Royal West Norfolk, Brancaster, England

www.rwngc.org

White tees par 71, SSS 71, 6457 yards
Red tees par 75, SSS 75, 5882 yards

The entrance to the course

Royal West Norfolk, often referred to as ‘Brancaster’, was founded with royal patronage in 1892 and I doubt that it has changed much since then.  Situated on the North Norfolk coast it is squeezed between salt marshes and the magnificent Brancaster beach.  There may not be another golf course where you are warned to consult the tide times before playing as the access road is under water at high tide.  The first tee is across the sandy approach to the beach through a wrought iron gate and feels like stepping back in time.

The 4th is guarded by a wall of sleepers and pot bunkers

 We played the course with our son William and our cairn terrier Maisie on a sunny day in June.  It is memorable for its long carries, intimidating sleeper walled bunkers and fast greens.  We were fortunate to have a dispensation from the secretary to play a three ball as like Muirfield this is usually a two ball course.  It is a traditional ‘nine out, nine back’ course with the prevailing wind assisting in the first nine and hindering in the second. 

 

The challenging 9th green

The first hole shares a fairway with the 18^th with an ideal drive having a slight draw but beware overdoing it as there is long grass and out of bounds on the beach to the left.  The first par 3, the 4^th hole, has a raised green protected by a wall of wooden sleepers and three pot bunkers – be short at your peril!  The course’s most memorable holes are the 8^th and the 9^th, on both of which you have to negotiate large areas of tidal marsh land which at high tide make islands of parts of the holes.  The par 5 8^th requires creative thinking and has been likened to ‘a man crossing a stream by somewhat imperfect stepping stones, so that he has to make a perilous leap from one to the other’.  The ninth hole is a par 5 for ladies and a par 4 for men.  There is a long carry from the tee to the narrowest part of the fairway and then either a lay-up or a perilous shot over tidal marshes to a green set at a right angle to the fairway. 

Beach huts by the 16th tee

The golfer then turns for home but into the prevailing wind.  Many of the holes on the inward nine follow the dunes on the right and there are some excellent par 4s.  The par 3 1th is guarded by a huge bunker at the front but there is at least a landing area over it.  The 16^th tee has a line of quintessentially British beach huts to the right of the tee.  The 18^th is a straightforward hole until you encounter the large semicircular bunker at the front of the green which must have ruined a number of medal cards!

The clubhouse is almost on Brancaster beach

A seat and lunch (must be pre-ordered) in the wood panelled Smoke Room is a welcome respite in a clubhouse from the Edwardian era.  Royal West Norfolk is a hugely enjoyable experience in a magical place.

Worth playing?  Without doubt