Old Thorns Hotel And Resort

Old Thorns has been a fixture of the Hampshire golf scene since the early 1980s, when the course was laid out across the wooded, rolling estate near Liphook — territory that sits at the edge of the South Downs and shares its sandy heathland character with some of England's finest inland layouts. The design makes good use of mature oak and pine, and the naturally undulating terrain gives the round a sense of variety that flat, manufactured parkland courses rarely manage. It plays as a genuine test without tipping into severity.

The resort wraps the course in a full hotel, spa, and leisure operation, which shapes the experience considerably — this is a place that draws weekend breaks and golf societies as much as committed club members, and the atmosphere tends toward relaxed and social rather than hushed and competitive. That accessibility is part of its appeal.

Hampshire's inland golf corridor, running from Liphook through to the heaths of Berkshire and Surrey, is quietly one of Britain's strongest. Old Thorns sits comfortably within that broader tradition.