Sand Moor: McKenzie’s last British gem
Why we’d rather be playing this glorious heathland in West Yorkshire
Dr Alister MacKenzie has an incredible resume when it comes to golf course design. Sand Moor Golf Club was his last in England, and it’s a gem.
The course, heathland by nature, is part of the ‘Golden Triangle’ of golf in Yorkshire, with Alwoodley and Moortown, two other MacKenzie designs, within just a couple of miles.
The four par 3s are sublime, and the course offers golfers scoring opportunities, but also has the ability to take those shots back through its tough and testing par 4s and 5s.
History
Sand Moor is about to celebrate its centenary, with the club dating back to 1926. It was the last course laid out in the Untied Kingdom by Dr Alister MacKenzie, before he moved across to Atlantic.
MacKenzie would go on to design the likes of Cypress Point and Augusta National – home of the Masters Tournament – along with a visit to Australia were he laid out the famous Royal Melbourne.
The 1960s saw some changes to the course at Sand Moor, with Henry Cotton providing advice. The course remains similar to MacKenzie’s original design, with tree clearing taking place over the last decade to provide the course with a slightly different aesthetic.
What makes Sand Moor Golf Club special?
McKenzie’s final dance offers up an incredible test and some of the best par 3s that you will find anywhere in the country! The four short holes at Sand Moor offer different challenges, and if you can come away with four 3s, you’ll be very happy indeed.
There is much more to the course than just the short holes though. There are also testing par 5s, risk-reward par 4s and all of this among glorious and picturesque tree-lined fairways.
Where is it?
Sand Moor Golf Club is one of several incredible courses in Leeds. Within just a couple of miles of Sand Moor sit the likes of Alwoodley, Moortown and Headingley. The city centre of Leeds is just 10 minutes south, with Leeds Bradford Airport around 20 minutes west.
Get in touch with Sand Moor Golf Club
For more information about the club and course, visit their website or call them on 0113 268 5180.
You can play Sand Moor Golf Club on the NCG Top 100s Tour this year!
- Register now to play in our 2024 Sand Moor event on July 23rd here.
Now have your say
Have you ever had the pleasure of playing at Sand Moor Golf Club? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
