Moorland with teeth, hole by hole
Eighteen honest holes on the West Yorkshire tops, kept firm, quick and fair since 1985.
Moorland turf, big weather, and greens that punish a lazy putt.
The wind does the talking and the heather keeps the score. Free-running fairways thread the moor between gorse and outcrop, with greens that reward a brave line and punish a lazy one. No two rounds play the same.
Five holes that'll live in your memory long after the pie's gone cold — though on a rough day the moor's more than happy to hand out a few more of its own.
2nd · Long Drag · Par 5
Straight uphill from the off, the Long Drag is exactly what it says — a slog into the collar of the moor that gives nothing away. Three honest blows just to reach the top, the wind shoving at your back one minute and square in your chest the next. Grind out a five here and you'll not begrudge the climb; take any more and the moor's already won the argument before you've properly started.
4th · Stone Cross · Par 3
Only a short iron, but don't let that fool you. The green sits on a shelf behind the old boundary wall, and there's nowhere to bail out — long leaves you buried in the heather, short leaves you clattering off the stone. Pick your club, commit to it, and hit it like you mean it. Half-hearted has never once cleared the cross, and it's not about to start on your card.
8th · Crow's Nest · Par 3
From the highest tee on the moor you're firing down at a green that looks the size of a beer mat, the whole valley yawning open between you and it. Judge the drop, judge whatever the wind's doing somewhere down in the bottom, and trust your hands. Club it wrong and the crows keep your ball — they've a fair collection stashed in the bracken already, and they're not fussy whose it is.
13th · Ironside · Par 5
The hole that gave the club its name, and it earns every letter. A long carry off the tee just to find the short stuff, then the decision that defines your round: lay up safe, or take on the second over the valley to a green stood proud above the drop. Reach it in two and you'll be telling the tale in the bar for a week. Miss it and you'll still be talking about it, for rather different reasons. Par's a birdie up here — always has been.
18th · Last Orders · Par 4
Downhill all the way home, the clubhouse lights pulling you in and the bar practically shouting your name. But the moor isn't done with you yet — the drive's tighter than it looks off the tee and the green slopes away toward the terrace, in full view of everyone with a pint and an opinion. Finish strong under the watching windows and that first one tastes all the sweeter. You've earned it either way.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | SI | White | Yellow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Tops | 4 | 7 | 398 | 370 |
| 2. Long Drag | 5 | 1 | 512 | 484 |
| 3. Gorse Gully | 4 | 5 | 415 | 387 |
| 4. Stone Cross | 3 | 15 | 182 | 154 |
| 5. Brackenside | 4 | 3 | 441 | 413 |
| 6. Windy Gap | 4 | 11 | 388 | 360 |
| 7. The Long Moor | 5 | 9 | 524 | 496 |
| 8. Crow's Nest | 3 | 17 | 168 | 140 |
| 9. The Outcrop | 4 | 13 | 432 | 404 |
| 10. Drystone | 4 | 6 | 420 | 392 |
| 11. The Saddle | 4 | 10 | 405 | 377 |
| 12. Sky Hole | 3 | 18 | 195 | 167 |
| 13. Ironside | 5 | 2 | 538 | 510 |
| 14. Valley View | 4 | 4 | 446 | 418 |
| 15. The Bilberry | 4 | 12 | 392 | 364 |
| 16. Devil's Pulpit | 3 | 16 | 174 | 146 |
| 17. Heather Reach | 5 | 8 | 506 | 478 |
| 18. Last Orders | 4 | 14 | 384 | 356 |
Around the moor
