East England – Best in County Rankings 2023

East of England – Best in County Rankings 2019 We reach the halfway stage of our biennial re-ranking process for England with this news release for the East of the country, encompassing the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The results of these reappraisals will contribute towards the upcoming evaluations for our England and Great Britain & Ireland listings. The East region extends to more than 7,300 square miles and the six million people living within the six counties are spread out across a broad landscape with little variation in elevation. We showcase ninety courses, maintaining at least a Top 10 chart for each county. Although there are no Open venues or world-ranked layouts in the area, there’s lots of good golf to be found at the 250 or so clubs operating here. To prove the point, thirteen courses are currently ranked inside our Top 100 for England, which makes the East region one of the strongest nationally. So, without any further introduction, let’s see how the numbers stack up. Bedfordshire The John O’Gaunt course at John O’Gaunt Golf Club remains the No. 1 track in Bedfordshire. Designed just after World War II by Fred W. Hawtree, the John O’Gaunt layout is the longer and tougher of two 18-hole courses at the best parkland venue in the county. John O'Gaunt Golf Club - 18th hole John O'Gaunt course The club hosted the Amateur Seniors Championship in 1988 and 2003 and Final Qualifying for the Women’s British Open was held here in 2016. Bedfordshire Top 10 Golf Courses 2019 Rank/ Cambridgeshire The Old course at Gog Magog Golf Club is still the undisputed No. 1 golfing layout in Cambridgeshire. Established in 1899 as a 9-hole track, it was quickly doubled in size before both Willie Park Junior and John Abercromby left their stamp on the course that’s in play today. Gog Magog Golf Club - Old course “The overall layout of the old course is great,” wrote one reviewer earlier this year. “It weaves in and amongst the neighbouring Wandlebury course and it has been in great condition the few times I have played… although there isn’t much other quality in this county, it’s still worth a visit.” Cambridgeshire Top 10 Golf Courses 2019 Essex The Top 20 chart for Essex is still headed by Thorndon Park, an early 1920s layout from the respected design company of Harry Colt and Hugh Alison. The club has been renovating bunkers and removing trees in an effort to generally improve playing conditions and this upgrade work should be finished in good time to celebrate the club’s centenary next year. Thorndon Park Golf Club The most significant upward move is made by Toot Hill, a 1990s production from local architect Martin Gillett, rising four spots to number 10. In the bottom half of the Essex table, there are new entries for Theydon Bois Golf Club (#17) in Epping Forest, which dates back to 1897, and for the Heron and Hawk nines at South Essex Golf & Country Club (#18), located right next to Thorndon Park. Essex Top 20 Golf Courses 2019 Hertfordshire The Grove in Chandler’s Cross has warded off a strong challenge from Hadley Wood to maintain its No.1 position in Hertfordshire. First opened for play at the start of the new millennium, the course has developed into one of the best golfing layouts inside the M25 as vouched for only last week by a review from yet another satisfied pay and play golfer: “You need to remember that this is Watford so the land isn’t exactly spectacular. The architect, Kyle Phillips, has done a wonderful job and there are many exciting holes, twists and turns, and interesting green complexes… The conditioning of the fairways and greens has always been excellent and is a real trademark of The Grove. The turf can get a bit soggy but again this is in not links land, but North London clay beneath.” The Grove Three century-old layouts make noteworthy 3-place advances in the new Hertfordshire listings: Porters Park (#8) at Radlett, which Cuthbert Butchart had a hand in designing; the Willie Park Junior-designed Knebworth (#15) outside Stevenage; and the old Harry Colt West course at Moor Park (#17) in Rickmansworth. Porters Park Golf Club A little further down the table, Verulam, Samuel Ryder's home club in St Albans, which James Braid expanded to an 18-hole track back in 1912, climbs a commendable four places to number 22. Hertfordshire Top 30 Golf Courses 2019 Norfolk The top three courses retain the same chart positions they occupied when we last re-ranked the English counties two years ago so Royal West Norfolk holds on to the No. 1 slot. Our US Consultant Fergal O’Leary was here a few months ago and his review was tinged with more than a touch of envy: “The members here are amongst the luckiest souls that play the game… certain clubs give you a glimpse of the origins of the game on a level that is rarely matched… furnishings from 1892 are still in place and things don’t change much at all as you escape from modern day… both the course and the clubhouse have stood the test of time, and are relentless with their pursuit of preserving the past. With upcoming improvements to the course on the horizon, it further puts Royal West Norfolk into a category of its own.” Royal West Norfolk Golf Club 9th hole - photo courtesy of Kevin Murray Another Norfolk course with a regal prefix makes significant progress in our revised standings and it’s Royal Norwich, rising five rungs on the ladder to No. 4. The club has just moved from its old location close to the city centre to a new site where Ross McMurray from European Golf Design has mapped out a new 24-hole complex, with Ian Poulter officially opening the course at Weston Park just last month. Royal Norwich Golf Club 3rd hole at Weston Park Norfolk Top 10 Golf Courses 2019 Suffolk The Purdis Heath course at Ipswich Golf Club regains the top spot in Suffolk, taking over from Aldeburgh which slips back to the runner-up slot. Ipswich was formed in 1895 on common land near Rushmere Heath but it moved to Purdis Heath thirty years later, with Fred G. Hawtree and J.H. Taylor constructing a new course from the plans of James Braid. Ipswich Golf Club - Purdis Heath course Today, this delightful heathland track has benefitted from a recent bunker renovation by Martin Hawtree, whose grandfather helped construct the original course. Using old photographs, the architect was able to return the sand hazards to the same style of ninety years ago, with the course now looking as good as it ever has during its 90-year history. Suffolk Top 10 Golf Courses 2019 The next English region to come under the magnifying glass is the North East, when we’ll be focusing on the counties of Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses

