Top 10 Golf Resorts and Destinations in Europe

1. SCOTLAND - ST ANDREWS : There is nowhere in the golfing world quite like it - and nowhere quite as old. This, without doubt, is the home of golf. If you don't get to play on the revered Old Course, there are six other wonderful links courses within a few minutes' walk, and the likes of Kingsbarns, Ladybank and even Gleneagles not so far away.

2. SPAIN - SAN ROQUE : The San Roque Resort can boast two excellent and very testing championship layouts, just ask the budding professionals who have attended this, the home of the European Tour's qualifying school. Also on the premises is an excellent Japanese restaurant, "Kamakura" and top-quality villa-style accommodations. Stay at San Roque and benefit from preferential rates at other fabulous golf courses on the western Costa del Sol, not least Valderrama and Sotogrande.

3. SCOTLAND - TURNBERRY : Scotland is full of legends, and in golfing terms they come no bigger than Turnberry. From the stunning and immensely scenic Ailsa course, you will enjoy many fine views onto the mighty Atlantic and across to the Ailsa Craig rock. Famous for its lighthouse and for Nicklaus and Watson's "duel in the sun" in the 1977 British Open, the Ailsa course has an equally scenic companion in the Kintyre course. With its Colin Montgomerie Golf Academy, top-quality spa facilities and the best view from any restaurant in Scotland, Turnberry's glowing reputation is known the world over.

4. PORTUGAL - SAN LORENZO : Arguably the best golf course in Portugal, and superbly located to allow you to delve into the other golfing treasures in Quinta do Lago, neighbouring Vale do Lobo and further along the Algarve coast. With beautiful views across the Ria Formosa lagoon and out onto the Atlantic, San Lorenzo will test and probe your game in a wonderful scenic environment. Along the way you will glimpse some impressive real estate - home to some of Europe's leading stars of stage and screen (and football field and Formula 1 race track !).

5.ENGLAND - WENTWORTH : Located just a short drive from London, Wentworth epitomises the very best of heathland golf in England. With accommodation available in its famous crenellated clubhouse, you can explore not only Wentworth's three championship layouts, but also many other wonderful heathland courses in the area - Sunningdale, Swinley Forest, St George's Hill and The Berkshire to name just a few. Perhaps mightiest and most famous of them all is the West Course at Wentworth, known to many as Burma Road, and scene of many professional golfing dramas - Ryder Cups included.

6. ITALY - POGGIO DEI MEDICI : Home to arguably the best food in Europe, Italy also has a wonderful array of top-quality stay and play golf resorts. Perhaps best of them all is Poggio dei Medici ("The Hill of the Medici"). Excellent food, accommodation and spa facilities are complemented by a terrific golf course, designed by one of Italy's golfing greats, Baldovino Dassu. The Tuscan countryside elegantly wraps itself around the course, with castles and villages, pine trees and cypresses all in view. If you can tear yourself away from the golf, Italy's most stunning city - Florence (Firenze) - awaits just a thirty minute drive away to the south.

7. IRELAND - K CLUB : Although the Ring of Kerry often wins Ireland's golfing accolades, the recent growth of golf around the nation's capital, Dublin, has been spectacular. Nowhere characterises this phenomenon more than the K Club. In the grounds of the former stately home of Straffan House, Dr Michael Smurfit has created a world-class stay and play golfing venue, a venue that carved its name into the golfing annals with the 2006 Ryder Cup. Two terrific championship courses, both designed by Arnold Palmer, are the cornerstone of the K Club. which also offers luxury accommodation, spa facilities, riding, fishing, shooting and a myriad of other activities.

8. FRANCE - TERRE BLANCHE : Provence and the Cote D'Azur have always been an essential part of any grand tour of Europe. Straddling these two great regions of France, Terre Blanche Golf Club is now an essential part of any golfer's grand tour. The Chateau and Rioux championship courses are classical undulating woodland layouts, guaranteed to test and probe every department of your game. After the golf, the onsite Four Seasons Resort Provence provides a full range of luxury facilities to soothe the body and satisfy the appetite. Just a short drive from Terre Blanche and the Four Seasons resort are the cities of Cannes and Nice, and a host of other top-quality golf courses.

9. WALES - CELTIC MANOR : Soon to host the Ryder Cup (in 2010), Celtic Manor is the top stay and play golf location in Wales, and now home to three great championship courses. The aptly named Twenty Ten course sits in the picturesque Usk River valley, a course designed to test many of the world's best golfers, as well as provide the amateur golfer with a challenging and thoroughly enjoyable round. Celtic Manor's Roman Road and Montgomerie layouts also give wonderful views onto the surrounding Welsh hills, down into the valley and away across the Severn estuary to England in the distance beyond. Other notable South Wales courses such as Royal Porthcawl , Southerndown and St Pierre are also close at hand, while a short drive will take you further along the South Wales coast to the delights of Pennard, Machynys Peninsula and Tenby.

10. SWEDEN - BARSEBACK : It's no surprise to learn that Sweden is full of excellent golf courses, especially when you think how many world-class Swedish players there are (names like Annika, Jesper, Sophie and Per- Ulrik come readily to mind). The most well-known layout in Sweden, thanks in part to its 2003 Solheim Cup fame, is Barseback. Although the accommodation might be considered functional rather than luxurious, the two courses at Barseback will keep any golfing appetite fully satisfied. If you drive 30 kilometres the other side of Malmo you will also discover the delights of two other Swedish gems, namely Ljunghusen and Falsterbo.

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Nigel & Suzanne Butler have established a rapidly growing golf information website covering the world's best golf destinations and the top courses within those destinations. Personally visiting each featured course is a key element of our offer to golfers. The provision of accurate, good-quality data, as well as photographic content, is critical to this offer. For information on golf holidays contact tours@where2golf.com.