Andy Devaney
Dorset Cottage Holidays is offering visitors another fine excuse to swap the car park by the beach for a pair of spikes and a scorecard, thanks to a new partnership with Came Down Golf Club near Weymouth. Guests booking a stay can now claim 20% off tee times at one of the county’s most admired courses, which is rather like being handed a better view and a better deal at the same time.
It is a smart fit. Dorset has always had the obvious charms: sea air, pretty villages, cliff paths, fish and chips eaten with the wind trying to nick them from your hand. But this county has another side, quieter and no less impressive, where rolling downland, broad skies and well-routed golf courses give a holiday a bit more backbone.
As part of the partnership, Dorset Cottage Holidays has also sponsored a hole at Came Down Golf Club, perched high above Weymouth with expansive views across the countryside and out towards the Jurassic Coast. It is the sort of setting that can make a golfer forget the score for a moment, which is usually a sign the place has got under the skin.
Came Down Golf Club offers Dorset at its most dramatic
Came Down Golf Club is a classic 18-hole downland course, and downland golf, when done properly, has a lovely honesty to it. No gimmicks, no circus tricks, just fairways that sit naturally in the land, breezes that keep you truthful, and holes that ask sensible questions in an unsentimental voice.
This is not a course trying to impersonate some glossy resort layout from warmer shores. It is better than that. It knows what it is. Traditional in routing, generous in outlook and welcoming to visiting golfers, Came Down has earned its place among the best golf courses in Dorset by sticking to the fundamentals and letting the landscape do the talking.
That elevated position above Weymouth does plenty of the heavy lifting. The light seems broader up there, the countryside more spacious, the coast somehow both near and distant. You are not just playing a round; you are moving through one of England’s most distinctive landscapes, with the Jurassic Coast adding a little geological swagger in the background.
For guests staying with Dorset Cottage Holidays, the arrangement is pleasingly simple. Quote your booking reference when reserving a tee time with the club and the 20% discount is applied. No song and dance. No treasure hunt.
A golf holiday in Dorset that suits more than one type of player
The clever part of this Dorset golf break is that it does not only cater to the golfer who wants a full-blooded 18-hole examination. Dorset, refreshingly, has options.
For families and those after something light-hearted, Lodmoor Pitch and Putt in Weymouth is about as relaxed as golf gets without becoming crazy golf with ambitions. Set within Lodmoor Country Park, it offers an easy-going nine holes surrounded by open space, wildlife and enough nearby attractions to keep the whole crew happy. For children, first-timers and anyone who prefers their golf without a side order of intimidation, it makes perfect sense.
Then there is Wessex Golf Centre in Radipole, which is geared beautifully towards beginners and casual players. A nine-hole par-28 course, no severe dress-code nonsense, club hire available, and a driving range on site for those who want to loosen up before introducing the golf ball to fresh disappointment. It is accessible, welcoming and exactly the sort of place that helps people enjoy the game before they start worrying about it.
For the more experienced player, though, Came Down is the main course. It offers the full day out: a proper test, fine views, a traditional layout and enough character to make the round memorable beyond whatever number goes on the card.
More than a beach break
Leanne Hemingway, director of Dorset Cottage Holidays, said: “Dorset has so much to offer beyond the beach, and golf is a brilliant way to make the most of the countryside on your doorstep. Came Down is a stunning course with views that genuinely take your breath away, and we’re delighted to be partnering with them to give our guests a little something extra when they stay with us. Whether you’re a serious golfer after a full 18-hole challenge, a beginner looking for somewhere relaxed to try the game for the first time, or a family wanting a fun afternoon out, there really is a course in Dorset to suit every type of visitor.”
That gets to the heart of it. The best holiday destinations are not one-note places. Dorset can do the beach postcard routine well enough, but it is the blend that makes it interesting: coastal drama, inland calm, self-catering comfort, good walking, good eating and now a sharper sporting edge for those who prefer a morning on the fairways before an afternoon by the sea.
For visitors staying in Weymouth holiday cottages or planning a broader Dorset cottage break, golf slips naturally into the itinerary. It is not an awkward bolt-on. It belongs there.
What makes Dorset different from other golf escapes
There are flashier golf destinations, certainly. Cornwall has its wild glamour, Scotland its sacred turf, and Spain its relentless sunshine. Dorset plays a subtler hand. It offers variety without fuss. You can wake to sea air, spend the morning on downland, have lunch in a village that looks as though it has barely been bothered by the modern age, and finish the day looking out over a coastline older than most arguments.
That sense of place matters. Dorset golf is not about excess. It is about atmosphere, shape, texture and rhythm. The land rolls rather than shouts. The light changes by the minute. The courses feel part of the county instead of dropped on top of it.
For travellers who want more from a UK golf holiday than a functional round and a hotel breakfast, that has real appeal. Dorset Cottage Holidays is leaning into that beautifully, offering visitors a chance to experience both the coast and the countryside with a little more purpose.
A stay that leaves you wanting one more day
There is something deeply satisfying about a holiday that broadens as it goes on. One day it is cliff walks and coastal views, the next it is a tee time above Weymouth with the Dorset landscape laid out like a painted backdrop. That is the charm Dorset Cottage Holidays is tapping into here.
This partnership with Came Down Golf Club is not just a discount. It is a nudge towards seeing Dorset properly. Not only as a seaside escape, but as a place of real golfing character, where the land has shape, the welcome is warm and the best memories are often made a little inland, with a club in hand and the coast on the horizon.
For anyone planning their next UK golf break, that is a rather compelling thought.
