Staff WriterDorset Cottage Holidays is doing something rather clever here. In a county already blessed with sea air, rolling countryside and enough postcard views to make your camera beg for mercy, it has added a golfing incentive that gives a Dorset escape a bit more backbone.
Guests booking through the holiday company can now claim 20% off tee times at Came Down Golf Club near Weymouth, which is not a bad way at all to spend a morning if you like your holidays with a little turf under your feet.
It is the sort of partnership that makes immediate sense. Dorset has long sold itself on beaches, coast paths and pretty villages, but the county’s inland charms deserve a louder trumpet. Golf, when done in the right setting, is less a sport than a splendid excuse to walk through scenery you’d happily frame and hang on a wall.
A Dorset break with more than sand and sunscreen
That is where Came Down comes in. Perched above Weymouth, the club enjoys the kind of elevated setting that makes even a sliced drive feel briefly philosophical. From up there, the Dorset countryside rolls away in folds and ridges, with the Jurassic Coast never too far from the eye or imagination.
Dorset Cottage Holidays has also sponsored a hole at the club, which gives the arrangement a little substance beyond a discount code and a handshake. More importantly for visitors, it offers a tangible reason to swap a day on the beach for a round in one of England’s most scenic golfing corners.
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 last point matters. Too many golf destinations still behave as though the game is a private members’ handshake in sensible trousers. Dorset, by contrast, has the good manners to offer something for everyone.
Came Down Golf Club offers the full Dorset golf experience
For the committed golfer, Came Down Golf Club is the headline act. This is a classic 18-hole downland course, and that phrase still means something to people who care about golf architecture. Downland golf tends to ask proper questions. It rewards thought, shape and patience. It does not usually flatter the careless.
Came Down’s appeal lies in that traditional layout and the land itself. The routing sits naturally in the countryside, rather than bullying it into submission, and the panoramic views lend the round a sense of occasion without turning it into theatre. You get a proper golf day here: a walk, a challenge and a few moments where you stop, look up and remember why golf in the English countryside can still be one of the game’s purest pleasures.
Compared with some of Britain’s louder coastal golfing names, Dorset feels less showy and more lived-in. There is less chest-thumping than you might find at some marquee resort destinations, and more quiet confidence. That suits a county like this. Dorset does not need to shout.
The right Dorset course for every kind of golfer
One of the strengths of this Dorset golf offering is that it is not trying to force every visitor into the same mould. The county gives you options, which is exactly what a holiday should do.
Family fun and easy rounds: Lodmoor Pitch and Putt, Weymouth
For families, children or anyone who simply wants a light-hearted game without the solemnity of a full-sized course, Lodmoor Pitch and Putt has plenty going for it. Set in Lodmoor Country Park, it offers an easy-going nine-hole format in surroundings that feel open, relaxed and forgiving.
This is golf with its tie loosened. There is wildlife nearby, space to wander, play areas for children and enough other outdoor attractions in the vicinity to make it part of a broader day out. For many holidaymakers, that is exactly the point.
Beginners and casual players: Wessex Golf Centre, Radipole
For newcomers, Wessex Golf Centre is the sort of place that understands the game does not need to be intimidating. The nine-hole par-28 course is relaxed, the dress code is refreshingly unbothered, and the atmosphere is designed more to welcome than to judge.
There is club hire available, which is helpful for travellers who do not fancy stuffing half a pro shop into the boot, and the on-site driving range gives beginners a chance to loosen up before tackling the course. For casual golfers, it is practical, accessible and sensibly low-pressure.
Experienced golfers: Came Down Golf Club, near Weymouth
Then there is Came Down, the choice for those who want the full thing. Eighteen holes. Big views. Traditional design. A round that feels like an event rather than a spare-hour diversion.
The added 20% guest discount makes it more tempting still. In a travel market where “added value” is often just a phrase wheeled out and left wobbling on its axles, this is a genuine extra. Dorset Cottage Holidays guests get a better rate on one of the county’s most respected golf courses, and that makes the experience feel joined-up rather than improvised.
What makes Dorset different from other UK golf escapes
Plenty of British regions can offer golf. Fewer can wrap it in quite the same package. Dorset has a different rhythm to it. The light is softer. The coast feels ancient. The countryside has that lovely, unrushed quality that makes you want to stay out longer than you meant to.
Unlike the more obvious golf-trip heavyweights, Dorset blends the game into a wider holiday experience. You are not boxed into a resort bubble. You can play in the morning, wander a harbour in the afternoon, eat well in the evening and still feel as though the trip belongs to the place rather than the itinerary.
That is what gives the county its edge. It is not merely a golf destination. It is a destination where golf fits naturally into the landscape, the culture and the pace of the day.
A small perk that makes a holiday feel smarter
There is also something pleasingly practical about this partnership. Dorset Cottage Holidays is not trying to reinvent the holiday. It is simply making it better. Stay somewhere comfortable, explore the county, and if golf is your thing, there is now a clear reason to pack a glove and a few balls.
Guests can claim the 20% discount at Came Down Golf Club by quoting their booking reference when reserving a tee time. Simple enough, and mercifully free of modern complications.
Dorset still knows how to surprise you
The beauty of Dorset is that it catches people out. They arrive expecting beaches and cream teas, and leave having found something richer: a county with character, texture and enough variety to keep both golfers and non-golfers happy without anybody feeling dragged along.
So yes, the beach will always do its work. But for those willing to look beyond the sand, Dorset Cottage Holidays has opened the door to a different kind of break — one with chalky fairways, broad skies and the sort of views that make a well-struck iron feel even better than usual.
To book a tee time at Came Down Golf Club and claim the guest discount, visit camedown.com.
