Best golf courses in Norfolk

Located in East Anglia, Norfolk is home to some cracking golf courses. As with a number of the other counties around the coastline of England, Norfolk is home to links courses on the water's edge, and some glorious inland courses as well.

By land area, Norfolk is one of the biggest counties in England, but the population remains less than a million - before you add the thousands that flock to the county during the summer months on their holidays. 

You might think that Norwich, the county's largest city, would be the base to stay on your Norfolk golf trip. However, most of the best courses are on the northern coastline, so staying somewhere like King's Lynn might leave you better placed for the 'big four' on the north Norfolk coast.

Royal West Norfolk, Hunstanton, Sheringham, Royal Cromer. If you are visiting Norfolk, then these are the four courses that have to be a part of your itinerary for the trip. 

For stunning clifftop views, Royal Cromer is the place to go. Old Tom Morris, JH Taylor and James Braid - a trio with 14 Claret Jugs between them - have had a hand in the design of Royal Cromer, which is the epitome of clifftop golf. Just down the coastline sits Sheringham, which also provides large drop-offs to the sea from certain points during a round.

In purely golfing terms, the stars are further to the west, in Royal West Norfolk and Hunstanton. Incredibly, the former is often separated from the mainland due to high tides, with the course set out on a narrow strip of land between Brancaster Bay and the salt marshes. Hunstanton is a kinks course in its purest form, right down to the turf you play off, and the out-and-back nature of the layout.

Move further inland, and there are also some great parkland courses to tempt you. Royal Norwich, which has recently moved from its historic location to its current spot, is one of them. King's Lynn and Thetford also offer a great afternoon, with the latter having heather-clad fairways. 

How we compiled our Norfolk list
We updated our Norfolk list when we created our NCG Top 100s list of the best golf courses in England. If a course in the county is above another in our England list, then it will also be above it in our Norfolk list.