Championship VenueHidden Gem

Alwoodley Golf Club

Leeds, West Yorkshire · Designed by Alister MacKenzie (1907) · Est. 1907

Alwoodley holds a special place in the history of golf architecture: it is the first course Alister MacKenzie ever designed — the man who would go on to create Augusta National, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne. A Cambridge-trained doctor and local GP, MacKenzie was a founding member of the club in 1907, laid out the course on Wigton Moor north of Leeds, and served as its first secretary and, later, captain.

It is widely rated one of the finest inland heathland courses in England — springy fairways over sandy moorland, MacKenzie's naturalistic bunkering, and large, boldly contoured greens that hint at the genius to come. It plays to 6,914 yards, par 71, and is celebrated both for its wonderful par 3s — the 11th green has more than a touch of Augusta about it — and for a fearsome closing stretch into the prevailing wind.

The club has kept faith with MacKenzie's original design, restoring the bunkering to his specifications, so a round here is as close as golf comes to a time machine to the birth of a master's art. Visitors are welcome.

Holes worth knowing

111th (par-3) — a MacKenzie short hole whose boldly contoured green has “more than a touch of Augusta about it,” a glimpse of the genius to come.
2The closing stretch — Alwoodley finishes hard into the prevailing wind, a run of strong holes that has broken many a good card.

Highlights

Alister MacKenzie's first-ever design (1907)
One of England's finest heathland courses
MacKenzie greens and naturalistic bunkering, faithfully preserved
A fearsome closing stretch into the wind

Good to know

→This is where Alister MacKenzie's career began — study the greens and the naturalistic bunkering and you can see the seeds of Augusta National in every contour.
→It is a subtle strategic test rather than a bruiser: use the ground on the springy heather-and-moor turf, take time over the wonderful par 3s, and steel yourself for a fierce closing stretch into the wind.
→The club has restored the bunkers to MacKenzie's original specifications, so it plays as close to his intent as any course of its age.
→It sits just north of Leeds, 20 minutes from the airport; the spa town of Harrogate — Bettys tea rooms and RHS Harlow Carr — and the Yorkshire Dales are close for a day off.
→Pair it with Ganton for a two-round Yorkshire golf trip, with the city of Leeds — galleries, the Royal Armouries and good restaurants — on the doorstep.