Golfshake Reveals Highly Recommended & Outstanding Venues For 2025

Golfshake is delighted to reveal the 444 venues receiving the 'Highly Recommended' status and 130 venues receiving the 'Service Excellence' status for golf course reviews submitted to Golfshake during 2024.

The data compiled provides a great advert for any courses listed given that everyday golfers who have visited their venue felt the experience matched up to their expectations and they would recommend to others. To be awarded the 'Highly Recommended' accolade, golf courses required at least seven independent reviews and a Highly Recommended rating greater than 90% during 2024. Venues awarded the 'Service Excellence' accolade, required this achievement for the last four years consecutively.

If you are looking for somewhere new to play, then the lists provide a diverse range of venues - from championship courses to hidden gems that offer fantastic value - ensuring that there is something to suit everyone's needs.

Highly Recommened

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This year’s list of Highly Recommended golf courses features a diverse selection of courses from the UK, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and from around the world - including South Africa. From links and parkland to heathland and championship courses, the lists includes standout venues such as Fancourt in South Africa, Las Colinas in Spain, all three courses at Quinta do Lago in Portugal, and Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus.

UK courses featured in the list include Goring & Streatley, Burnham Beeches, Gleneagles, Perranporth, St Mellion, Silloth-on-Solway, Saunton, Fulwell, Nefyn, Aberdovey, Blackmoor, Sherwood Forest, Panmure, The Belfry, and Kings Norton.

New entries for 2025 include Kingsbarns, Aberystwyth,  Fulford Heath, Weymouth, Sand Moor, Alresford and The Herefordshire to name a few.

As noted above, to achieve this status, these courses required a minimum of seven unique ratings from the previous year, with over 90% of them stating that they would recommend the experience to someone else.

View 2024 Highly Recommended List

Service Excellence

Taking things even further, those venues featured in the 'Service Excellence' list include a variety of well-known courses, resort venues, hidden gems and popular locations, such as; Turnberry, Woburn, Gleneagles, East Sussex National, Toot Hill, The Grove, London Club, Sweetwoods, Woodhall Spa, Sheringham, The Astbury, Silvermere, Foxhills, Carnoustie, The Belfry and The Manor House.

Several golf courses aopeared for the first time this year including the likes of; Frilford Heath, Handsworth, Felixstowe Ferry, Faversham, Chiltern Forest, and Drift Golf Club.

How do venues achieve this status? It's calculated by analysing the independent reviews submitted in the Course Section by the Golfshake Community. These successful venues recorded at least seven unique ratings entered by golfers during each of the relevant years (2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, with over 90% of reviewers stating they would recommend the experience to someone else.

The most impressive thing for 130 golf courses that have received the accolade for this season is that they have now been 'Highly Recommended' every year since 2021. That consistency is a striking feat and reflects the tremendous service and quality that they offer visiting golfers.

View 2024 Service Excellence List

All of the venues that made these lists receive our congratulations and should be in your mind to play in 2025 and beyond.

Wherever you do visit this season, we'd encourage you to submit reviews on Golfshake, as it might just help that place you loved featuring in these rankings for next year!

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