Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas designed the Thorpe Wood golf course at Nene Park Golf Club. It’s one of the region’s best pay-and-play facilities and it’s also a serious test from the 7,086-yard tips.
Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas designed the Thorpe Wood golf course at Nene Park Golf Club. It’s one of the region’s best pay-and-play facilities and it’s also a serious test from the 7,086-yard tips.
The two 18-hole golf courses at Nene Park in Peterborough are just two of the outdoor activities operated by the Nene Park Trust, a registered charity established in the late 1990s to manage and protect the various facilities – including walks and trails, water sports and play areas – that are used by local people for their recreation, education and leisure.
The Thorpe Wood course is a Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas design which is recognised as one of the best pay-and-pay facilities in the region. Extending to 6,631 yards from the back tees, the course plays to a par of 71, boasting a rather unusual layout that starts with a par three at the 188-yard 1st hole and ends with back-to-back par fives at the 17th and 18th.
The front nine holes are routed around the perimeter of the property, completely enclosing the back nine, with holes 3, 4 and 5 set out alongside the River Nene. On the back nine, the par three 11th is the longest of the three one-shot holes on the inward half, with bunkers protecting both the right and left flanks of a kidney-shaped green.
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The city of Cambridge sits close enough to the Gog Magog Hills to claim two outstanding parkland layouts on its doorstep, and within a short drive you will find Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Club — ranked #87 in England and widely regarded as the finest nine-hole course in the world. For the business traveller staying in the city centre or the leisure golfer planning a long weekend, this compact corner of East Anglia delivers far more quality per mile than its flat fenland reputation suggests. Top 3 Golf Courses in Cambridge Best Golf Course in Cambridge — Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Club #1 in Suffolk | #87 in England | #3 in East England Access: Contact Club Prior to Visit Best Time to Visit: April to October Distance from City Centre: 40 km (25 miles) — approximately 40 minutes via the A14 and A11 Tom Dunn laid out these nine holes on sandy Suffolk soil in 1893, and Harry Colt refined them a generation later. Bernard Darwin, who chose two holes here among the 18 greatest inland holes in Britain, dubbed the layout the Sacred Nine — a name that has stuck for good reason. The home course of Cambridge University Golf Club since its founding, Royal Worlington plays faster and firmer than almost any inland course in England, with green complexes that demand imagination and precision in equal measure. Note that this course sits beyond the standard 30-minute drive from Cambridge city centre, but its national ranking and unique standing in golf history make the extra distance worthwhile. #2 Golf Course in Cambridge — The Gog Magog Golf Club (Old) #1 in Cambridgeshire Access: Contact Club Prior to Visit Best Time to Visit: April to October Distance from City Centre: 8 km (5 miles) — approximately 15 minutes Established in 1901 on the chalk escarpment of the Gog Magog Hills, this centurion layout rises south from the city across terrain that surprised Bernard Darwin when he first played it: undulating, fast-draining downland in one of England's flattest counties. Willie Park Junior, John Abercromby and Martin Hawtree have each shaped the course over more than a hundred years, and the result is 6,398 yards of accuracy-first parkland where rare perennial flax blooms blue in the rough each summer. The par-three 13th, played over a depression to a green with a spinney lurking left, is as good a one-shotter as the region produces. Host of the Lagonda Trophy since 1975, the Old course counts Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Andy Sullivan among its past winners. #3 Golf Course in Cambridge — The Gog Magog Golf Club (Wandlebury) #2 in Cambridgeshire Access: Contact Club Prior to Visit Best Time to Visit: April to October Distance from City Centre: 8 km (5 miles) — approximately 15 minutes Sharing the same hilltop address as the Old course, the Wandlebury opened in 1997 after Martin Hawtree combined eleven new holes across freshly acquired downland with seven from an earlier nine-hole layout. At 6,735 yards it plays longer than its sibling and carries its own credentials: the R&A selected it for Open Championship Regional Qualifying between 2007 and 2011. The join between old and new holes is softening with time, and some members prefer the Wandlebury's flow to the Old. Stone Age flint tools discovered on the 4th fairway during construction — following a mandatory archaeological survey — add another dimension to a course that already has one of the finest settings in East Anglia. Can't Play the Top 3? Try These Instead The Links Golf Club, Newmarket #4 in Cambridgeshire Access: Visitors Welcome Best Time to Visit: April to October Distance from City Centre: 22 km (14 miles) — approximately 25 minutes Set out