Flempton

Located less than a 15-minute drive northwest of Bury St Edmunds, Flempton Golf Club dates back to 1895, when a 9-hole course was brought into play. Eleven years later, after acquiring an additional tract of twelve acres, the club invited J.H. Taylor to redesign the course over an extended 45 acres of heathland.

The resulting layout is the one that’s still in play more than a hundred years later, cleverly configured with three returning 3-hole loops to bring golfers back to the clubhouse with regularity. And with fairways laid out across sandy-soiled terrain, the course is genuinely playable all year round.

Measuring 3,126 yards from the back markers, the course plays to a par of 35, with just the one par five hole at the 489-yard 3rd. The par four 4th is rated the most difficult on the card, while the 202-yard 9th is the longest of the two par threes, played to a green that slopes markedly from left to right.

Mackenzie and Ebert were engaged in 2018 to conduct a course audit and a blueprint was developed to pay homage to J. H. Taylor’s design by setting out to reinstate the unique bunkering, mounding and other elements that have been partially lost over time.

The phased implementation of the upgrade work began in 2020, with aspects of course clearance and improving sight lines and the recruitment of a new Head Greenkeeper to work with Master Greenkeeper and agronomist Gordon Irvine augurs well for the future.

The Course Development Plan will be completed as finances allow.