Willesley Park Golf Club

The five counties in our East Midlands region – Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire – kick off our somewhat overdue regional re-ranking process for England. And over the coming months, we’ll produce similar updated listings for another six geographical groupings across the country. We’ve assembled new ranking panels for every county so you might expect to see a few new courses going forward. Indeed, in this edition, we’ve added thirteen to the fifty that we already featured, including another five for both Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. The #1 spot in each of these five East Midlands counties remains the same but there’s still quite a bit happening lower down in every table. Derbyshire The course at Cavendish Golf Club in Buxton (pictured above) took over the top position in Derbyshire in 2017 and it remains at #1 after this English county chart revision exercise. Laid out by Alister MacKenzie almost a hundred years ago, the 18-hole layout is currently undergoing a long-term renovation by playing member and respected architect Jonathan Gaunt. Chevin The course at Chevin Golf Club in Duffield entered our Derbyshire standings at #8 in 2015, dropping down one place in 2019, but it’s now our biggest county climber, rising three places to #6. Established as a 9-hole track by William Lowe, brother of George Lowe who designed Royal Lytham & St Annes, the course was inaugurated by Tom Williamson and James Braid playing an exhibition match on 13th October, 1894. Morley Hayes The first of two new entries appears at #11 and it’s the Manor course at Morley Hayes outside Morley, which Ray Baldwin designed thirty years ago. It’s part of an enterprising 27-hole facility that includes the short 9-hole Tower course, with water hazards featuring in the form of fairway ditches and ponds positioned close to greens. Chapel-en-le-Frith Our second newcomer for Derbyshire at #12 is the course at Chapel-en-le-Frith near Buxton, where the original 9-hole course that was built in 1905 served golfers for more than sixty years until it was expanded into an 18-hole layout by Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas in the early 1970s. The newer nine holes occupy land to the north of the B5470, with the older nine holes set out on the other side of the road, close to Combs reservoir. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Derbyshire. Leicestershire & Rutland In 1911, C.H. Alison from Harry Colt’s design firm laid out the course at Luffenham Heath (pictured above) which now retains its status as #1 in this county. James Braid, C.K. Cotton and Martin Hawtree have all played a part in the development of this lovely layout down the years so it’s certainly not lacking in terms of design pedigree. Kirby Muxloe One of only two courses to advance up the new Top 10 county table, Kirby Muxloe (up two to #7) started out with a 9-hole Old Tom Morris layout back in 1893. The course was doubled in size between the wars and Simon Gidman has upgraded the course in more recent times, replacing a few holes and working on a number of the greens. Cosby Stapleford Park has closed and dropped out of our listings, replaced at #10 by the course at Cosby Golf Club, which was established as Narborough Golf Club in 1894. The club operated a 9-hole track until 1966, when another five holes were introduced. Two years later, four more holes were added to fashion the tree-lined 18-hole layout that’s in play today. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Leicestershire & Rutland. Lincolnshire Currently ranked #60 in our World 100, the Hotchkin course at the National Golf Centre in Woodhall Spa (pictured above) is unlikely to be displaced from the top of the Lincolnshire chart anytime soon. Owner S.V. Hotchkin redesigned the layout in the 1920s and a recent renovation by Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design team – clearing scrub, removing trees, redesigning bunkers – has breathed new life into this fabulous heathland layout. Lincoln The 18-hole layout at Lincoln Golf Club in Torskey has fluctuated between #5 and #6 in the five previous editions of this county chart but it now progresses a couple of spots to #4. Set out by J.H. Taylor as a 9-hole course at the start of the 20th century then extended by club professional Archie Earl in 1909, this part heathland/part parkland track is well worth a play. Stoke Rochford The highest of five new entries for Lincolnshire at #8, the course at Stoke Rochford Golf Club celebrates its centenary next year. W.H. Aitken modified the original 9-hole layout in 1929 before S.V. Hotchkin fashioned a new 18-hole layout six years later, replacing two of the holes that were previously played in front of Stoke Rochford Hall. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Lincolnshire. Northamptonshire Northamptonshire County in Church Brampton (pictured above) holds on to the #1 position in the county, which is hardly a surprise considering it’s also now listed in our English Top 100 chart. Designed by Harry Colt back in 1909, the course was upgraded by James Braid immediately after World War II then both C.K. Cotton and Donald Steel made minor modifications in the 1950s and 1970s. Peterborough Milton Moving up one place to #3, the course at Peterborough Milton Golf Club is a James Braid layout that first entered our county rankings at #6 in 2011. Opened just before the start of World War II, the course has changed little since then, apart from the resequencing of holes. It’s famed locally for the condition of its flat, subtly contoured putting surfaces – and, of course, its James Braid-designed bunkers. Kettering Also rising one place in the Northamptonshire listings to #6, the 18-hole layout at Kettering Golf Club was founded in 1891, making it the oldest in the county. Old Tom Morris set out the initial 9-hole course when Club Captain John Allison, a doctor from Edinburgh Royal infirmary, invited him to peg out a course for the members on land rented from the Duke of Buccleuch. Whittlebury Park There’s one new entry at #9, comprising the Red and Yellow nines at Whittlebury Park. Golf was first played on the Whittlebury estate in 1905, evolving into the three main 9-hole loops – Yellow, Red and Blue – that are now in operation. There’s also a short par-30 White course which is looked after to the same high standards as the other nines. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Northamptonshire. Nottinghamshire The wonderful heathland course at Hollinwell (pictured above) easily maintains its #1 position at the top of the Nottinghamshire chart. Dating back to 1901, when Notts Golf Club moved to its current location, the holes were first laid out by Willie Park Junior, with subsequent modifications made by J.H. Taylor and long-term club professional Tom Williamson. Stanton-on-the Wolds Only one course improves its position in our new county chart and it’s Stanton-on-the-Worlds (up one to #7) which is one of the many Midlands golf course designs from the prolific Tom Williamson, who spent fifty-four years at Notts Golf Club. Tight, tree-lined holes here occupy a 105-acre property on rolling terrain. Nottinghamshire Five new entries arrive in our newly enlarged Top 15 chart for Nottinghamshire, headed by the Championship course at The Nottinghamshire Golf & Country Club. The layout has benefitted in recent years from a long-term renovation project overseen by architect Paul Kimber with improvements made to a number of holes, notably the 18th which has had new tees and water features added. Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Nottinghamshire. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses

