Sherwood Forest Golf Club Course Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info

Sherwood Forest Golf Club is a challenging course where recent work has enhanced the heathland feel.

Sherwood Forest Golf Club Course Review
Sherwood Forest Golf Club - View to clubhouse

Top 100 Courses UK & Ireland 2023/24

(Image credit: Future)

Sherwood Forest Golf Club Key Information

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Row 0 - Cell 0 Row 0 - Cell 1
AddressEakring Road, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 3EW
Phone Number01623 626689
Websitehttps://www.sherwoodforestgolfclub.co.uk
Emailinfo@sherwoodforestgolfclub.co.uk
Green Fees£80 - £145
Visitor TimesNo visitor bookings on Bank Holidays, Saturday (all day), Tuesday and Sunday mornings, tee times available after 1.30pm or between Christmas and New Year. (Subject to availability), bookings on Sunday £10 extra
Par71
Slope Rating140 (Champ), 138 (White), 131 (Yellow), 139 (Women's Red)
Opened1912
Designed byHarry Colt, James Braid,
Golf Monthly Verdict

Sherwood Forest - Hole 17

(Image credit: Sherwood Forest Golf Club)

A classic design played over ideal golfing terrain. The layout makes excellent use of the natural surrounding features. The course is sand based so drains well in poor weather and the heather and deep grasses surrounding each fairway help frame and contour each hole. An excellent test of golf to challenge all levels. The course is fair and will reward good golf throughout while asking questions of wayward play.

REASONS TO PLAY SHERWOOD FOREST GOLF CLUB

– Classic Colt and Braid heathland layout

– Beautiful and peaceful setting with great flora and fauna to be seen

– Famously true and pure greens

RANKINGS

UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2023/24 - 90

On the fringes of Mansfield, Sherwood Forest Golf Club dates from 1895. They have been at the same site since 1912 playing over a course originally laid out by Hary Colt but remodelled by James Braid in the 1920s.

Although there have been changes and an evolution to keep pace with the game, the track has remained largely unchanged since the early part of the 20th century. That’s partly testament to the skill of those great men as course designers and partly down to the exceptional terrain over which this great track is set. Sherwood Forest is one of the best golf courses in Nottinghamshire.

Playing out from in front of the comfortable and welcoming clubhouse, alongside the bronze stag that keeps watch over the course, the 1st hole is a short, tactical par-4 that requires a straight drive stopping short of a well-placed bunker around 30 yards from the green.

It’s a gentle opening but the challenge increases on the left to right second, heather waits to the left, trees and rough to the right, straight ahead bunkers loom ominously, but in fact there’s quite a bit of space between them.

With punishing rough and bunkers protecting the edges of most holes here, tee shots are visually intimidating, but the landing areas are reasonably generous. The key to success is to win the mental battle and trust that a good swing aimed on a reasonable line will find a sensible spot. Often driver is not the correct play though, and even 3-wood might be too much.

The greens at Sherwood Forest deserve special mention. They’re exceptionally true and very fast indeed – a real joy to putt on.

The start of the run for home at Sherwood Forest is excellent and the stretch from the 11th to the 14th is the most difficult on the course. The 11th is slightly downhill and plays from left to right. A bunker off the tee looms large but there’s plenty of room to the left. The approach must miss a clamouring gaggle of bunkers placed to catch a variety of misses.

The 12th requires a strong drive and straight approach to a green framed by trees. Both par-4s, the 13th and 14th turn from right to left and both ask for two well struck shots if you’re to reach in regulation. Get through these four holes in par and you’ve played very well indeed.

Played over springy heathland turf across fairways lined by heathers and a fine variety of trees, this is a supremely attractive setting for golf and the terrain is ideally suited for the game.

