Mullion
7th
Nearby Courses
15 miles away
West Cornwall
17 miles away
Perranporth
34 miles away
St Enodoc
From the moment you step out of your car at Mullion - Britain's most southerly course - it's a sensory overload. That beautiful crisp smell of the sea, the crashing waves, the hyperactive seagulls.
There is a golf course, somewhere. But everything disappears down into the Atlantic.
Who on earth looked at this space and thought, 'We should put a golf course here'? A beautiful mind, that's who.
The clubhouse is our favourite kind of clubhouse - traditional on the outside, modern on the inside. And the food's excellent, too. But that's just a bonus. We are, of course, here for the golf.
At the back of the clubhouse, and behind the small but perfect putting green, the raised 1st tee points you off into the ocean.
Is there anything more daunting than a long par 3 to open a golf course? "I really like hitting 6-iron for my first shot," said no one ever. Just to add to the excitement, a small sign tells you to beware of "active adders" on the course. Something to think about.
There is something quite interesting about the opening hole, though. Your carry to the green plays over both the 18th and the 2nd fairways. Surely there aren't many - if any - other holes that demand you hit over two other holes? Answers on a postcard.
It's also genius because, due to the proximity of the 2nd tee to the 1st green, you have to wait for the group in front to tee off before you can get your round underway. This creates a nice space between groups and you never really end up troubling each other. Not that slow play could ever be an issue in this kind of setting.
Mullion is a very friendly 5,871 yards off the yellows, but the pre-round scan of the scorecard to mentally prepare yourself can only lull you into a false sense of security. That long opening par 3 can be anything from a 9-iron to a driver depending on the wind, which, along with some imaginative bunkering, provides most of the course's defence. What else would you expect from a true links?
Mullion prides itself on its greens and it becomes instantly clear why. They say they are "probably the best in Cornwall", which is a bold claim, but we've been lucky enough to play Cornwall's finest links from Bude to St Enodoc, Trevose to Perranporth, and Mullion certainly rolls with the big guns.