in 1902 on the southeast perimeter of Newmarket racecourse. Colonel S.V. Hotchkin — the architect behind Woodhall Spa's Hotchkin course — redesigned the layout in the 1930s and his work remains largely unchanged today. A training track known as the Gallops surrounds the course and at the 7th and 15th, the tee shot must clear the white racecourse rails before reaching the fairway. The bunkers are numerous and classically placed, with a full fairway-width specimen guarding the approach at the left-doglegging 16th that is as old-fashioned and effective as any hazard on the course. Royston Golf Club #28 in Hertfordshire Access: Visitors Welcome Best Time to Visit: April to October Distance from City Centre: 22 km (14 miles) — approximately 20 minutes Laid out by Harry Vardon on chalk heathland straddling the Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire border, Royston is one of the most unusual courses within reach of Cambridge — hilly, exposed and entirely unlike the flat fenland landscape that surrounds it. At 5,910 yards and par 70, the course offers no refuge in length, but the fast-draining chalk base keeps conditions firm and true year-round, and the rough in summer plays as demanding as heather. Nick Faldo won the junior championship here. The first formal golf course was recorded on this ground in 1869, making Royston one of the oldest clubs in England, and the layout has changed little since Andrew Kirkaldy became the club's first professional in 1893. More Golf Courses Near Cambridge Beyond the top five, Cambridge sits within an hour of several other ranked courses worth exploring. In Cambridgeshire itself, Ely City Golf Club — a Henry Cotton design opened in 1973 by Lee Trevino — lies 24 km (15 miles) north of the city, while St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club, Cambridge Country Club (Bourn) and Cambridge Meridian Golf Club each provide solid parkland golf within 30 km to the north and west. Cross into Suffolk and the county's heathland gems open up: the nationally ranked Ipswich Golf Club (Purdis Heath) and Aldeburgh Golf Club (Championship) are further east but reward the drive for golfers building an East Anglian itinerary. For a full ranked and reviewed list of courses across the region, visit top100golfcourses.com. Frequently Asked Questions What is the best golf course in Cambridge? Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Club is the highest-ranked course within reach of Cambridge, sitting at #87 in England. Known as the Sacred Nine, this nine-hole Suffolk layout is widely considered the finest nine-hole course in the world and has been the home course of Cambridge University Golf Club since 1893. For golfers wanting the best course within 15 minutes of the city centre, The Gog Magog Golf Club (Old) is ranked #1 in Cambridgeshire and has hosted the Lagonda Trophy since 1975. Is golf in Cambridge open to visitors? The Gog Magog Golf Club requires visitors to contact the club in advance to arrange a tee time. Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Club also operates on an advance-booking basis, with visitors required to have an official handicap certificate. The Links Golf Club in Newmarket and Royston Golf Club both welcome visitors and allow direct booking. When is the best time to play golf in Cambridge? April to October offers the most reliable conditions, with longer daylight hours and firmer, faster surfaces as the season progresses. The chalk and sand-based courses — Royal Worlington, the Gog Magog layouts and Royston — drain exceptionally well and remain playable through most of the winter, making Cambridge a viable golf destination outside the peak season. Getting There Cambridge station sits on the Great Northern main line, with direct services to London Kings Cross taking from 49 minutes. The station is approximately 2 km (1 mile) from the city centre. Nearest airport: London Stansted Airport (STN), 48 km (30 miles) south of Cambridge city centre, approximately 35 minutes by road to the Gog Magog Golf Club. For international connections: London Heathrow Airport (LHR), 110 km (68 miles) southwest of Cambridge city centre, approximately 80 minutes by road under normal traffic conditions. Best Time to Play Golf in Cambridge The golf season in Cambridge runs comfortably from April through October, with May, June and September representing the sweet spot of firm ground, reliable weather and manageable course pressure. The chalk and sand-based courses — Royal Worlington, the Gog Magog layouts and Royston — drain exceptionally well and remain playable through most of the winter, making Cambridge a more viable year-round golf destination than much of East England. Summer brings long evenings and the blue flax rough in flower on the Gog Magog hills. Autumn sharpens the light and empties the courses. Spring offers the best green fees for early-season visitors willing to take a chance on the weather. Plan Your Cambridge Golf Trip For full rankings, course reviews and visitor information, visit top100golfcourses.com. Use the site to compare courses across Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Hertfordshire, read panellist reviews and build your East Anglian golf itinerary from one of the most comprehensive golf course databases in the world.
