Thetford
Thetford is a historic Norfolk town with ancient ecclesiastical ruins and a few pretty streets. It was also the birthpace of Thomas Paine (Rights of Man, Age of Reason). Here you are in the Breckland, an area not unlike (in golfing terms) the Surrey heathland. The golf course is just outside the town on either side of the road to Bandon and it is blessed with wonderfully draining heathland turf and more gentle hills than you might expect in East Anglia. The club dates back to 1912. I cannot say when C.H. Mayo laid out the bulk of the present course. Five new holes were added in 1988 by Donald Steel. I'm ashamed to say that I cannot find anything about C.H. Mayo. I know I've got something stashed away somewhere but I simply cannot lay my hands on the information. Please feel free to put me out of my ignorance.
These days the course is quite long, 6879 yards with a par of 72, but it's not a slog. There's good variety to the hole lengths and good change of pace. It does not show particularly in my slides, but there is some fine bunkering, not only around greens. Any of you who have served in the US Air Force may well have flown over it, for it is on the take off path for fighters from RAF Lakenheath and very low, fast and noisy some of them are! The slides were taken in 1995.
1st, 195 yards par 3. It's relatively uncommon to start with a par 3. This is slightly downhill to a green only 26 yards deep with bunkers at 5, 8 and 12 o'clock.
2nd, 365 yards par 4. This, the shortest of the par 4s, takes play up to the highest part of the course and out onto the heath. It dog-legs left and there's a fairway bunker on the inside of the curve at about 260 yards, another in mid-fairway 60 yards short of the green, and three tightly guarding the putting surface.
3rd, 157 yards par 3. This is the first of a stretch of holes on the far side of the Bandon road. It's pretty straightforward, yet there are two bunkers (one outside the other) on the left and another on the right and the wind can be deceptive, funnelled as it is through the avenues of trees.
5th, 380 yards par 4. A delicious hole with a drive from a tee angled off to the left of the fairway with these two bunkers excellently placed. If you can avoid them you will get a lot of roll on down the slope. Then you climb again (gently) towards the green. Two bunkers lurk 50 yards short of the flag and there are three more around the green.
11th, 205 yards par 3. This is one of the more recent holes, played from the right of this picture, the bunkers being at 4 and 8 o'clock. The rim around the edge keeps some balls on the green but it also makes for interesting chipping if you miss.
14th, 429 yards par 4. There's nice movement in most of the fairways at Thetford. There are also plentiful bunkers: 2 if you fail to make the carry, 2 on the right of the fairway at 210 and 230 yards, another in mid fairway 80 yards short of the green and 4 more attending the green.
15th, 375 yards par 4. Again, my photo doesn't show the many fairway bunkers (4 in all) affecting drives and second shots and a big bunker on the front right of the green is complemented by a little one at the very back of the green.
16th, 157 yards par 3. You play through a gap in the trees over a carpet of heather and also over an all-encompassing bunker which runs from 3 o'clock to 9 round the front of the green. For good measure there's also a sneaky little one back right.
18th, 467 yards par 4. A strong finishing hole played to a fairway which leans to the left, curves to the right and climbs. There's a bunker on the left 260 yards out and one on the right about 10 yards further on. The green front is open, but there are three bunkers at 8, 10 and 12 o'clock.