Significant work removing trees to regain some of the original heathland character of the course was recently undertaken, also an extensive improvement of the practice facilities and clubhouse areas (including new patio).

sherwood forest golf club review

The 7th green

What The Top 100 Panel Said

Chris Boakes Golf Monthly Top 100 panel
Chris Boakes

Sherwood Forest offers an exacting test of golf where the player is gently eased in over the opening holes before things really bite back around the turn. Even the forward tees offer an above average test and the championship pegs are the real deal. I cannot believe I had left it so long to visit this cracking track that is an essential for all fans of heathland golf.

Top 100 Golf COurses UK and Ireland in association with Peter Millar
Steve Hollis

I’ve made a beeline for Sherwood open comps over the last decade and have never come away disappointed. There is no hole that starkly stands out from its neighbours, but that is testament to the strength of all the holes.

This is one of those courses that you keep on recommending to your pals. A quality day out that nobody really knows about.

If you like hard fairways, an abundance of heather and excellent (but not unfair) bunkers, then Sherwood Forest will suit you well.

Sherwood Forest Golf Club Location

Sherwood Forest Golf Club Green Fees

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Row 0 - Cell 0 18 holes36 holes
Visitor in Apr£80£100
Visitor in May£112.50£132.50
Visitor Jun - Sep£125£145
Visitor Nov 23 - Mar 24£65Row 4 - Cell 2
Junior Visitor£30Row 5 - Cell 2

Contact the club via the information on their website for more information

Sherwood Forest Golf Club scorecard

Sherwood Forest Golf Club scorecard

(Image credit: Sherwood Forest Golf Club)

Best Courses Near to Sherwood Forest Golf Club

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<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/courses/top-100-courses/notts-golf-club-course-review-60579" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"">HOLLINWELL - HOME OF NOTTS GOLF CLUB

The entrance drive to this golfing oasis creates a huge sense of anticipation for what is to come. This brilliant design is in part wooded and benefits from rocky outcrops, the occasional encounter with water, bracken and fern. Rarely do consecutive holes run in the same direction, and gentle slopes reward with lovely views and strategic challenge.

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<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/courses/uk-and-ireland/best-golf-courses-in-the-midlands" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"">COXMOOR

Celebrating its centenary back in 2013, the current layout of the course at Coxmoor was mainly developed in the 1930s at which point there were no trees on the site. Since then, birch, beech and pine have helped to define the design, and the course now stretches to over 6,700 yards from the championship tees. There are five par 5s which raise the prospect of a birdie, and the elevated location means that wind can often be a factor here.

For all the best golf courses in the area, check out our guide to the best courses in Nottinghamshire.

Best Places to Stay Near Sherwood Forest Golf Club

Mour Hotel - Book now at Booking.com
Just a 15 minute drive from Sherwood Forest, the Mour Hotel boasts stylish, spacious rooms all with black and white tiled bathrooms with heated mirrors and walk-in power showers. The Mour Bar & Grill showcases a unique, modern design.

Forest Lodge Hotel - Book now at Booking.com
Located in Edwinstowe, 350 yards from Sherwood Forest, The Forest Lodge is just a short drive from the golf club. It's a comfy pub, offering good rooms and hearty food.

Sherwood Forest Golf Club Course Gallery

Sherwood Forest Golf Club Historical Top 100 Ranking UK&I

  • 2023/24 - 90
  • 2021/22 - 84
  • 2019/20 - 83
  • 2017/18 - 84
  • 2015/16 - 92
  • 2013/14 - 92
  • 2011/12 - 100

Frequently Asked Questions

When can i play at Sherwood Forest?

Visitors are welcome all year round except they do not take any visitor bookings on Bank Holidays, Saturday (all day), Tuesday and Sunday mornings. Tee times available after 1.30pm or between Christmas and New Year. (Subject to availability). There's a £10 surcharge for playing on a Sunday.

Is there a dress code at Sherwood Forest?

Sherwood Forest expects guests and members to dress appropriately for a golf club. Guidance on that can be found on the club's website

Do I need a handicap to play at Sherwood Forest?

Handicap certificates or CDH numbers are required. Visiting golfers are expected to hold a current club handicap and provide a handicap certificate on arrival.

Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly. 

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?