Cambridgeshire Top 10 Golf Courses 2015 Cambridgeshire Best In County rankings updated 23rd February 2015 With only twenty-nine golf clubs affiliated to the Cambridgeshire Area Golf Union, you might think that this area of England’s East Anglia is rather light on golf course quality, but you’d be wrong. Cambridgeshire may well be most famous for its universities, but a good number of its golf courses are worthy of close inspection. To define our latest Cambridgeshire Top 10, we once again polled every club in the county and we received an amazing response with more than 60% of the county’s clubs participating in our survey. The results were interesting, not least because the No.1 spot in Cambridgeshire was the most fiercely contested position we’ve ever experienced. In the end it came down to the fifth decimal point to separate the Old course at Gog Magog from Saffron Walden. So, by the narrowest of margins, Saffron Walden Golf Club becomes our new Cambridgeshire No.1, with the Old course at Gog Magog taking second place, while the Wandlebury remains in third position. They say change is as good as a rest and it’s exciting to see a new number one, but it’s also bittersweet for me, as I was a member at "the Gogs" for a number of years and I have a great deal of affection for both courses at this centurion golf club, where Bernard Darwin was once on the committee. Links Golf Club Newmarket (No.4 in county) is also a centurion and it's laid out on a former steeplechase course close to the famous racecourse. Redesigned in the 1930s by Colonel SV Hotchkin of Woodhall Spa fame, Links Newmarket is an unsung gem. A new saint displaces an old saint in our latest Top 10. A new course for the St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club opened for play in 2010, designed by Cameron Sinclair. It’s our only new Cambridgeshire entry and it replaces St Neots Golf Club, which hosted the 2014 County Championship (won by Links Newmarket’s Toby Crisp with consummate ease). Saffron Walden Golf Club is hosting the 2015 championship. To see our new 2015 Cambridgeshire Top 10 Golf Courses, click the link. If you have played golf extensively across any English county and would like to have your say, please contact me (keith@top100golfcourses.com). In the meanwhile a big thank you to everyone who has so far contributed. Keith Baxter Editor-in-Chief www.top100golfcourses.com
This is the sixth and penultimate editorial relating to our English county revisions for 2023, covering the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. East England can by no means be classed the strongest golfing region in the country, but there are still around a dozen nationally ranked courses within its geographical boundaries, all of which are well worth travelling the extra mile to play. Bedfordshire The John O’Gaunt course at the 36-hole John O’Gaunt Golf Club in Sutton (pictured above) has been our #1 in Bedfordshire since we began ranking English counties more than a decade ago and it still leads the way in the county listings. Described as “a pretty course, with mature trees in pleasant surroundings” by a recent reviewer, this layout dates back to the early 1950s, shortly after the Pioneer Corps left the Sutton Park premises they had occupied during World War II. The club hosted the Boys’ County Finals just a few months ago, with Surrey winning the event from Yorkshire in second place. Luton Hoo We’ve added the course at Luton Hoo Golf Club to the chart at #10, replacing Bedford which is now closed. Opened for play around twenty years ago, this 18-hole layout lies mainly within a Grade 1 listed park designed by Capability Brown, which meant only minimal earth moving was allowed during construction and sand bunkers were not permitted. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Bedfordshire. Cambridgeshire The Old course at Gog Magog Golf Club in Shelford Bottom (pictured above) has also enjoyed its status of #1 in Cambridgeshire since 2012 and it retains this position in our latest chart revision. The original 18-hole layout was created in 1901, a year before the golf club was founded, and it’s been improved down the years by a number of eminent architects such as Willie Park Junior, John Abercromby and Martin Hawtree. Cambridge Country Club Two newcomers enter the county chart, the first of which is Cambridge Country Club at #10. This place opened as Bourn Golf & Leisure thirty years ago, with the 18-hole layout occupying a 120-acre rolling property outside the little village of Bourn, where golfing fairways now replace the farming fields that were once evident here. The other new entry for Cambridgeshire is the course at Cambridge Meridian at #12. