Ipswich Golf Club (Purdis Heath)

Overview: Purdis Heath is the main eighteen at Ipswich Golf Club, laid out on more than 200 acres of rolling heath east of the town. James Braid used the natural valleys, pines, rhododendrons and sandy soil to build a two-loop routing, and the course is often compared with the heathland classics of Surrey and Berkshire. From the back tees it measures about 6,430 yards to a par of 71. Sandy heathland turf and heather margins distinguish the course from parkland layouts around town, and the firm surface makes the ground game as important as carry.

History: The club’s earliest golf was on Rushmere Heath in 1895, but public use and limits on the site constrained expansion. Land at Black Heath was purchased in 1925; after two years of construction the new James Braid course opened on 16 June 1928. Its launch included an exhibition with Braid, J. H. Taylor, Abe Mitchell and Henry Cotton.

Did You Know? The course has hosted national amateur events including the English Women's Amateur Stroke Play, and an old decoy pond on the estate is among its best-known features.