King's Lynn - Norfolk - England

Kings Lynn felt like Groundhog Day, the same thing over and over. The members are great and love their course, but it's just extremely treelined and the holes all merge into one. Too repetitive for my liking

Firstly, I need to state I personally don’t think that tight, tree-lined courses generally produce the best of golf. Strategy is diminished, playing surfaces can be affected and repeatedly asking a golfer to simply keep his ball on the straight and narrow, and punishing them if they don’t, doesn’t really do it for me. I prefer angles and wide open spaces.

There is, however, a ‘but’ coming and King’s Lynn gets a pass from me. This is largely because the terrain, particularly on the front nine, is fabulous for golf and although there is a large premium on accuracy (I measured the second fairway at just 14 paces wide!) you are actually asked to work the ball through the narrow corridors and use the lay of the land to your advantage. Shaping the ball off the tee is essential at King’s Lynn and is its trump card.

It also gets the benefit of the doubt because the turf is excellent. Carved through Castle Rising Forest the property is free draining, fast running and the greens were beautifully firm yet receptive on my visit. Finally, whilst this is one of the narrowest golf courses I’ve ever played a lot of tree clearance is continually being done and sometimes you do have chance of a risky progression if you wander offline; hit a wide one and the game’s not completely over.

The first five holes are a brilliant example of how to route a golf course through woodland. Yes, they could be a bit wider but the round starts with four modest two-shotters followed by a dainty par-three, so you don’t really require any big hitting.

With the land twisting and turning through prime woodland and played to wonderful green sites you’re asked to work the ball both ways from the tee through snaking, undulating fairways before exciting approaches to lofty greens.

King’s Lynn reminded me a little bit of Worksop in Nottinghamshire and The Duchess course at Woburn. It’s perhaps best described as a hybrid of both of those for those who know them. It has its limitations for sure but there is also a bit of individuality to it, bags of character, and as far as woodland courses go this is one of the best.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

I played this course around 2 years ago without any idea what a gem it would be! I have not yet played a better inland course in Norfolk. It is tight, tree lined and forces you to move the ball both ways within the opening four holes. Great layout with good rolling greens that are fair. You will enjoy any round here and the clubhouse is very friendly too. Worth a trip if you have not played.

King's Lynn has to be one of my favourite courses in Norfolk. Best inland for me over Thetford and Weston Park however underrated as a course due to the quality Norfolk has with links courses.

It's a golf course where you can look at the scorecard and wonder how you can't have a good round of golf there, that is until you step onto the first tee! If it hadn't have been for some trees taken out of the left and back of the hole last year it's a very common feeling to feel suffocated on the first tee and many others as you endeavour further into the Castle Rising Forest.

There are a large amount of good golf holes which vary from flat to hilly holes, the toughest being a very challenging 370 yard par 4 which tempts you to take a driver out on the dog leg right hole. A slice will give you a bitter pill to swallow by giving you no option but to chip out and a bad enough hook will take you out of bounds. If you're lucky enough to find the tough left to right sloping fairway, a small elevated green with bunkers both sides leaves you less chance of making your par.

The fairways at KLGC are always in immaculate condition I just wish I could say the greens were too, they tend to be slow and in my opinion at this current time, the only thing from stopping the club from rocketing up the rankings in Norfolk and getting into the top 100 in England again.

All 3 par 5's here at King's Lynn are very reachable for the longer hitters, should you find the fairways. A downside of the course for me is the moderately sized tree standing in the middle of the tight 7th fairway. No logical explanation for me as to why you should be punished for a good shot on what is already a tough, tight hole.

The signature hole at King's Lynn is the 9th which sits at 510 from an elevated tee, you need a very delicate tee shot in order to hit the green in two which is very well protected by a mature oak tree and bunker. Crossing over the car park onto the 10th sees the second par 5 which is another good reachable par 5 should you hit it straight. Then comes a tough few holes with 11 being a 440 par four from the tips with the only big water hazard on the course to the right of the green. There was talk of bringing that more into play changing that into a par 5 playing your third over the water which to me is a brilliant idea. The par 3 12th a tight challenging par 3 measuring 210 where you're happy to walk off with par then onto the last par 5 which has you thinking if its worth trying to carry the second dike at around 230-240 to go for the green in two.

14,15 and 16 are a lovely few holes as you nearer the end of the course finishing with a great shortish par 4 which needs such a good positioned tee shot. With members sitting outside on the terrace just past the practice green, probably a wise idea to get your club selection right for your last full shot of the day as you want to be hitting close to the pin and gaining a rare round of applause from the spectators beyond rather than a cheer of being the only person in a while to hit the clubhouse!!

Overall a very good test of golf for the short course, but play to your handicap round King's Lynn and you won't be unhappy!

Played this course in a lombard qualifier and in a practice round. What a joy it was to play. Very picturesque and diverse, with some fantastic holes. This is not the longest course by any means and that ultimately will keep its rating low, but a top top quality round of golf, on a very pretty well presented course.

A template for a great golf club. A beautiful course which has maximised on the natural attributes of the woodland area. Super finishing hole which plays right up to the terrace outside the club house. Good mix of holes which have been designed well. All in all a lot of fun to play and I'd love to go back and play it again.

Played tonight on their excellent value Twilight rate. It is 10 years since I last played here and it was even better than I remembered. Despite the drought this Spring, where many courses in the East have been hard, bouncy and bare, the course was in excellent condition with the fastest, truest greens I've played all season and that includes quality courses like Aldeburgh, The Berkshire and Sheringham. There are some fun par 3s with the 5th being the finest and a back nine that is truly splendid. There are no weak holes at all and a few games round here and you will soon learn that placing on the correct side of the fairway is key and that there are many swales and imperceptible borrows on the slick putting surfaces. You need your best 'driving shoes' on around the whole course and whilst it is not overly long, good shot-making, straight drives and nifty short pitches will reward even the shortest of hitters. An absolute pleasure was topped up by the drinks on the 19th terrace, which sits majestically at the end of the super-tight, good 18th closing hole. King's Lynn does not gets its fair share of the limelight on the North Norfolk seaside links circuit but you would be remiss to overlook it.

Played this course last week whilst on tour in Norfolk. The course was good but i had mixed feelings about each half. Thought the front nine was too short and tight in places to be a good all round test of golf but i thought the back nine was much more interesting. The back nine has abit more room and as others have said is very Woburn like in places. Hospitality was good. Greens were being hollow tyned on the day we played (June !!) so were not particularly smooth. All in all a good day but not a spectacular one. Enjoy !!

I'm not one of Dave Thomas's fans really when it comes to design, he generally creates long, heavily bunkered and frankly dull courses. Well, something went right for him here at King's Lynn... perhaps it was Peter Alliss's influence? A few holes are a bit samey and rather tight and linear but I enjoyed it. Condition when we played here recently was great and it's certainly one of the better inland courses in the region. Woburn would be thrilled to have this course in their stable, there's more than a passing resemblance between the Duchess and King's Lynn.

Similar to the words above – this is a great course that many could miss. Well don’t miss it !!! Really good course at the top end of the tree lined, parkland bunch and if placed somewhere else in the UK (maybe on the M25 circuit) – this would be so well known and played by many of the droves that love the Surrey ‘big’ courses. All 18 holes need thinking about, especially the tee shots – could never be described as a forgiving course from the tee, so leave the drivers alone and plot your way around carefully. Emphasis definitely on positioning here and a great experience to play Kings Lynn – Favourite holes for me are 2nd, 9th, 12th and 18th – each and every hole is tree-lined and a very easy walk (not far between green and tees but with the trees you sense tranquil isolation).