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Cambridgeshire. Essex The 18-hole layout at Thorndon Park Golf Club in Brentwood (pictured above) is another course that retains the #1 county ranking it first achieved more than ten years ago. Designed by Harry Colt shortly after the Great War, this woodland track occupies part of the South Park of Thorndon Hall which was acquired for the purpose of establishing a golfing layout a century ago. Ken Moodie and his Creative Golf Design firm consult at the club and he directed a major refurbishment in 2019, removing trees and bushes as well as renovating greenside bunkers. Ingrebourne Links The North and East nines at the 27-hole Ingrebourne Links Golf & Country Club comprise our highest new entry for Essex, soaring straight into the county chart at #5. Set out on a large former landfill site, the rolling fairways and gently undulating greens are styled as an inland links, with revetted and timber-faced bunkers thrown in for good measure. We also add another two courses to the Essex listings: the Championship layout at Crondon Park Golf & Country Club [at #18] and Rochford Hundred Golf Club [at #22]. Abridge The most impressive upward move in Essex is made by the course at Abridge Golf Club in Romford which climbs five places to #6. A 1960s Henry Cotton design, the course was described in a review recently as “a thoroughly well-kept course, set in undulating woodlands… in immaculate condition with tee boxes, fairways and greens all manicured... both challenging and fair.” Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Essex. Hertfordshire Opened for play twenty years ago, The Grove in Rickmansworth (pictured above) is still our #1 for Hertfordshire. Designed by Kyle Phillips, the layout staged the WGC-American Express Championship in 2006, three years after its inauguration, with Tiger Woods winning the event by a comfortable 8-shot margin from runners-up Ian Poulter and Adam Scott. The Grove’s greens keeping team renovated all ninety bunkers on the layout in the summer of 2020. Harpenden Common The highest of three new chart entries for this county arrives at #29 and it’s the 18-hole layout at Harpenden Common Golf Club, which began life as a rather basic 9-hole track back in 1931. More land became available in the mid-1990s, allowing Ken Brown and Martin Gillett to double the size of the layout, producing the 18-hole track that’s in play today. The other Hertfordshire newcomers are the courses at Royston Golf Club [at #30] and The Hertfordshire Golf & Country Club [at #32]. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Hertfordshire. Norfolk Retaining it’s #1 title in Norfolk, the course at Royal West Norfolk Golf Club (pictured above) also features prominently in both our England Top 100 [at #16] and Britain & Ireland Top 100 [at #43]. The club was established in 1892 and not much has altered here since Holcombe Ingleby, solicitor and politician, laid out the course more than a hundred and thirty years ago. Just the other week, a reviewer neatly summed up Brancaster (as it’s commonly called) when they posted: “From the moment we arrived and had to literally walk across the beach to get to the first tee it was clear this would not be a typical experience. The gate that guards the entrance to the first tee gives the deserved impression that you are about to enter a special place.” Swaffham We’re augmenting the Norfolk standings with a couple of new entries, the first of which is the course at Swaffham Golf Club (new at #11). The original 9-hole course was designed by Captain B.K. Wilson, the Royal North Devon secretary, then Steve Marnock and Jonathan Gaunt were called in to add another nine holes when more land was acquired at the start of the new millennium. The other new entry [at #12] is the course at Bawburgh Golf Club outside Norwich. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Norfolk. Suffolk The Championship course at Aldeburgh Golf Club (pictured above) climbs one place into the top spot in our revised Suffolk standings. Situated on heathland close to the tidal Alde estuary, the course was founded in 1884 and it’s been upgraded a number of times down the years by the likes of Willie Park Junior, J.H. Taylor and Harry Colt. Plans are now in place to begin work next year on developing a couple of new holes and upgrading a couple of other holes, with Martin Ebert overseeing the work. Flempton Another Suffolk club where Martin operates is the wonderful little 9-holer at Flempton Golf Club, near Bury St Edmonds (up three to #7). The course dates back to 1895 but J.H. Taylor then redesigned the layout when an additional 12-acre tract of adjacent land was purchased eleven years later. Flempton is cleverly configured with three returning 3-hole loops, and, in the words of a reviewer last year, “delivers in a modern way” whilst retaining “the charming feel of golfing yester-year”. Two new courses also now grace the Suffolk chart: Haverhill Golf Club [at #11] and Gorleston Golf Club [at #12]. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Suffolk. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses
