Belfry Golf Club (PGA National)

Overview: The PGA National is The Belfry’s inland links-style course in Warwickshire, built around fast-running fairways, broad changes in elevation, severe run-offs and large, strategically placed bunkers. The current Belfry course page lists it as an 18-hole, par-72 layout measuring 6,921 yards. It is a course where the approach shot is often as important as the drive, because a ball that reaches the right part of the fairway can still be rejected by a sloping green or a run-off. The stored routing is the PGA National course, not The Belfry’s separate Brabazon or Derby layouts.

History: PGA National opened for play in 1997 and was designed by Dave Thomas. It became the first course in Europe to carry PGA branding, giving the layout a clear place in the history of the modern Belfry resort. The course has hosted two European Tour events, and the resort itself has been a four-time Ryder Cup venue through the Brabazon. Those achievements belong to the wider Belfry complex, while the PGA National’s own tournament identity comes from its links-influenced design and European Tour hosting record.

Did You Know? The course’s inland links character is created without a coastal setting. The Belfry describes hard, quick-running fairways, undulating greens and roughly seventy cavernous bunkers as central to the challenge. That combination means the visual language of the course can suggest links golf while the surrounding Warwickshire countryside and resort infrastructure make it a distinctly inland experience.