Moortown Golf Club Course Review

Moortown Golf Club Fact File:

• Location: Moortown is on the outskirts of North Leeds, a few hundred yards from Alwoodley
• Year Established: It was founded in 1909, 20 years later it hosted the first Ryder Cup on British soil
• Par: 71 for men, 75 for women
• Length (yards): Blue 7001, White 6741, Yellow 6455, Red 5913
• Green Fees (weekdays): £200
• Signature Hole: The 10th ‘Gibraltar’ was the first hole to be laid out and remains the stand-out hole on the property
• Website: moortown-golf-club.co.uk

Strangely it was Ganton that inspired Frederick Lawson-Brown to find a suitable golfing location in Leeds. Dr Alister MacKenzie, who had already designed nearby Alwoodley, was called in, designed a test hole with 'Gibraltar', now the club's 10th hole, and it was so impressive that he put together the rest of the course.

Moortown Golf Club was formed in 1909 and the following year Open legends James Braid and Harry Vardon played an exhibition match to officially open the course. In 1929 it became the first British course to host the Ryder Cup. Walter Hagen would captain the Americans but he would lose his singles to fellow captain George Duncan by 10&8, over 36 holes, and Great Britain would prevail over the two days.

MacKenzie's layout has been tinkered with in the interim but only two new completely holes have been added, at 6 and 7.

Moortown is a stalwart of the British game; it has hosted the Brabazon Trophy five times, with a sixth due to follow in 2026, and four European Tour events in the 80s at a time when golf was set to explode on these shores. Sir Nick Faldo won here and has recently become an honorary member of the club.

Two amusing stories revolve around Moortown's spectacular closing hole. The first came in the Brabazon in 1974 when Nigel Denham played a recovery shot from the bar, and through the windows, in an attempt to save par – he would miss the putt. These days it would be out of bounds.

Six years later Seve Ballesteros smashed a wedge onto the putting green, and out of bounds, when in contention.

Moortown Golf Club Course Review

Moortown has always been a fantastic test of golf and, in recent times, it is on a very upward curve through a tree-management programme around 15 years ago and, more recently, the introduction of Clyde Johnson to consult on the course and head greenkeeper Steve Robinson and his team's efforts.

The 5th is a great example of restoring MacKenzie's original strategy to create a tempting short par 4 where the view to the green has been opened up and superfluous bunkers removed.

Otherwise other holes have seen fairway bunkers taken out to ease the challenge off the tee though maybe not lower the scoring. Now there is more emphasis on the angles and the turf is a treat to play off before you head to the very best holes on the moor top.

The gateway to that is the 10th. Gibraltar, which remains the signature hole and one of the very best par 3s in the country. An uphill tee shot of around 160 yards which needs to factor in the wind and it can play host to some fantastic pin positions and therefore very unlikely up-and-downs from anywhere beyond the green.

Full disclosure, this is where I am a member and am therefore happily biased in any appraisal of the course. But, if you have tackled Moortown, then you will know quite how good it is. The 12th and 13th are two other stand-out heathland holes, one a par 5 that bounds downhill before a very underrated par 4 to a brilliant green. Here we have the best and the bounciest turf and the run for home is a stiff test with strong scores generally making the most of the earlier holes.

Probably the best chance of a birdie comes at the par-5 1st. Running alongside this is the closing 18th which runs the 10th very close on being the best hole. Here the bunkering is at its very best, pushing the golfer left to open up the green and a finishing par is a very tidy finish.

"The 18th would definitely be my closing hole in my all-time favourite course – I just love it. It really is home to me as I can see my house and my place of work from it and I would have loved to have seen it when Sand Moor GC was adjacent to it down the left-hand side," explains long-term head Pro Martin Heggie.

"If you can find the fairway you will be left with a precise approach with bunkers on each side of a sloping green, both of which see plenty of traffic, but if you are able to thread your second shot onto the putting surface it is very satisfying. The all-round bunkering is just superb, the way they sit naturally in the land and I’m also a fan of the new bunker at the back of the green which was added by Clyde Johnson. Previously there were more bunkers and gorse at the back of the green which have now been cleared out and the green is fantastic with some obvious breaks and some less obvious ones."

Final Verdict

It is a driver's course but it's generous too and, whisper it gently, but you have to be very wayward off the tee to lose a ball. It's playable from the appropriate tees and the greens, generally, don't throw up too many sharp undulations other than a handful of holes where, if you end up on the wrong side, then you may well not get within 15 feet.

The Moortown experience doesn't just revolve around the 18 holes. The historic snooker room is the perfect setting for a few frames/pints and the terrace, which has been renovated in recent years, makes for a brilliant viewing spot of the 18th. The locker room also takes some beating – try and spot Hagen and MacKenzie's honorary lockers – and there is plenty of Ryder Cup memorabilia in the Samuel Ryder Lounge but the centrepiece of the clubhouse is the MacKenzie Bar which adjoins the snooker room. This is everything that a golf club bar should be; welcoming, historic, interesting and fun.

There is a certain wow factor about Moortown's entrance, with a tree-lined drive paving the way to the clubhouse which has stood here since 1915. But it is the first glimpse of the course, and the 1st and 18th holes, that will immediately what your appetite for some world-class heathland golf.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For more information, please visit the club's website here