Golf in Norfolk
The north Norfolk coast is English seaside golf at its most romantic: a links at Brancaster reached by a road that floods with the tide, Hunstanton's great dune ridge across the water, and clifftop golf at Sheringham and Cromer beneath a working lighthouse. Add gastropubs, salt marsh and sky, and it is one of the most charming three or four day trips in the game.
Photograph: Hunstanton, Norfolk, via Google
Why golf here
Royal West Norfolk at Brancaster, founded in 1892 with the future Edward VII as patron from the start, is one of the last great time capsules in golf. The links runs between Brancaster Bay and the salt marsh over sleeper faced bunkers little changed in a century, golf is strictly two ball, singles and foursomes, and on the biggest tides the access road floods and the clubhouse becomes an island for a few hours. Across the head of the Wash, Hunstanton is the coast's championship test, remodelled by James Braid in 1907 along a central dune ridge, host to the Brabazon Trophy and the English Amateur, and home of one of golf's most outrageous true stories: in 1974 the amateur Bob Taylor aced the par 3 sixteenth three days running, and a stone by the tee marks it.
The charm does not stop there. Sheringham's gorse lined clifftops run beside the steam trains of the North Norfolk Railway, Royal Cromer plays around its lighthouse on the headland where the Curtis sisters helped seed an international match in 1905, and inland Royal Norwich offers the rare novelty of a Royal club on a completely new Ross McMurray course, opened in 2019. With King's Lynn's silver birch heathland and Thetford's fast draining Breckland turf as inland alternatives, Norfolk packs remarkable variety into a county that most traveling golfers still have not seen. Go before they do.
- Best months
- May to Jul, Sep
- Style
- Links and clifftop
- Courses nearby
- Around 10
- Get there
- 3 hrs from London
- Trip length
- 3 to 4 nights
- From / head
- about $2,200 in 2026
Reviewed June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified at publication. How we research and review.
The Norfolk courses to build around
The three coastal headliners sit on about forty miles of the A149 coast road, with Royal Cromer ten minutes beyond Sheringham and the inland options under an hour away. These are the rounds that make the trip.
Royal West Norfolk (Brancaster)
A links preserved in amber between bay and salt marsh: sleeper faced bunkers, fast running fairways and a clubhouse that the tide turns into an island. Golf is singles and foursomes only, there is no visitor play in August, and the eighth and ninth play across the marsh on big tides. One of the essential experiences in English golf, and proudly out of step with the modern game.
Hunstanton
The coast's championship course, out and back along a great central dune ridge with greens among the most testing in East Anglia. Host to the Brabazon Trophy, the English Amateur and the Boys' Amateur, and famous for Bob Taylor's three consecutive aces at the sixteenth in 1974. Mostly two ball golf, with four balls slotted in on Tuesday mornings and Sunday afternoons.
Sheringham
Gorse lined fairways running along the cliffs between the sea and the steam trains of the North Norfolk Railway, with the par 4 fifth along the cliff edge one of the best holes in the county. Tom Dunn laid out the original nine in 1891 and the course has been a fixture of English clifftop golf since. Blustery, beautiful and great fun.
Royal Cromer
Old Tom Morris laid out the original course and J.H. Taylor, James Braid and Frank Pennink have all had a hand since. The signature fourteenth plays beside the working Cromer lighthouse, the clifftop views run for miles, and the club's 1905 international match featuring the Curtis sisters is part of the Curtis Cup origin story. The club's Old Tom's Dormy sleeps six for a stay and play night.
Royal Norwich
The club dates from 1893, but in 2019 it did something no other Royal club has done in living memory: sold up and built new. Ross McMurray of European Golf Design delivered a big, modern parkland at Weston Longville with a six hole academy loop, and the result was ranked among the world's best new course developments of the past decade. Dynamic pricing makes midweek times genuine value.
King's Lynn, Thetford and Barnham Broom
King's Lynn at Castle Rising, a 1975 Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas design through silver birch and pine, is the pick of the inland courses and a fine shelter on a wild coast day. Thetford's Breckland heathland drains fast and plays firm year round, and the 36 hole Barnham Broom resort, its two courses newly renamed for designers Frank Pennink and Donald Steel, adds a hotel and spa base near Norwich.
Course facts and designers verified June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Royal West Norfolk and Hunstanton are predominantly two ball clubs; book by phone or email well ahead. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.
