Essex, England
Braintree Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-70 parkland course measuring 6,185 yards from the back tees, located at Stisted in the Essex countryside, just off the A120. Founded in 1891, it is the third oldest golf club in Essex. The club has occupied three different sites over its history, relocating from Chapel Farm to Chapel Hill in 1921, before moving to its current home at Stisted in the early 1970s when the threat of a bypass through the previous course prompted the move. The current layout was designed by Fred W. Hawtree, with work beginning in 1971 and the course coming into play in 1973.
Holes are arranged in two distinct returning loops. The shorter outward nine plays to the north of the estate through a mix of par-3s and par-4s, while the inward nine routes south where several fairways skirt the meandering River Blackwater. The terrain is generally gentle with mature woodland framing many holes, and signature cedar trees give the course a sense of established character. Doglegs feature prominently throughout the layout, rewarding accurate placement over length. Notable holes include the short par-4 5th ("Plantation"), which bends sharply right, the heavily bunkered 130-yard par-3 10th ("White Gates"), the stroke index 1 par-4 15th ("Chapel Hill") at 394 yards, and the closing 18th ("The Falls"), which winds its way to a home green set alongside a historic church.