England is home to some of the best golf courses in the world, and its five highest-ranked layouts can be played without being a member. From a 15-time Open venue on the Kent coast to some of the finest heathland golf in Surrey and Berkshire, plus a spectacular links course in Cornwall, these are the five highest-ranked courses in England that welcome visiting golfers. Royal St. George’s Golf Club (Kent) World Ranking: 19th | England ranking: 1st | Green fee: £430 Royal St George’s offers the chance to play one of England’s most historic and challenging links courses. Founded in 1887, it was the first English course to host the Open and has staged the championship 15 times, including the most recent edition in 2021. Routed through towering dunes in a loose figure of eight, Royal St George’s has undulating fairways, uneven lies and plenty of elevation changes that can make even seemingly straightforward shots difficult. The fourth hole is particularly memorable, with a huge bunker carved into a towering dune guarding the fairway. Despite its reputation as a demanding championship test, the course is as enjoyable to explore as it is difficult to score on. Wildflowers and dune grasses line the fairways, while views stretch across Pegwell Bay towards the white cliffs beyond. Add in distinctive features such as the thatched shelters and St George’s flags, and there is plenty to keep you entertained between the inevitable moments of frustration. Sunningdale Golf Club - Old Course (Surrey) World Ranking: 22nd | England ranking: 2nd | Green fee: £485 The Old course at Sunningdale is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful inland courses in the British Isles. Opened in 1901 by Willie Park Jr, it was one of the first great courses to emerge from the Surrey and Berkshire sand-belt, with Harry Colt later reshaping the layout and giving it the intimate, tree-lined character it has today. Pine, birch, oak and heather frame the fairways, while the firm heathland turf makes Sunningdale a joy to walk and play. The course has hosted plenty of memorable golf, too, including Bobby Jones’ remarkable 66 in Open qualifying in 1926 and Nick Faldo’s 62 at the 1986 European Open. The 10th is a particular highlight, with its elevated tee offering a spectacular view before the halfway hut provides one of golf’s more welcome rewards. The 15th, a 226-yard par three, is another standout. For golfers visiting England, Sunningdale Old offers a classic heathland experience in one of the country's finest golfing regions. Sunningdale Golf Club - New Course (Surrey) World Ranking: 41st | England ranking: 3rd | Green fee: £485 The New course at Sunningdale provides a rather different experience to its famous older sibling. Opened in 1923 and designed by Harry Colt, it is more open and rugged than the Old, with elevated tees, heathery terrain and long carries placing a greater emphasis on driving. At 6,700 yards and par 70, the New is no pushover, with narrow fairways and plenty of undulation making it a particularly demanding test from the back tees. Even the professionals have struggled to make it look easy: Jack Nicklaus once held the course record with a 67 before Graeme Storm carded a remarkable 62 during Open qualifying in 2009. The course has also benefited from an ongoing tree-management programme, allowing more heather to return and restoring views across Chobham Common. The fifth, a picturesque par three played across the heath, is one of the highlights. The result is a course that rewards good driving without becoming a purely distance-based test, with the heathland setting providing plenty of visual interest along the way. St Enodoc Golf Club - Church Course (Cornwall) World Ranking: 49th | England ranking: 4th | Green fee: £190 St Enodoc is unlike almost any other links course in England. Overlooking the Camel Estuary in Rock, with views across to Padstow, the Church Course takes its name from the 13th-century church that sits beside the 10th green. Remarkably, the building was completely buried by sand in the 19th century before being excavated in 1863. Founded in 1891 and redesigned by James Braid in 1907, St Enodoc is defined by its towering dunes and constantly changing terrain, where no two holes feel quite the same. The sixth is the course's signature hole, demanding two blind shots over the towering 'Himalayas' dune to reach the hidden green. The 10th, played across a natural valley to a narrow fairway below, is another memorable challenge. If your ball strays towards the churchyard, you'll also find the grave of Poet Laureate John Betjeman, whose poem Seaside Golf was inspired by the course. The combination of huge dunes, unusual holes and views across the Camel Estuary makes St Enodoc a particularly distinctive addition to any English golf trip. Swinley Forest Golf Club (Berkshire) World Ranking: 52nd | England ranking: 5th Swinley Forest offers a quieter, more understated version of heathland golf on the Surrey and Berkshire sand-belt. Set among mature pines and heather, it has a wonderfully quiet atmosphere and an old-fashioned character that is increasingly difficult to find. The firm, fast-running fairways and purple heather in summer give it all the hallmarks of classic heathland golf. Designed by Harry Colt and opened in 1909, Swinley measures around 6,400 yards and plays to a par of 69. The short holes are particularly strong, with a varied collection of one-shotters that require careful club selection. Around the greens, false fronts, run-offs and subtle slopes provide plenty of opportunities for a good round to unravel. For much of its history, Swinley was an intensely private club where visitors were few and far between. It now welcomes green-fee golfers, although the club retains much of its distinctive character. The result is a course that feels removed from the modern world, with little of the glamour associated with some of its better-known neighbours. For golfers who enjoy traditional heathland golf, that simplicity is a large part of Swinley's appeal. Green fees quoted are summer 2027 rates where available.

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.