Woodbridge Golf Club (Heath)

Woodbridge Golf Club is located a mere five minutes away from the beautiful market town, with its quaint Georgian shops and pubs. The golf club’s flagship, 18-hole heathland course, known simply as Heath, is well renowned, but taken alongside its cracking 9-holer called Forest, Woodbridge really is a delightful place to spend a day playing golf.

Founded in 1893, the formation of Woodbridge Golf Club was entirely due to Major Howey, who originally laid out six holes on parkland in front of his house. Intent on creating a first class course, the Major enlisted Davie Grant – the famous North Berwick professional – to find suitable land. Bromeswell Heath was eventually identified and the club moved to the heath. In 1908 a certain Mr Fryer redesigned the course and, some twenty years later, James Braid stepped in to reshape Woodbridge. Subsequently Fred W. Hawtree made further modifications to the layout.

“The best course in Suffolk today is, I think, an inland one, Woodbridge, though I say this with diffidence and with great respect for its friendly rival, Aldeburgh, which is likewise excellent,” wrote Bernard Darwin in The Golf Courses of Great Britain. “Woodbridge has everything in the world that one could desire except the sea. It has sand and bracken and gorse, beautiful turf and the smoothest of greens. There is a delightful feeling of being on a hill-top, there is a fine big view, and there is peace and quiet and rusticity.”

Measuring 6,299 yards from the medal tees, the Heath course is not long, but the golf is truly engaging. There isn’t a single poor hole on the course; many are excellent, varied and entertaining. Make your score on the front nine where there are two par fives, the back nine is a tough prospect with four par fours measuring in excess of 400 yards. The 14th, called “St Andrews Hill”, is one of our favourite two-shotters with its well-guarded two-tiered green. The 15th is a cracking one-shot hole which requires a well struck mid iron to reach the sanctuary of the elevated green which is jealously protected by six bunkers.

Martin Hawtree completed a bunker refurbishment project in 2020, with a dozen sand hazards completely rebuilt. At the same time, contractors removed gorse, scrub and trees in line with a long-term strategic plan developed by its STRI agronomist.