Sheringham Golf Club is a clifftop holiday destination on the North Norfolk coast, laid out by Tom Dunn in 1891 and extended to eighteen holes in 1898. Bordered by the North Sea and North Norfolk Railway, the par-70 layout has hosted three English Women's Championships, including Joyce Wethered's 1920 title.
Sheringham Golf Club
Sheringham Golf Club is a clifftop holiday destination on the North Norfolk coast, laid out by Tom Dunn in 1891 and extended to eighteen holes in 1898. Bordered by the North Sea and North Norfolk Railway, the par-70 layout has hosted three English Women's Championships, including Joyce Wethered's 1920 title.
Sheringham Golf Club occupies a narrow strip of clifftop turf wedged between the North Sea and the North Norfolk Railway, within the Norfolk Coast National Landscape. Several holes on the front nine run directly along the cliff edge, producing some of the most exposed sea views on the Norfolk coast. The club has hosted three English Women's Championships and is scheduled to host the English Senior Women's Stroke Play Championship in 2027.
Sheringham Golf Club was founded in 1891 on land donated by the Upcher family, prominent Norfolk landowners. Tom Dunn laid out the original nine holes, which opened for play in 1892, and a second nine was added in 1898 to complete the eighteen-hole course. Early members included polar explorers Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, alongside Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who is said to have named one of Holmes's adversaries, Moriarty, after a fellow club member he defeated in a club competition.
In 1920, the club hosted the English Women's Championship, won by Joyce Wethered. After holing the winning putt on the 17th green, Wethered was asked whether a passing steam train had distracted her and reportedly said she had not noticed any train at all. The 17th hole has been known as ‘What Train?’ ever since.
In November 2024, the club appointed Martin Ebert of Mackenzie & Ebert to oversee a ten-year course masterplan, prompted by a member survey that raised concerns about the bunkers. Research into the club's historical archives showed the number of bunkers had fallen from more than 140 to 85 over the previous 70 years. The first phase of work, covering the 14th and 16th holes, was completed in April 2026 and introduced a new bunker beside the railway boundary, formed by combining two existing cross bunkers on the 14th.
The course occupies an elevated, narrow site bounded on one side by the cliff edge and on the other by the North Norfolk Railway, with several holes running close to each boundary. The front nine climbs onto the clifftop from the third hole, with a run of holes tracking the sea before the course turns inland through gorse-covered terrain. The closing holes run alongside the steam and diesel services of the North Norfolk Railway, which border several fairways.
The club's current renovation has focused on rebuilding greenside bunkers using the Ecobunker construction method, chosen for its durability in Norfolk's dry climate and high round volume. New tees, fairway reshaping, and a potential double green are part of the wider ten-year masterplan, with the next phase covering several of the par-three holes due to begin in October 2026.
Sheringham combines a clifftop setting with a routing dictated by two fixed boundaries: the cliff edge and the railway line. The ongoing Mackenzie & Ebert masterplan, beginning with the rebuilt bunkers on the 14th and 16th, points towards a course being restored in keeping with its early twentieth-century character rather than altered beyond recognition. Its three English Women's Championships and the upcoming 2027 Senior Women's fixture give the club a competitive history that outweighs its modest length.
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