2-fore!-1 Golf in England: East
20 Courses in Stafforshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Thorney , Hertfordshire, Ipswich, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Beecles, Royston
The East of England includes counties Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. There are around 250 golf clubs in the East of England. Here are overviews and highlights of the region, by county.
Golf in Norfolk
For any golfer who loves to play true Links golf, Norfolk is a golfing treasure. Here you find the Norfolk Golf Coast. This is the glorious stretch of coastline that is home to many and varied links courses, set in one of the sunniest, warmest and driest locations in the UK. And, you can easily find cliff-top courses with panoramic views over the North Sea. Along this coast you'll find some outstanding championship golf courses with hotels, pubs and restaurants all nearby. For example, Hunstanton Golf Club set right next to the beach with views over Wash Bay; Royal West Norfolk Golf Club with a traditional, classic links course set between the sea and salt marshes; Sheringham Golf Club, founded in 1891 and almost always open for play "whatever the weather"; the Royal Cromer Golf Club set along cliff tops with unforgettable views. With its beautiful beaches, tranquil parkland, serene rural inland scenery and a warm dry climate, Norfolk is a wonderful place to play golf!
Golf in Suffolk
Suffolk has low-lying terrain with very few hills. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west, Essex to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the East. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths are a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and include ancient woodland, rivers and estuaries, heathland and forestry. Ipswich is the Suffolk county town. Golf courses in Suffolk are mainly parkland, woodland and heathland courses. Some of the top Suffolk golf courses include the Championship course at Aldeburgh Golf Club, a heathland course set by the coast on a tidal estuary and one of the oldest clubs in the county; Ipswich Golf Club's Purdis course, a classic James Braid design for a challenging heathland course that would be at home in the sandbelt; the Royal Worlington & Newmarket Golf Club with a course laid out the 1890s that is still the only nine hole golf course ever to be voted into the Top 100, aka "the best nine hole course on the planet"; Thorpness Golf Club, near Aldeburgh, a coastal heathland course that is host to many regional golf events; Woodbridge Golf Club, the Heath course, a well-loved and challenging sand-based heathland course.
Golf in Essex
Immediately north-east of London and bounded to the south by the Thames is the home county, Essex. It is part of what was once the Kingdom of Essex, referred to in records as early as AD 527. Essex became a county after the Norman conquest. Much of the area was then to be a Royal Forest until, after the 13th century, the forest law gradually lost effect. Today, Essex is a popular holiday destination for golfers, who enjoy a good mix of both coastal and inland golf courses. Some golf clubs of note include the Royal Epping Forest Golf Club, a public course laid out on the hunting grounds of King Henry VIII that curves and rises into the forest where hidden bunkers await; Burnham on Crouch Golf Club, a challenging course on rolling meadowland with views over the river Crouch; Clacton on the Sea Golf Club, founded in 1892, with both parkland and links features interwoven in its design; Thorndon Park Golf Club, a supremely beautiful mature parkland course with hundreds of trees including 500 year old oaks along a course designed by Harry Colt, with two nine hole loops and a stream-fed five acre lake, all on fast draining soil and turf that springs as you walk: one of the very best.
Golf in Cambridgeshire
Large areas of Cambridgeshire are very low-lying and the county includes Holme Fen, the lowest land point in Britain at 9.0 ft below sea level. The shire is home to the remarkable Flag Fen, a long and highly complex causeway construction dating back to the bronze age. Guided tours are available via the visitor's centre, where you can explore a reconstructed iron age village. Cambridgeshire is also, of course, the home of Cambridge University, founded in 1209. If you're a golfer visiting Cambridgeshire, you may notice is that there are only around 30 golf courses in the entire shire. These are generally mature parkland courses and are picturesque, traditional and meticulously well maintained. Here are some that stand out: Gog Magog Golf Club in Cambridge, founded in 1901, with its rare hillside setting in an otherwise flat shire is the undisputed favorite, and both the Old course and the new Wandlebury course are enthusiastically appreciated by all golfers who play them; Ely City Golf Club, with views to Ely Cathedral from the back nine, is a traditional parkland course that provides a serious test for the golfer; Elton Furze Golf Club in Peterborough, set on 20 acres of woodland, mostly within Furze Wood, features lakes and waterways throughout the course (and has an excellent covered bay driving range); St Neots Golf Club, formed in 1890 and one of the oldest courses, is a beautiful parkland golf course that is both charming and challenging.
Golf in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a small county and there are only about two dozen golf clubs to be found here. Particularly noteworthy are: Dunstable Downs Golf Club, six miles from Luton in the Chiltern Hills with panoramic views across several counties, designed by James Braid; Millbrook Golf Club near Amphill in a serene rural setting, at 6,884 yards, mostly tree-lined with pine and silver birch, has sandy free-draining soil and links-style pot bunkers; Bedford & County Golf Club, 2 miles out of Bedford, was founded in 1912 and is a particularly charming and attractive parkland golf course in a wider woodland setting.
Golf In Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire offers some 65 golf courses and many of these have outstanding features that will ensure your game is absolutely worthwhile. Here are some of the best: Ashridge Golf Club, 15 miles from Milton Keynes, is set in National Trust woodland that extends as far as you can see, creating an atmosphere where anything seems possible, so that playing here once is not enough - you will want to return; Hadley Wood Golf Club near Enfield opened in 1922, an authentic Alister MacKenzie designed course laid out in double loops in a luxurious rolling parkland course, was the Regional Qualifying course for the Open in early 2000s; The Grove, near Watford, is an extraordinarily high quality pay-and-play course, host to 2006 World Golf Championships; Sandy Lodge Golf Club opened in 1910 and this Harry Vardon designed course is effectively an inland links course; at Moor Park Golf Club, the Harry Colt designed High course opened in 1923 and today epitomizes quality and class.
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