Played by NCG: Sand Moor Golf Club
Reason for a Sand Moor Golf Club review
The Sports Publications match play competition had reached the quarter-final stages and I was giving Joe Urquhart 11 shots (13 vs 24) off the yellow tees in a late afternoon last eight battle.
Where is Sand Moor?
Found not too far from the city centre, Sand Moor is in the golden mile of Leeds courses with Alwoodley and Moortown not much more than a long drive away. It’s a brilliant triangle and an ideal basis for an overnight break.
What to expect?
I experienced the best collection of par 3s I’ve ever played. Dr Alister MacKenzie worked his magic on Sand Moor in the 1920s and the architect of Augusta National left an unmistakable mark on all four of the short holes.
They are simply magnificent and each offers a different challenge. There is the length and accuracy of the 8th, at 186 yards off the whites and with an absolute no-go area on the left, and the bunker-protected 10th with out-of-bounds right and a cavernous drop on the other side.
The 15th hides a very fast green, while the 17th, guarded by three well-positioned traps, would not look out of place in Georgia.
Away from the par 3s, the principles that would be perfected at Pasatiempo, Cypress Point and Augusta are given full rein on the 6th. All that’s missing, on Sand Moor’s hardest hole, are some cliffs and crashing waves.
My best bit?
Naturally it came on a par 3. With my match at all-square standing on the 17th, I hit a perfectly flighted 8-iron 131 yards to two feet away in the darkening evening. Perfection.
When I go back?
And it’s when, not if. I’ll try to putt a little more consistently and spend more time in the quite fabulous clubhouse.
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
