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01992 763660The appeal of golf in East Anglia is the contrast. You can play among the dunes beside The Wash, tackle a clifftop round overlooking the North Sea, or head inland for heathland and chalk-downland golf. The choice is broad enough to make the location of your hotel almost as important as the courses on your list.
Our selection centres on Norfolk and Suffolk, with Cambridge and the Essex border offering further options for a longer trip. Below, we explain what distinguishes the courses and how to turn a shortlist into an enjoyable golf break in England.
The decision that shapes the trip: choose between a coastal tour and a resort base. Trying to cover Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge in one short break can use up time better spent playing.
Norfolk's coastline changes direction and character as you travel around it. That matters when planning golf: Hunstanton and Brancaster belong to a different part of a tour from Cromer and Sheringham. Select the coastal stretch you most want to explore before choosing a base.
Hunstanton's links look towards The Wash. Dunes, open ground and coastal weather give the round its identity, making it an appealing choice for golfers who enjoy judging how the ball will behave after it lands.
Consider it for the main round of a west Norfolk visit. Build the day around the available visitor arrangements, with time left afterwards to enjoy the seaside setting. A club of this character deserves more than a hurried stop between long drives.
At Brancaster, the links occupy a narrow coastal landscape between the beach and salt marshes. Royal West Norfolk offers a distinctive setting for golfers drawn to traditional seaside golf and the influence of the elements.
There is a practical detail to settle before travelling: the approach road can be affected by the tide. Agree your arrival arrangements with the club and confirm the visitor playing format, particularly for a society or a group expecting to play fourballs.
Royal Cromer is a clifftop course, with sea views, gorse and changes in the ground giving it a different feel from a low-lying links. The breeze can make club selection an important part of the day.
It fits naturally into a north-east Norfolk break centred on Cromer or Sheringham. Include it if your group wants coastal scenery with an elevated perspective, and balance the itinerary around the walking and playing requirements of everyone involved.
Sheringham is worth investigating alongside Royal Cromer, while Great Yarmouth and Caister belongs to a separate stretch of the coast. For inland rounds, the courses at Barnham Broom provide an alternative to another day exposed to the sea breeze.
Suffolk rewards a more compact approach. A stay around Thorpeness, Aldeburgh, Woodbridge or Ipswich lets you focus on one part of the county, choosing rounds that offer a change of scenery without moving hotel every night.
Thorpeness Hotel & Golf Club brings together James Braid's coastal heathland design and an overnight stay in the village. Heather, gorse and trees frame a course that sits close to the sea without being a conventional links.
The attraction for a short break is how the day fits together: golf, a return to the hotel and an evening in a village with its own recognisable character. The House in the Clouds is part of that setting, but the golf gives the stay its purpose.
Choose Thorpeness if you would rather settle into one place than turn every round into another departure.
Purdis Heath is Ipswich Golf Club's James Braid-designed 18-hole course. It adds an inland heathland round to a Suffolk trip, with the emphasis on deciding where to place the ball and how to approach the green.
That makes it an interesting counterpoint to a coastal round at Felixstowe Ferry. When requesting golf at Ipswich, specify Purdis Heath so the intended course is clear. It features in our Suffolk golf tour, alongside Woodbridge and Felixstowe Ferry.
Keep these names on a second-stage shortlist rather than adding every club to the same break. Aldeburgh can be considered when staying around Thorpeness; Woodbridge and Felixstowe Ferry are included in the Suffolk touring option above.
Pick the rounds you most want to play, then compare the journeys and visitor availability. Two or three well-chosen courses will usually give a short trip a clearer identity than an ambitious county-wide circuit.
A Cambridge or west Suffolk base creates a different holiday from the coastal routes. It can suit golfers who want time in Cambridge or around Newmarket as well as their rounds.
Gog Magog has two 18-hole courses on chalk downland south-east of Cambridge: the Old and Wandlebury. The Old Course dates from 1901, while Wandlebury is the longer layout and offers a different test.
A two-course club can provide variety within the same stop. Ask which layout is available and choose your tees on the merits of the course, rather than assuming that the newer one is shorter or easier.
