It’s surely the cathedral of courses. That church of azaleas at Augusta National has the eyes of the world focused on it this week as the Masters once again gets our seasons under way.
It was designed, of course, by Dr Alister MacKenzie, whose incredible body of work also includes those paradise must-play venues of Cypress Point, Pasatiempo, and Royal Melbourne.
But do you know his first course was much closer to home for us in the UK? In West Yorkshire, no less.
The original can be found in Leeds, at Alwoodley Golf Club – a fabulous heathland that’s a fixture of both NCG’S Top 100 GB&I and England lists.
The NCG Top 100s Podcast: Alwoodley Golf Club and Augusta National
What sets this layout apart and can we find any echoes of Alwoodley in MacKenzie’s masterpiece in Georgia?
To discuss this wonderful course, and to explore those Augusta links, Dan Murphy and Steve Carroll chatted with Alwoodley course manager Matthew Brighton and consulting architect Clyde Johnson in the first episode of our new series of the NCG Top 100s Podcast.
Listen in the player below, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Visit the NCG Top 100s homepage for all this and much, much more.
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