course at Sunningdale was refined and elevated by Harry Colt in 1922, transforming it into one of the most revered inland courses in the world. With its majestic mix of towering pines, rolling heathland, and masterful bunkering, the Old Course is a study in elegance and strategic nuance. Sunningdale Old remains a benchmark of classic British design and is a staple in any serious golfer’s dream itinerary.

Key Features:

• Sweeping heathland fairways framed by ancient woodland
• Colt’s signature bunkering and natural green sites
• Fast, firm playing surfaces with subtle elevation shifts
• An unmatched sense of charm, history, and tranquility

Key Facts:

• Opened in 1901, with Colt’s defining refinements in 1922
• Par 70 – a thoughtful and demanding routing that tests every club
• Signature hole: Par-4 10th – a perfectly framed tee shot leads to a green tucked beneath a canopy of pine, famously described by Bobby Jones as “the perfect hole”

Location: County Antrim, Northern Ireland | Style: Links | Par: 72 | Yardage: 7,337 yards | Founded: 1888 (Colt redesign: 1932)

In 1929 Harry Colt laid out the plans for the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland. Ranking among the best golf courses in the world, it would be hard to disagree with Bernard Darwin’s comment that “Mr HS Colt…has thereby built himself a monument more enduring than brass.” Unimaginable rough, tricky greens and the unpredictable weather that roars off the North Atlantic, make for a tough but beautiful test of golf.

Check out our tour of Northern Ireland's legendary links courses.

Key Features:

• Dramatic coastal dunes and cliffside views
• Precision-demanding fairways flanked by thick rough
• Natural undulations and ever-changing wind conditions

Key Facts:

• Hosted The Open Championship three times (1951, 2019, 2025)
• Par 71 – a true test of shot-making and strategy
• Signature Hole: Par-3 16th “Calamity Corner” – a long, wind-exposed shot

Location: Berkshire, England | Style: Heathland | Par: 70 | Yardage: 6,729 yards | Founded: 1923

Opened in 1923, Sunningdale's New Course is anything but a supporting act to the Old. Carved through fir, birch, and heather-covered terrain, Colt’s New Course is a more rugged, muscular counterpart to the graceful Old. With tighter fairways, bolder bunkering, and a slightly more dramatic topography, it provides a sterner test, especially off the tee, yet still delivers the same enchanting heathland experience that defines Sunningdale. Many purists even prefer it for its strategic bite and secluded feel.

Key Features:

• Classic heathland terrain with firmer, faster fairways
• Demanding tee shots framed by heather and trees
• Colt’s thoughtful bunkering and tiered greens
• More undulating and remote than the Old Course

Key Facts:

• Opened in 1923 and designed entirely by Harry Colt
• Par 70 – a tighter, more exacting challenge than the Old
• Signature hole: Par-4 7th – a stunning elevated tee shot over a valley to a fairway flanked by heather, followed by a precise approach to a raised green

Location: Berkshire, England | Style: Heathland | Par: 68 | Yardage: 6,431 yards | Founded: 1909

Often described as Harry Colt’s hidden masterpiece, Swinley Forest opened in 1909 and remains one of the most exclusive, and most enchanting, courses in the UK. Colt himself once referred to it as “the least bad course I’ve ever designed,” a typically modest quip for what many believe to be one of the purest expressions of his design philosophy. It’s a course that rewards feel and precision over brute strength, and for those lucky enough to play it, it leaves a lasting impression.

Swinley Forest is surrounded by many excellent courses, so why not take advantage of one of our fully customisable UK golf tours? Speak to your Golf Travel Expert to craft the perfect itinerary.

Key Features:

• Quintessential Colt routing with seamless transitions between holes
• Fast-running heathland fairways framed by heather and mature woodland
• Natural green complexes that blend perfectly into the landscape
• A peaceful, uncommercial atmosphere, golf as it was meant to be

Key Facts:

• Opened in 1909 and designed entirely by Harry Colt
• Par 68 – short on yardage but rich in strategic nuance
• Signature Hole: Par-4 8th – a sweeping dogleg through a heather-lined valley to an elevated green, with every shot demanding thoughtful execution

Location: Lancashire, England | Style: Links | Par: 71 | Yardage: 7,118 yards | Founded: 1886

Originally designed by George Lowe in 1886, it was Harry Colt who was responsible for the redesign of this Open Championship venue in 1919. Today Royal Lytham features 174 bunkers that line the fairways and surround the greens, and it is one of the few great inland links courses in the world. Although a long way from the coast, the sea breeze still affects your round and left golf writer Bernard Darwin to describe it as “a beast of a course.”

