A county split between sand and clay
Nottinghamshire's golf falls into two clear camps. Of its 32 clubs, 14 are parkland and 8 heathland, and the split reflects the geology running beneath the county. In the north, around Mansfield and Worksop, the land sits on the sandy soils of what was once Sherwood Forest, giving free-draining fairways and heather rather than thick rough. Further south, towards Nottingham and the Trent Valley, the ground turns to heavier clay and the courses become classic tree-lined parkland, often laid out on old estate land. Green fees start from around £20, which for a county with this much variety and this many well-regarded designers involved is good value.
Heathland golf around Sherwood Forest
The heathland cluster is the strongest reason to make a golfing trip to Nottinghamshire. Sherwood Forest Golf Club in Mansfield, set among the Clipstone Woods, was laid out by Harry Colt and reworked by James Braid in the 1920s; it's ranked 84th in the British Isles and has hosted the English Girls Championship and the McGregor Trophy. Coxmoor, on high exposed ground near Sutton-in-Ashfield, is an Open qualifying venue that has staged the British Boys Championship, won there by Matt Fitzpatrick, and the British Seniors. Notts Ladies Golf Club, founded in 1887 to a Willie Park Junior design, has hosted the Brabazon Trophy six times and is recognised by Golf Club Atlas as a Custodian of the Game. Nearer Worksop, College Pines sits inside Clumber Park on a sandy base that allows permanent tees and greens year-round, and Oakmere Commanders in Southwell offers three separate layouts, including an 18-hole Admirals Course named after Rear Admiral Robert St Vincent Sherbrooke, running alongside Dover Beck.
Tom Williamson's parkland legacy
No architect shaped Nottinghamshire's parkland golf more than Tom Williamson, who worked on more than 60 courses in his career. Beeston Fields in Nottingham, which he designed in 1923, opened with a match involving Open champion Arthur Havers and has since welcomed Henry Cotton, Roberto De Vicenzo and Lee Westwood; its 8th hole is named after Havers. Chilwell Manor, his 1906 design on the southern edge of Beeston, began as nine holes rented from fields beside a manor house before growing to eighteen around 1927. Mapperley, four miles from the city centre with views across the Trent Valley to the Vale of Belvoir, started with a Williamson nine before John Mason extended it to eighteen holes in 1983, officially opened by the Minister for Sport, Neil Macfarlane. Williamson also laid out the original course at Newark, which moved to its present Kelwick site in 1934 and had six greens and seven tees reworked by Donald Steel in the 1970s; it approaches its 125th anniversary in 2026. Radcliffe-on-Trent, another Williamson course, is home to the McGregor Trophy, won there by Justin Rose in 1995, on ground once played by Harry Vardon.
More recent additions
Newer clubs have added variety without straying far from parkland principles. Rufford Park, near Newark in the Sherwood Forest area, was designed by Donald Steel with Ken Brown as consultant and has been voted best course in Nottinghamshire under £30 by Midlands Golfer. Ramsdale Park's Hawtree-designed Seely Course pairs with a par-3 Lee Course for quicker rounds, while The Nottinghamshire Golf & Country Club, a Peter Alliss design across 340 acres, offers two full 18-hole courses including an island-green finish on its Signature layout. Ruddington Grange, with water in play on eight holes and resident swans, and Southwell Golf Club, built inside Southwell Racecourse with its own par-3 island green, show how much building has continued around the county since the 1980s. Between the heathland north and the parkland south, there's little need to travel far to find a genuinely different test.