If you are looking for a golfing getaway then Yorkshire is the place to go. Home to some of the most iconic and scenic tracks, Yorkshire offers golf for players of all abilities.
Starting in the East you have Ganton. Home to the 1949 Ryder Cup 2000 Curtis Cup and 2003 Walker Cup, the beautiful combination of links and heathland would certainly be good enough to host an Open Championship.
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One of the main features of the course is the bunkers. Some are huge and some are very small, but only the good golfers will do well to avoid them as they plot their way around the 18 fabulous holes. It’s a very methodical course, you can’t just pull out a driver on every hole and expect to end up in a good position. You have to make the right choices off the tee to make sure that you give yourself the best chance to score well.
Moving south west towards Sheffield you will come across Lindrick Golf Club. Another course in Yorkshire that has hosted a Ryder Cup, this time in 1957. Despite the course being affiliated with the Yorkshire Golf Union part of the course is in Nottinghamshire.
What is so special about Lindrick then? Well its firm and fast greens, strategic bunkering and gorse-lined fairways this place has to be seen to be believed. A big strength of the course is the ability to play in the winter with outstanding conditions all year round.
Lindrick is one of only four Yorkshire courses to be ranked in the UK’s top 100 and it’s final hole, a 210-yard par 3 is featured in the World’s 500 greatest holes.
Heading back north you will pass Hallamshire Golf Club in Sheffield. Home to European Tour and Ryder Cup rookie Matt Fitzpatrick this course offers not just a great test of golf but some of the best views on offer.
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Playing just under 6000 yards, its five par 3’s are the stand out features of the course. The 195-yard 6th hole knows as ‘Saucer’ is arguably the courses signature hole where the tee shot has to be hit over a deep valley filled with heather. This place is well worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Drive thirty miles north and you’ll find yourself in Leeds with a plethora of brilliant golf courses at your disposal, starting at another former Ryder Cup venue. Moortown Golf Club in the North of Leeds hosted the Ryder Cup back in 1929. Moortown is a classic moorland golf course with bouncy turf that is easy on the feet. At 6500 yards from the yellows it’s quite a lengthy course but one of beauty and tranquility.
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You will not be disappointed at this fabulous MacKenzie design, especially its signature par 3 10th hole measuring 157 yards to a green situated on top of a rocky plateau. This par 3 was the first hole built by MacKenzie and it absorbed all of the budget for all 18 holes.
Once you’ve completed your round at Moortown it’s time to jump in the car for five minutes until you reach the wonderful Alwoodley Golf Club, another masterpiece from Alister MacKenzie who created a layout at Alwoodley of rare subtlety and sophistication.
Alwoodley is a natural heathland course, with springy fairways cutting through a profusion of heather, whins and shrubs. It features eye-catching and naturalistic-looking bunkers, strategic choices, and large, often undulating greens.
The course runs almost straight out and back, the inward nine being tougher as most holes are played into the prevailing wind. Again it’s another track not to be missed if you are around the area.
Finally, just another five minutes in the car and you will pull up at Moor Allerton Golf Club, a 27 hole Trent Jones masterpiece with a lot of history.
Many famous players her walked the fairways in the days when the PGA European Tour visited. Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo. Greg Norman and Brian Barnes. Tom Weiskopf and Tony Jacklin.
Over a number of years, Ryder Cup player Howard Clark was attached to Moor Allerton Golf Club as playing professional. Peter Alliss, who was the Head Professional in the early 70’s, reckons that ‘Moor Allerton Golf Club is a golfing experience larger than life’.
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