Thetford - Norfolk - England

For the final day of our Norfolk trip we ventured to Thetford GC. We had been trying to decide between Kings Lynn GC and Thetford and plumped for Thetford based on personal reviews we had been given. Upon hearing that the two courses were similar, we opted for Thetford on the understanding that it’s more welcoming and a fair bit cheaper - and are pleased we did so.

Thetford is a heathland style course, although the day we played the course was burnt to a cinder by the long dry spell of weather – as a result all the fairways were firm and completely brown. The greens however were absolutely fine and would hold the well-struck approach shot. The course is long, around 6,700 yds, however this is largely compensated by the relatively generous fairways. If there’s one gripe of the course, it’s the fact it becomes a little monotonous with its length – we felt it would benefit from having a couple of shorter par 4’s in its layout to offer something a little different.

That aside it’s a lovely layout, a trail-style course winding its way through the wooded, heathland terrain. Only a couple of holes run up and down and that we think always makes for a more enjoyable and varied experience. It opens with a tricky mid-iron par 3, never an easy start and another par 3 at the 3rd. Thereafter, you dive into the guts of the course, which as said is notable for its length. The course finishes with an extremely tough, slightly uphill par 4 at around 460 yds !

Everyone at the course was very welcoming to the extent we were able to play as part of the Captains Charity day despite not being affiliated to the club. Overall, it’s a course we would like to visit again in less arid conditions – however, we’d recommend playing here if you have the opportunity to do so.

I’ve never known an inland golf course play as firm and fast in March as Thetford did on my first ever visit to this lovely Norfolk venue.

Traversing superbly dry and fast draining terrain this course wends its way over beautiful heathland and through established woodland of pine, oak and birch.

It was a real joy to hit from its tight fairways on a mild East Anglian Spring day and I came away hugely impressed with not only the course but the feel of the club in general.

There are a couple of reasons it doesn’t quite fall into the top category of heathland courses in my eyes; the bunkering is quite tame and the course loses its way for a few holes around the turn; nothing disastrous but the seventh to ninth holes in particular are not up to the same high standard that the rest of the course sets.

But let’s not focus on the bad points because there’s so much to enjoy about the course and the positives far out way any negatives.

There are few forced carries, the only one I can recall comes at the 17th, and as a result this really is a course for all ages and abilities. The running game is very much alive and allows weaker players to eke out a bit more distance from the tee than they might do elsewhere whilst the firmness of the ground creates a real test for the more accomplished golfer.

Minimal fairway bunkering also allows you to get the ball in play from the tee.. that is if you avoid the gorse, broom and heather than abounds this property in the Breckland Forest.

I enjoyed my round at Thetford in the company of two members who were very pleased to belong to this fine club. There is also a lovely short game area just to the left of the 18th fairway where I’m sure many of the membership will spend time honing their pitching and chipping.

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

I have to agree with most of the reviews already on this page about Thetford. Being a junior member I played in the Norfolk Boys Championship last year and with the nasty weather that was presented with us, the course was playing very well throughout the 36 holes that we all played.

It's a fabulous test of golf starting with a tricky 180 yarder par 3 down the hill where you really want to hit the green as anything off it is a challenging par. You cross a very busy road after the 2nd and 6th(?) holes which is always a negative from a golf course in my eyes. However the condition of the course is always good with matured heathland fairways and very top quality greens.

The rivalry between King's Lynn and Thetford is a tough one in my eyes for the 5th spot in Norfolk because they contrast in different ways though both being inland forest courses. I would say that Thetford always has an edge on King's Lynn for the greens however the fairways at Thetford can look less appealing than KLGC from the superb fairway irrigation they have there.

The food and facilities there are all very good with friendly catering staff to top off what will hopefully be a solid test of golf! The last hole is one of the toughest finishing holes in Norfolk in my eyes. My first time playing it I genuinely thought it was a par 5! But to sum it up, definitely worth the trip up to Thetford if your in the area!

On arrival, we headed to the pro-shop to get started, and we were directed to the changing rooms, which smelled quite a lot like a care home, but did the job.

Once we got to the tee, we found out that we’d been joined up with another group, a one-ball in this case. Whilst I understand that this is common practice at many clubs, it was a bit annoying- we hadn’t been informed of this by the proshop and there didn’t seem to be anyone else teeing off before or after us. I’ll also admit that there was a sinking feeling when we peered into his bag and saw a 7 hybrid- never an indicator of a strong playing partner.

The opening hole was a par 3 of about 175 yards, downhill. I stuffed a 4 iron to about 10 feet, and J put his tee shot pin high just off the green- we both made par. Our new friend did not- his fifth shot (the aforementioned 7 hybrid) was a 60 yard pitch (can you pitch with a 7 hybrid?) In the end it was a well-scrambled 7 for him.

