Top 10 Golf Courses in Norfolk 2015
Norfolk Best In County rankings updated
Norfolk is best known to many as the flat, low lying county in eastern England where The Broads form a network of navigable, lock-free rivers and canals, providing many with a wide variety of leisure pursuits, from those “messing about on boats” to “twitchers” searching for rare birds among the many acres of wetlands.
Sandringham is perhaps the most famous stately home in Norfolk and this 8,000-hectare country retreat is a much loved home of the Royal family. Travel a few miles to the north of Sandringham and you’ll arrive at Hunstanton, where the golf gets rather good. Seven miles to the east of Hunstanton you’ll find Brancaster where the golf is even better.
Royal West Norfolk and Hunstanton are jewels in the crown of Norfolk golf and both (while very different links experiences) are not only friendly rivals, but also golfing household names. Keep heading eastwards along the coast and you’ll come to Sheringham Golf Club where there’s a fine cliff edge course that’s often incorrectly labelled as a links. Its next-door neighbour, Royal Cromer, is also perched on the cliffs and these two clubs share a similar rivalry to that of Hunstanton and Brancaster.
Norfolk rivalry continues inland at King’s Lynn and Thetford where these two forest courses vie for prominence. As far as ranking positions are concerned, there’s not a lot to choose between these three pairs of very different courses. Brancaster edges Hunstanton, not in terms of playing difficulty, but by quintessential charm. The gap between Sheringham and Cromer has recently narrowed but the former remains marginally ahead in our 2015 Norfolk Best In County rankings. King’s Lynn swaps places with Thetford this time round, but once again the gap was remarkably close and both these courses genuinely deserve wider recognition.
Further down the table, Great Yarmouth & Caister stays in 7th spot, while local rivals Eaton and Royal Norwich swap places, with Eaton moving up to 8th position. Things are currently on hold for Royal Norwich as the club is planning to relocate from Hellesdon to Weston Park (which re-enters our Norfolk rankings in position number 10 at the expense of Wensum Valley). The idea is that European Golf Design’s Ross McMurray will refashion the course at Weston Park, which will eventually become the home ground for both clubs.
To see our new 2015 Norfolk Top 10, click the link. If you have played golf extensively across any English county and would like to have your say, please contact me (keith@top100golfcourses.com). In the meanwhile a big thank you to everyone who contributed to our Norfolk Best In County ranking process.
Keith Baxter
Editor-in-Chief
Top 100 Golf Courses