Key Features:

• 174 bunkers, strategically placed and punishing
• Firm, fast-running fairways with subtle elevation changes
• Inland links style with minimal visual distractions

Key Facts:

• Hosted 11 Open Championships
• Par 70 – relatively short, but extremely tight
• Signature Hole: Par-4 6th – a brutal test with bunkers left and right

Location: Paris, France | Style: Parkland | Par: 72 | Yardage: 6,946 yards | Founded: 1922

There are 27-holes of golf to be played at Golf de Saint-Germain, France, both of which were designed by this great British golf course architect. Le Grand Parcours is the 18-hole design that meanders through the forest of St. Germain, and incorporates 116 strategically placed bunkers.

Regarded as one of the best golf courses in France, it is no surprise this course has hosted the French Open nine times, with the likes of Sandy Lyle and Seve Ballesteros winning here.

Key Features:

• Tree-lined fairways with classic parkland charm
• Strategic bunkering and subtly contoured greens
• Designed by Harry Colt – timeless architecture with modern challenge

Key Facts:

• Established in 1922, west of Paris
• Par 72 – elegant layout with a mix of power and precision holes
• Signature Hole: Par-4 13th – a tight dogleg demanding accuracy off the tee and finesse into the green

Location: Surrey, England | Style: Heathland | Par: 70 | Yardage: 6,563 yards | Founded: 1913

Widely regarded as one of Harry Colt’s most spectacular and visionary designs, St George’s Hill set the standard for golf and residential estate integration. Laid out over dramatic Surrey heathland, Colt’s routing at St George’s Hill is nothing short of masterful, winding through pines, heather, and rolling elevation changes that deliver one visual feast after another.

The Red and Blue nines form the club’s premier 18-hole championship layout, and Colt’s use of contour, natural landforms, and bold bunkering makes this one of England’s most thrilling inland experiences.

Key Features:

• Striking elevation changes with panoramic views from elevated tees
• Classic heathland terrain with firm fairways and swathes of heather
• Colt’s signature strategic bunkering and green complexes
• Carefully preserved design integrity with immaculate conditioning

Key Facts:

• Opened in 1913 and designed entirely by Harry Colt
• Par 70 (Red & Blue nines) – a perfect blend of challenge and aesthetics
• Signature hole: Par-4 10th (Red 1st) – an unforgettable opening tee shot from a high plateau, plunging downhill toward a fairway lined with heather and framed by forest

Location: Sligo, Ireland | Style: Links | Par: 71 | Yardage: 6,609 yards | Founded: 1894 (Colt redesign: 1927)

Although only a redesign by Harry Colt, you could argue that the Championship Course at County Sligo Golf Club in Ireland wouldn’t be held in as high regard if it weren’t for the famed designer adding his own touch. This is truly an aesthetically pleasing golf course, with three large beaches beneath the cliffs that keep the Atlantic Ocean at bay, while the Benbulben Mountain competes with the Atlantic for scenic splendor.

Key Features:

• Sweeping views of Benbulben and the Atlantic coastline
• Traditional links layout with rolling fairways and bold contours
• Windswept terrain demanding creativity and control

Key Facts:

• Redesigned in 1927 by Harry Colt
• Par 71 – links golf in its purest, most scenic form
• Signature Hole: Par-4 17th “The Jump” – elevated tee, blind drive, and a green tucked beneath a ridge

Location: Somerset, England | Style: Links | Par: 71 | Yardage: 6,900 yards | Founded: 1896 (Colt redesign: 1913)

Although opening in 1896, it was Harry Colt who produced a blueprint in 1913 to turn Burnham & Berrow into the challenge it is today. He removed the blind shots and replaced the weaker holes with new 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th holes. The Championship Course here is set among towering sand dunes on the Bristol Channel Coast and makes for an exciting challenge.

The Course is laid out traditionally with nine holes out and nine back. The first nine holes skirt the dunes and coastline northwards, turning inland and southwards and then following the coast road through Berrow, past the Church and back into Burnham.

Key Features:

• Towering dunes and fast-running links turf
• Natural routing shaped by the coastal landscape
• Challenging blind shots and ever-present wind

Key Facts:

• One of England’s premier championship links, with rich amateur history
• Par 71 – classic out-and-back links layout
• Signature Hole: Par-3 9th – elevated tee to a narrow, exposed green surrounded by trouble

Location: Nottinghamshire, England | Style: Heathland | Par: 72 | Yardage: 6,835 yards | Founded: 1912

In the East Midlands, east of Mansfield, you will find the superb heathland layout at Sherwood Forest, which Harry Colt laid out in 1912. Here, golfers wind their way through the pines, silver birch and oak trees of the Clipstone Woods, which is within the legendary Sherwood Forest. It is no wonder this course has hosted qualifying for the Open Championship in the past, and has become renowned for its excellent greens.

