Stowmarket

Established in 1902, Stowmarket Golf Club operated on a couple of different sites before settling on its current location at Finborough Park in the early 1960s. Charles Grayson and Fred Hawtree both bid for the design contract, with Grayson chosen to lay out the eighteen holes.

In 1968, a mere five years after the new course opened for play, Hawtree was invited to design six new greens so one can only imagine what might have been going on with the layout in the very early days of its existence.

Routed in an old-fashioned out-and-back style, the course extends to just over 6,000 yards from the back tees, playing to a par of 69, and it’s one of only a select number of golfing layouts that finish back at the clubhouse with a par three final hole..

Highlight holes include the demanding downhill 4th (measuring 247 yards from the back tees), the left doglegging 12th (rated stroke index 2 on the card), and the “signature” 17th, where the tight, tree-lined fairway leads to a long, narrow green.