As a great ‘out-doorsy’ county, Suffolk certainly isn’t short of golf courses! From challenging bunkers and pond-riddled fairways to easy ‘beginners’ courses, you won’t have to travel far from the farm to find your golfing fix.
Putting a few balls is a great way to enjoy the Suffolk countryside as well as take on friends and family in a friendly challenge. If you’re a bit of a pro, you’ll be pleased to know that we also have a great choice of professional-grade golf courses here for you to keep on top of your skills. Take a look at this list from Golf Today for an overview of some of the best.
Friendly golf club for all the family
One of our favourite ‘starter clubs’ is the Stonham Barns ‘Suffolk Golf Centre. Located in Mid-Suffolk, around 15 minutes drive from Damerons Farm, Stonham Barns features a 9 nine-hole golf course, driving range and footgolf!
Open to the public every day of the week, the 9 hole golf course is famous as the first in the UK to offer ‘big’ holes (8″ wide), while the driving range operates a ‘serve yourself’ vending machine where you can choose how many balls you’d like to play before they are emptied into a little basket for you to carry to your bunker!
Footgolf meanwhile, is pretty much what it sounds like – great fun for teams and families, it combines football and golf together for the best of both worlds. If you are staying with us as part of a group or corporate booking, it’s worth noting that the club can arrange footgolf games for staff dos, corporate team bonding and stag dos too, with food and trophy packages available.
England Golf’s Most Welcoming Golf Club 2017
‘Most welcoming’ club is the accolade awarded to Fynn Valley Golf Club, set in the peaceful rolling Suffolk countryside in the nearby town of Witnesham. As a family-run club, it has lots of facilities to suit all variations of golfing fans including an 18 hole course, a 9 hole course, a 22 bay golf range, practise greens and footgolf.
The club house itself sits within gorgeous Edwardian farm buildings and really is a lovely place to be. You can easily spend the whole day here and enjoy a spot of lunch too – the food is delicious. Enjoy a meal in the Courtyard Bar or the Terrace – the latter overlooks the golf course and serves a great Sunday Lunch too!
Golfing by the Lake
Suffolk is home to a beautiful little town called Clare, one of the famous Suffolk Wool Towns. As well as its wool church, priory, castle and country park, Clare also has a lovely golf club known as ‘the prettiest and friendliest little golf course in Suffolk’.
The Clare Park Lake Golf Course Club is open to visitors of all ages and skill levels and operates a ‘pay and play’ scheme. The idyllic 9-hole, 3 par course winds around a tranquil lake beside the River Stour and takes around an hour and a half to play.
Once you’ve finished, stay a while longer in the ‘tee room’ and enjoy a bite to eat, or take some time to explore the town with a walk along the river Stour.
Ipswich Golf Driving Range
If you’d rather just spend the morning or afternoon practising your driving skills, head into Ipswich and to The Ipswich Golf Driving Range. Set alongside the Suffolk Ski Centre, you could easily combine a visit here with a go on the artificial ski slope, then head into town to a restaurant or to the cinema.
Alongside the driving range is a putting green and mini golf, where younger visitors will enjoy some golfing fun amidst the natural Suffolk landscape.
With 12 fully covered bays, the driving range is also floodlit for use at night – there’s something really relaxing about a night time drive with nothing but the sound of put & ball meeting in the silence.
Golfing on the gateway to the Broads
Head an hour north east of Henley towards the coast and you’d find Beccles – an important market town known as the ‘Gateway’ to Broads National Park. It has been home to the Beccles Golf Club for many years – since 1899 – and is run by volunteers and part time greenkeeper.
For just a small green fee you can enjoy the 9 hole course consisting of par 3 to par 5 holes, as well as the view across the heathland. It is available for the public however bear in mind that the course is normally restricted to members on Saturday mornings for competitions, so it’s worth calling ahead to check availability.
Weekday green fees are £5 for adults (9 holes) whilst Bank Holidays are £10. Juniors go half price.
Have you been to any of the above golf courses? Send in your own recommendations to our guests and help showcase the rest of what Suffolk has to offer.
