Bounded by South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, the county of Nottinghamshire is home to around a million people and many of them live in and around the city of Nottingham, which sits on the banks of the River Trent. The county is inextricably linked to the 15th century tale of Robin Hood and his Merry Men in Sherwood Forest but – whisper it – some contend the legend may actually have its origin further north in Yorkshire.

The Nottinghamshire Union of Golf Clubs was formed in 1899, when three clubs – Bulwell Artisans, Ravensdale and Notts – met to form the inaugural county committee. The Nottinghamshire Amateur Strokeplay Championship was first organised by the Union in 1906 and if you take a look at the list of winners, it reveals that a certain L.J. Westwood of Worksop Golf Club won the title in 1992 and 1993. Today, there are 32 golf clubs affiliated to the county union.

Nottinghamshire County Ladies’ Golf Association was founded in 1908 and, in over a hundred years of operation, it has only ever had 16 Presidents and 7 Secretaries. Two ladies each served as President for 21 years and the longest serving secretary was in post from 1912 to 1950. Currently, there are 31 clubs affiliated to the association, with members eligible to participate annually in the county championships and three other major competitions during the summer.

For a small county, Nottinghamshire can boast a number of excellent golf courses, but all are overshadowed by the wonderful 18 holes at Hollinwell – the course of Notts Golf Club. Notts is not just the best in Nottinghamshire, it’s also one of the finest in England and is consistently ranked as one of the Top 100 Golf Courses in Britain & Ireland. The venerable Notts co-hosted the Boys Amateur Championships in 2012 with Coxmoor Golf Club, which resulted in a win for England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick who went on to make the cut in the 2013 Open Championship, finishing as low amateur.

Our Nottinghamshire Best in County golf course rankings were updated in 2019. Click here to read the story.