Key Features:

• Heathland setting with fast, firm fairways and gorse-lined rough
• Tall pines frame strategic doglegs and tight approaches
• Subtle elevation shifts and classic Colt-era bunkering

Key Facts:

• Established in 1912, nestled on the edge of the legendary Sherwood Forest
• Par 72 – demanding yet elegant heathland challenge
• Signature Hole: Par-4 13th – a sweeping hole through the pines, requiring precision and nerve

Location: North Yorkshire, England | Style: Inland Links/Heathland | Par: 71 | Yardage: 6,939 yards | Founded: 1891 (Colt involvement: 1930s)

Harry Colt was one of many great architects to have their say on the layout at Ganton Golf Club, helping it become arguably one of the best golf courses in Yorkshire. Nestled in the Vale of Pickering, close to York and Scarborough, the sandy and gently undulating terrain creates a blend of links and heathland. When you add to that the cavernous bunkers and tricky greens, you create an unforgettable challenge in the North East of England.

Key Features:

• Heathland-meets-links style with sandy soil and firm turf
• Over 100 deep, penal bunkers, placement is everything
• Expansive, undulating greens that demand sharp putting

Key Facts:

• Refined by Vardon (1907), Colt (1911), and MacKenzie (1931)
• Par 71 – one of England’s toughest inland tests
• Signature Hole: Par-4 10th – long, bunker-laced, and brutally honest from tee to green

Location: Knokke-Heist, Belgium | Style: Links/Heathland hybrid | Par: 72 | Yardage: 6,854 yards | Founded: 1907 (Colt redesign: 1920s)

Harry Colt’s design at Royal Zoute is one of the finest in Belgium, thanks to its location in a superb landscape of pine, hawthorn hedges, silver birch and poplar trees. The fairways navigate between waves of dunes and, when the strong wind blows, the course will not leave any golfer unmoved.

Key Features:

• Subtle seaside links with inland polish and charm
• Wide fairways met with clever bunkering and shifting winds
• A natural, flowing layout that rewards precision over power

Key Facts:

• Founded in 1907, redesigned by Harry Colt in the 1920s
• Par 72 – elegant Belgian links with Scottish soul
• Signature Hole: Par-4 13th – a sweeping dogleg with strategic options and a well-guarded green

Location: Lincolnshire, England | Style: Heathland | Par: 73 | Yardage: 7,080 yards | Founded: 1905 (Colt refinements: c.1910s)

The Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa was originally a Harry Vardon design in 1905 before Harry Colt made major changes, just before the Great War. A couple more design additions by Colonel S.V. Hotchkin later, and the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa invariably fights it out with the Old Course at Sunningdale for the position of best inland golf courses in the UK.

Key Features:

• Pure heathland terrain with firm fairways and natural beauty
• Over 140 fearsome, revetted bunkers, deep and unforgiving
• Towering pines and heather frame every strategic decision

Key Facts:

• Opened in 1905, with major refinements by Harry Colt and later Donald Steel
• Par 73 – a rare mix of charm and championship bite
• Signature Hole: Par-4 12th – tight driving corridor, brutal bunkering, and a sloping green

Location: Le Touquet, France | Style: Links | Par: 72 | Yardage: 6,891 yards | Founded: 1931 (Colt & Alison)

Harry Colt’s La Mer Course at Golf du Touquet opened in 1931, but was recently renovated by architects Patrice Boissonnas and Frank Pont to restore holes that were abandoned after World War II. The course is now back in line with its historic, original Colt design. As one of the few genuine links courses in mainland Europe, you’d be a fool not to play this gem on your next golf holiday in France.

Key Features:

• True links layout carved through wild coastal dunes
• Raw, rugged terrain with minimal shaping, nature leads
• Exposed to strong winds, with dramatic elevation changes

Key Facts:

• Opened in 1931, designed by Harry Colt
• Par 72 – considered France’s finest championship links
• Signature Hole: Par-4 15th – a blind tee shot into a sweeping fairway, followed by a perilous approach into a dune-protected green

• Best for classic heathland charm: Sunningdale (Old & New) & Swinley Forest
• Best for major championship pedigree: Royal Portrush & Royal Lytham & St Annes
• Best hidden gem: Golf de Saint Germain & Sherwood Forest
• Best coastal test: County Sligo & Burnham & Berrow

Harry Colt’s portfolio is a masterclass in variety and timeless strategy. From rugged linksland to tranquil forests, his designs continue to challenge and inspire every level of golfer. Whether you’re chasing history or serenity, a round on a Colt course offers beauty, brilliance, and enduring character.