Top 20 Golf Courses in Essex 2015 Essex Best in County rankings updated For a county situated so close to such a busy capital city as London, Essex is a lot more rustic than you might imagine, with rolling countryside, back roads and quaint little towns and villages that are all just waiting to be discovered. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, where large industrial-scale developments such as Stansted airport and the port of Tilbury predominate, but in the main, Essex is a county that’s deeply rooted in the countryside, with golf an important part of its sporting fabric. We maintain a Top 20 chart for the county, which represents a little less than a quarter of the total number of golf courses in the region, and we think this listing is a fair reflection of the best that Essex has to offer by way of its golf facilities. The courses occupying the top three spots in our recently revised chart remain in exactly the same position as last time so Thorndon Park holds onto its coveted number 1 ranking. A Harry Colt design from 1920 which has somehow been overlooked by serious golfers down the years, Thorndon Park made it into our Top 100 chart for England in 2014 so some would say it’s now earning the recognition that it richly deserves. At number 2 in the county, the pleasantly undulating heathland course at Orsett was extended to an 18-hole layout by James Braid in 1929 and, apart from the reinstatement of some holes lost to the war effort in the early 1940s, the course remains much the same now as it was when it was laid out by its respected architect eighty-five years ago. Chelmsford stays at number 3 in our Essex standings and it’s another Harry Colt course, dating back to 1924. Measuring just a shade less than 6,000 yards from the medal tees, it’s not the longest of courses but a look at the scorecard reveals a standard scratch score of 69 against a par of 68, which lets you know it’s a track that’s more than capable of delivering a decent test of golf. Three courses make significant upward moves in our revised standings: Chigwell (up six to 7) is an old Fred Hawtree and J.H Taylor design from 1925, Colchester (up five to 9) is a James Braid revision from 1908 which he also extended to 18-holes thirty years later, and Toot Hill (up seven to 13), where Martin Gillett set out this modern parkland track in 1991. Two new entries make it into the new Essex Top 20. The first course to debut is Upminster at number 17 and it’s yet another old Harry Colt layout which has par threes at the 1st and 18th, with the River Ingrebourne flanking several of the holes. The other newcomer to the county listings is the Channels course at the 27-hole Channels Golf Club, where the fairways of this 1970s design are creatively routed around a number of glistening lakes. We’re grateful to everybody in the county who helped with our re-ranking process for Essex. To view details of all the courses in our Essex Top 20 rankings click the link. If you have extensive experience of playing across the south east region of England and would like to contribute to our next re-ranking exercise then please email Editor-in-Chief Keith Baxter at keith@top100golfcourses.com. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses

Thorndon Park Golf Club, Ingrave, Essex, England Click any of the large images to return to the main Thorndon Park page All photographs courtesy of Thorndon Park Golf Club 4th hole 7th hole 9th hole 11th hole 12th hole 13th hole 18th hole