Golf’s handicap system is a fantastic thing, but a combination of the 40 year age gap and hitting the ball in very different parts of the course meant that our small-talk ran out after precisely two holes. He spotted some friends on an adjacent fairway, shook our hands and headed off to join them- I can’t imagine that two 21 year olds were his idea of ideal company either.

The greens were fast, and on the day we played, the wind made downhill, downwind putts were seriously tricky to stop. A couple of rain-showers (and some quite painful hail) didn’t affect them too much, and the sandy heathland soil meant that there were no mudballs at all, which was pretty impressive considering the state of some of the other courses in the region.

We were both very impressed with the course actualy- not too flat and not too long (but at 6850 yards from the tips, not short). Wayward tee shots ended up in difficult but not impossible situations.

Standout holes included the par 4 5th- the tee shot played down a valley, and the second shot played up to an elevated, well-bunkered green, and the par 3 16th, played over heather and a horseshoe bunker.

After the round, the clubhouse offered good value bar meals (£6.40 for a bacon & cheese burger with a good portion of chips), a pretty standard selection of beers, and a coffee dispenser that looked as if it should be avoided at all costs.

For £20 through www.teeofftimes.co.uk, I would definitely return- £40 a round is a fair price for the quality of this course, so it’s an absolute bargain.

http://shanksblog.wix.com/theshanks

This is the 3rd time i've played this course in the last year. The course layout is great, the welcome always friendly, and its a great test of golf with some big par 4's to contend with. If you've got your game on track its a course you can score well on. The main disappointment following my recent visit in late July 15 is the state of the fairways. the greens were little slow this time around but it was mid-week and there had been some heavy rainfall that day too, so perhaps i'll give them the benefit of the doubt. However the fairways are in a terrible state, and following my regular visits over the last 3 yrs they do appear to be getting worse and in need of some serious TLC now; and i dont think the lack of irrigation explains the poor state of them. Lack of investment and maintenance, who knows, but the club need to take some action on them or this great venue and course will start to certainly slip down my favourites list and spoil what is a fantastic track. PS

The course at Thetford has a lot going for it, the first obvious one is the setting – woodland all around which is reminiscent of the great courses at Ashridge and Royal Ashdown Forest. There is also a comparison with The Addington in the fact that both courses open with a par-3 and have another short hole at the 3rd. After this shortish start, holes 4-6 are pretty strong. The next three at the 7th, 8th and 9th could be described as a little ‘up and down’ – all par 4’s and similar in length. The back 9 is the stronger of the two halves and the opener is a great sweeping dog-leg to the left par-5, followed by what looks like a straight forward par-3 but by having trees on all sides gives a very attractive look. More good holes follow all the way to the 16th, which is a 155 yard par-3 that could be lifted and put on any of the world’s classic inland courses and not look out of place – it is all carry over heather and sand, brilliant. The 17th hole gives you something and the 18th could very well take it straight back; 17th is a 500 yard par-5 and the 18th is a tricky 425 yard par-4, my own finish was birdie/bogey which I am told is quite common. The club has a friendly atmosphere and has a decent visitor welcome – worth playing and probably a little low in the current Norfolk county rankings (#7) for me.

What a great course, been here a couple of times for 36 hole comps over the last 3 years, always had a friendly welcome. While there's a little bit of traffic noise and a bit of crossing over of roads thro-out the round it doesn't detract from what is a very good course layout that meanders wonderfully thro the forest. There's some 'big' holes here in terms of par 4's off the back tees, and some tight drives so its a good test of golf. the last time i played in Sept 11 the fairways had been a bit neglected over the summer drought but everything else was in good condition and the greens have always been great when i've played. very accessible for those of you in the London/Essex area so well worth a trip.

A good course with some memorable holes such as the par three 16th. The forest is tall and mature and many of the holes are carved right through the middle of them. It's a great pity the course is so close to the A11 though. The hum of traffic can be heard on the middle holes and this detracts from the tranquility of the others further away.

A wonderful, testing golf course. The course is laid out on the edge of the Breckland Forest and is a classic mix of tree lined fairways and crisp sandy turf. It plays a little under 7000 yards from the tips add in some excellently placed bunkers and small undulating greens and you have a very good (yet fair) test of golf. I have only played it on a couple of occasions (once at the end of the season and again at the beginning of the following) and both times the condition has been superb for the time of year.A true English Gem

Have had the good fortune to play Thetford a couple of times. I would have to agree with a previous review that Thetford deserves to be in the Top 100. A super tree lined course with lovely fairways and fast greens. I have been fortunate to have played Woodbridge and Aldeburgh recently. Good courses that they are, Thetford is better.