Royal Worlington's nine holes place the focus on the quality of the individual problems: finding the right line, judging an approach and negotiating the greens. Its association with Cambridge University adds another thread to an inland golf visit.
The format needs attention when arranging a group. Visitor numbers are limited, an official handicap is required for unaccompanied visitors, and the club has specific playing arrangements. Confirm these before treating Worlington as a standard fourball booking.
A hotel with its own golf changes the pace of a break. It allows the group to spend less time coordinating departures and more time enjoying the venue. These options serve different parts of the region.
Choose a Thorpeness golf break when you want the village, hotel and course to form the centre of the trip. It is particularly worth comparing with a touring holiday if your group values an easy transition from the final green to the evening.
Barnham Broom is an inland Norfolk resort with two 18-hole courses. The Pennink is the former Valley Course, while the Steel was previously called the Hill Course. You may encounter both sets of names when comparing itineraries.
It is a useful base for playing more than one layout without travelling between clubs. Have the course allocation written into the quote, especially if one of the two designs is a particular reason for your visit.
Dunston Hall combines an 18-hole course with hotel accommodation near Norwich. Consider it when the group wants golf at the hotel and the possibility of time in the city.
It can also be compared with a coastal base. Norwich may suit evening plans, but a hotel nearer Cromer or Sheringham will change the amount of driving involved in a north-coast itinerary.
For a break towards the southern end of the region, add Stoke by Nayland to your hotel comparisons. It gives you another resort option when planning around the Suffolk and Essex border, rather than the north Norfolk coast.
Concentrate on the north-east coast and use an inland round for contrast. Our Norfolk golf tour is a starting point for comparing Royal Cromer, Sheringham and Barnham Broom.
If Hunstanton or Brancaster is the main attraction, reconsider the base and route rather than simply adding them to the end of each day.
Bring Woodbridge, Purdis Heath and Felixstowe Ferry together through the Suffolk tour, or use Thorpeness for a more settled coastal stay.
Choose between the touring format and a single-resort break according to how much variety and travelling your group enjoys.
Explore a break built around Gog Magog and the possibility of Royal Worlington. This is a bespoke planning idea, with the golf dependent on the clubs' visitor arrangements.
Allow room for Cambridge or Newmarket in the itinerary instead of trying to reach the Norfolk coast as well.
Organising eight or more golfers? Start with group formats and access, then secure the accommodation around the accepted rounds. Some traditional clubs cannot be approached in the same way as a resort tee sheet.
For alternatives beyond this part of the country, browse our UK golf breaks. Keep the destination choice tied to the golf your group actually wants to play.
Thorpeness, Barnham Broom and Dunston Hall all combine a hotel with golf. Thorpeness puts you in a Suffolk coastal village, while Barnham Broom and Dunston Hall give you inland Norfolk bases near Norwich. Stoke by Nayland adds a further choice around the Suffolk and Essex border.
It depends on your priorities. Norwich offers city evenings, while a coast-based stay may reduce the journey to your chosen rounds. Locate Royal Cromer and Sheringham separately from Hunstanton and Brancaster when judging the route; the Norfolk coast is a substantial part of the county.
There are courses with sandy or chalk-based ground that can make winter golf appealing. That is a reason to investigate a venue, rather than a promise of particular conditions. Find out about maintenance, temporary arrangements and equipment restrictions for the dates you are considering.
No. Royal Cromer is a clifftop course, while Thorpeness is coastal heathland. Hunstanton and Royal West Norfolk offer links settings. Those differences are part of the enjoyment of choosing a route, rather than interchangeable descriptions of the same golf.
Norfolk and Suffolk are the core of the selection. Cambridge and west Suffolk form the inland extension, with the Essex border relevant to a broader eastern England holiday. The route matters more than a single regional course count when deciding what fits into a few nights away.
Send us the courses that interest you, your likely travel dates and the number of golfers. Let us know whether you would rather stay beside the golf, near the coast or somewhere with more choice in the evening.
We will help you explore the resort and tour options we feature, with a clear view of the rounds, accommodation and any additional arrangements that need confirming.
For help choosing between the regions, speak to our team on 01992 763660.
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