Great Yarmouth & Caister Golf Club a superb Norfolk Links. Come and play golf in East Anglia

The Course is a fine example of traditional links golf, laid out on predominantly sandy ground over 100 years ago, and famous for the quality and stability of the greens. While modern irrigation is now used to ensure that the course is in optimal condition all year round, this does not detract from the links feel.

The Great Yarmouth Golf Club was founded in 1882 by Dr Thomas Browne R.N. who on moving south to The Royal Naval Hospital in Yarmouth not only observed that the North Denes was a very suitable place for golf to be played but proceeded, by his own determined efforts, to bring his ideas to fruition. He wrote to various publications, both local and national, and called a meeting. Nobody turned up so Dr Browne declared himself Hon. Secretary, Treasurer, Committee and Captain. Having formed the Club he arranged matches with Royal Blackheath, Felixstowe and Cambridge University, obtained permission from the Mayor to play golf at the North Denes and in August 1882 a match was played between Dr Browne, Mr H Cummings and Mr F Burton Steward – the first three members of the Club.

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The Club was fortunate, in the early years, in being adopted by the members of Royal Blackheath who provided Captains, Officers, members and Trophies. The Club still plays the Blackheath Medal (a scratch competition) and Royal Blackheath have the Great Yarmouth Cup. In 1883 the first prize meeting was held and later that year the first East Anglian inter Club match, Felixstowe vs Yarmouth was played. This match was repeated 100 years later, in 1983, and was again played – with players dressed in 19th century costume – in June 2000 to celebrate the millennium. The Ladies Club was formed in 1884 – 2 years after the men.

In 1890 a member at Coventry Golf Club conceived the idea of playing a match under handicap against the number of shots a scratch golfer would take playing perfect golf. This was known as the ground score. This idea was suggested to Dr Browne at Yarmouth’s autumn meeting and, having received the assent of a number of prominent golfers this style of competition was introduced on a match play basis. These competitions were played throughout the winter, at the same time a music hall song “Hush! Here comes the Bogey man” was gaining in popularity. During a competition Mr C A Wellman exclaimed to Dr Browne “This player of yours is a regular Bogey man”. Dr Browne seized on this and at Yarmouth and elsewhere the score became known as the Bogey score. Bogey competitions are still played at many clubs although in general usage the term bogey has come to mean 1 over.

Welcome to Great Yarmouth & Caister Golf Club Traditional Links Course

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