Played by NCG: Garforth

Where is Garforth?

To the east of Leeds, within a few minutes of J46 and J47 of the M1, you’ll find Garforth.

What it’s like:

Leeds is very well catered for in golfing terms. Courses like Garforth can fly under the radar at times, which makes them all the more pleasurable to discover. Or in my case rediscover. It had been several years since I was last on the property and I returned to find some of the best greens I’d putted on all year. It’s parkland for the most part, and the most testing section comes near the end when you turn for home.

My best bit

Aided by the wind, we both hit good drives down the 10^th. Tom hit his approach stiff and I managed to follow him in, converting a three-footer for a half in threes. That doesn’t often happen. If you’re asking me to name a hole I especially like then it has to be the 15th, which would grace nearby Moortown, a course frequently ranked with the top 100 in GB&I.

What to look out for

Make sure you take advantage of a gentle opening because Garforth certainly has a sting in its tail (see below). The course opens with two shot 4s either side of a gentle par 5 so it’s a chance to give yourself a bit of insurance.

When I go back

They say forewarned is forearmed and I now know that the closing stretch is seriously testing. Especially on the day we played with the wind off the left on the 14^th, 15^th, 17^thand 18^th. It made the 14^th, a right-to-left dogleg, especially tough while the next hole is just hard in any conditions

Dan Murphy

Dan loves links golf, which doesn't mean he is very good at it. He is a four-handicapper at Alwoodley. A qualified journalist and senior editor with 25 years’ experience, he was the long-time editor of NCG. His passion is golf courses and he is the founding editor of NCG Top 100s course rankings. He loves nothing more than discovering and highlighting courses that are worthy of greater recognition.