Royal West Norfolk Golf Club Key Information
Royal West Norfolk really should be on every player’s bucket list. It feels like the course has been left untouched for a century and, for many, it’s all the better for it as it provides a unique and authentic experience that is rare to find these days.
At just 6,478 yards, it’s only of modest length, but with the wind perpetually whipping in off the sea, and the golfer always open to every element, you’ll need to have your wits about you to score well.
REASONS TO PLAY ROYAL WEST NORFOLK
- A unique golfing experience where holes can play very differently depending on the height of the tide
- Packed with old-school charm, it has a wonderfully different feel to it
- Not long even off the tips so perhaps a good chance to play to handicap on calmer days
RANKINGS
UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2025/26 - 59
Regularly cut off by the tide, Royal West Norfolk or Brancaster on the north-west Norfolk coast is most definitely unique in more ways than one. This rugged links is the perfect antidote to modern corporate golf - if you like your links golf old-school and ‘au naturel’, it will be right up your street. It has been a mainstay in the top two-thirds of our Top 100 Golf Courses UK & Ireland rankings since day one and tops our list of the best golf courses in Norfolk.
Laid out in 1892 by Holcombe Ingleby, a prominent and popular politician, relatively little has changed over the course of 123 years. Of course, the ‘naturalness’ of this spit of marshland twixt field and sea is part of its charm and appeal, with the par-5 8th and par-4 9th playing very differently at high tide when there’s water to cross on both.
Stepping out of the quirky old clubhouse, you cross a section of beach to reach the 1st tee. Out on the links, in the shelter of the low dunes, there’s a great feeling of tranquillity and this is a course where pure golfing escapism is possible. It features prominently in our best links courses in England list.
Brancaster is largely an out-and-back links with a few deviations along the way that delivering an excellent test of seaside golf. The prevailing wind helps on the way out and hurts on the run for home.
You’ll encounter great variety and some uniquely memorable holes among the sleepered bunkers, elevated greens, salt marshes and sand dunes. The 3rd and 4th, with their sleepered bunkers and banks, stand out early on, while the blind drive on the 5th will leave you coming over the crest full of anticipation or trepidation depending on where you’ve hit it.
You’ll find the two toughest par 3s - the 6th and 15th - play a similar distance in broadly the same direction, so club one right and you’ll probably get the other one right too. It could be anything from an 8-iron to a 3-wood, mind you, and both greens will be pretty elusive into the wind.
It’s probably fair to say that Royal West Norfolk provides a golfing experience like no other. At just 6,478 yards, it’s only of modest length, but with the wind perpetually whipping in off the sea and the golfer always open to every element, you’ll need to have your wits about you to score well.
It’s also one of few courses, if not the only one, to offer a reduced rate for foursomes golf. How much demand there is for that, who knows! But it’s there if you want it.
In recent times the club has taken the bold step to renovate parts of its Victorian clubhouse, much of which had remained untouched for decades. The refurbishment sought to modernise and improve both functionality and accessibility while preserving the building's historical character and charm. The general view is that it has succeeded on both counts.
What The Top 100 Panel Said
Everything about the club and course can be summarised in one word - ‘unique'. Threading between the wall of dunes and the estuary, this special piece of land and ancient design present particularly local challenges. The landing zones are relatively generous and this is a plotter's, rather than blaster's, course, Only by visiting can you start to understand how different, unique and special this course and stretch of land is. Oh, to get to play it again!
The links had a rugged feel in places, but this added to the charm of it sitting behind the dunes. A definite must-play links for any golfer. The 8th and 9th holes, in particular, should be on every golfer’s bucket list to play. A demanding but thoroughly enjoyable experience can be topped off by some breathtaking views of the course and coast from the clubhouse, so be sure not to miss those.
Royal West Norfolk Golf Club location
Contact the secretary at Royal West Norfolk for details or to book
Royal West Norfolk Golf Club scorecard
Best Courses Near Royal West Norfolk
Best Places To Stay Near Royal West Norfolk
Titchwell Manor, Titchwell - Book now at Booking.com
Titchwell Manor is a Victorian farmhouse less than two miles from the club, which offers luxurious boutique accommodation. Each individually designed room has its own en suite bathroom with shower or bath and luxury toiletries, flatscreen TV and tea- and coffee-making facilities. Many have sea or garden views.
The Hoste, Burnham Market - Book now at Booking.com
Situated in the centre of Burnham Market, about five miles from the club and just two from Norfolk's sandy beaches, The Hoste boasts a private 20-seat cinema room, a gym and beauty treatment rooms. The uniquely designed accommodation lies across two individual properties. Many boast a free-standing bath, pretty terrace, or views over the village green.
Royal West Norfolk Gallery
ROYAL WEST NORFOLK HISTORICAL TOP 100 RANKING UK&I
- 2025/26 - 59
- 2023/24 - 63
- 2021/22 - 60
- 2019/20 - 54
- 2017/18 - 47
- 2015/16 - 47
- 2013/14 - 45
- 2011/12 - 44
- 2009/10 - 44
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Royal West Norfolk achieve its 'Royal' status?
Most clubs achieve 'Royal' status some time after their formation. Royal Troon, for example, was still just Troon when Tom Weiskopf won The Open there in 1973, with 'Royal' status arriving in 1978 during the club's centenary year. But Royal West Norfolk was just that from the outset in 1892, when the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, accepted an invitation to become the club’s patron.
Is Royal West Norfolk the best golf course in Norfolk?
Yes, according to the latest Golf Monthly UK&I Top 100 rankings, where it sits in 59th place, 11 higher than Hunstanton (70th), 15 minutes west on the north Norfolk coast. Most other lists have them the same way round as numbers one and two in the county. Like most coastal counties, it is the links courses that tend to fare best in ranking lists. Despite their proximity, the two courses have a different feel and a day spent playing both is a day very well spent!