Indicative green fees and the season
Norfolk plays well from April to October and the links stay genuinely playable through winter at much lower rates. May to early July and September are the prime windows. August is the trap: Royal West Norfolk takes no visitors at all that month, Hunstanton suspends county card rates, and the coast road is at peak holiday crawl.
| Course | Type | Indicative 2026 green fee |
|---|---|---|
| Royal West Norfolk | Two ball links | £185 midweek, £235 weekend |
| Hunstanton | Championship links | £175 (April to October) |
| Sheringham | Clifftop | Around £135 (latest published) |
| Royal Cromer | Clifftop | £110 to £125 (May to September) |
| Royal Norwich | Modern parkland | Around £70 to £125 (dynamic) |
| King's Lynn and Thetford | Inland | Around £60 to £110 |
Indicative 2026 visitor green fees verified June 2026 from the clubs' published rates; foursomes rates at Brancaster and Hunstanton are sharply lower, and winter rates fall further across the county. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.
Booking individual rounds? Compare live tee times through our partner: [TEE_TIME_AFFILIATE_LINK]. Hotels near the courses: [HOTEL_AFFILIATE_LINK].
Four nights on the north Norfolk coast
The classic routing runs east along the A149 with two bases: Burnham Market or Brancaster Staithe for the first half, Sheringham or Cromer for the second. Time Brancaster around the tide, and book both two ball clubs well ahead.
Arrive, then Hunstanton
Three hours up from London or the fast train to King's Lynn, then an afternoon round along the great dune ridge. Stop at the sixteenth tee and read Bob Taylor's stone. Dinner at the White Horse in Brancaster Staithe, looking over the marsh.
Royal West Norfolk
Foursomes in the morning at Brancaster, timed to the tide tables. Sleeper bunkers, marsh carries and a clubhouse lunch out of another century. The slowest, best afternoon in English golf follows in Burnham Market.
The coast road to Sheringham
An unhurried drive east past Holkham and the salt marsh villages, then an afternoon on Sheringham's clifftops with the steam railway puffing alongside. Overnight in Sheringham or Cromer.
Royal Cromer, then home
A morning round around the lighthouse on the headland, with the option of King's Lynn's sheltered heathland on the way back if the weather turns or the legs allow.
Plan your Norfolk golf trip
Brancaster and Hunstanton bookings, the tide tables, the right pub with rooms and the coast road in the proper order. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge secures the tee times and lodging and costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Golf in Norfolk: common questions
What are the best golf courses in Norfolk?
Royal West Norfolk at Brancaster and Hunstanton are the two great links, facing each other across the head of the Wash, with clifftop Sheringham and Royal Cromer, around its lighthouse, completing the coastal run. Inland, Royal Norwich offers the rare experience of a Royal club on a brand new course, with King's Lynn's woodland heathland and the Breckland turf of Thetford the pick of the rest.
Can visitors play Royal West Norfolk at Brancaster?
Yes, but on the club's terms. Golf at Brancaster is strictly two ball, singles and foursomes only, there is no visitor play in August, and times are booked through the office. The access road floods on the biggest tides, when the clubhouse becomes an island for a few hours, so check the club's tide times when you book. It is one of the most distinctive days in English golf.
How much are green fees in Norfolk in 2026?
Royal West Norfolk is 185 pounds midweek and 235 at weekends in 2026, with foursomes cheaper. Hunstanton is 175 pounds in summer, Royal Cromer 110 to 125 in high season, and Sheringham's latest published rate is around 135. Royal Norwich runs dynamic summer pricing from about 70 to 125 pounds, King's Lynn is about 100 to 110 and Thetford 60 to 75. Always confirm directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in Norfolk?
May to early July and September are the prime windows, with long daylight and firm seaside turf. April and October are the value shoulder. August is the trap: Royal West Norfolk takes no visitors at all that month and the coast is at peak holiday traffic. The links drain superbly, so winter golf is genuinely playable and far cheaper.
How do you get to the north Norfolk links?
Drive from London in about three hours, or take the train from King's Cross to King's Lynn in around one hour forty five and pick up a car for the last half hour to the coast. Norwich airport connects through Amsterdam for international arrivals and suits the Cromer and Sheringham end. The three coastal headliners sit on about forty miles of the A149 coast road, so one base serves them all.
Related
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.