Northcliffe Golf Club

Our group played here Tuesday after May Bank Holiday in a gale. We were welcomed by the manager (which was a nice touch) and set out on another entertaining West Yorkshire golf course. The greens were superb, fast, true and sloping. The holes from the 1st over a valley to the par three drop hole 18th made a very enjoyable course even with the gale force wind. The staff were very friendly and the club house was good with a view over the 1st and 18th.

I visited Northcliffe on a club outing with around 40 of us in the party and we were made to feel very welcome. The facilities at the Club felt a little cramped, it is in an awkward spot to develop and as such I think they've made the best of what they have. The course was obviously quite busy when we visited, and a number of people had to park on the main road as opposed to the Club car park. That said, it hardly caused a problem in reality. One thing that can be said instantly about Northcliffe is that they have a couple of holes that you will not forget playing for many years to come. The first is a dog leg left played over a deep ravine. You can have a go at the green if you are brave enough to take on the well established woodland to the left, but the safe option is a couple of iron shots. The first tee provides a great viewing area for your mates to "egg you on" from above, and I can imagine the hole being quite intimidating to those that get nervous or are newish to the game. The walk across the "bridge over the River Kwai", as we named it on the day, probably won't help those with a fear of heights either! The final hole is both a stunner and a real challenge. Played from an elevated tee out of the woodland, the green is somewhere in the region of 100 feet below you in the ravine over which you play the first. It is protected by a stream and scrub, and in honesty you don't want to hit anything other that the green or you are in trouble. It is a stunning hole, well worth the visit to play this hole alone. In between, the well established trees mean that should you stray from the straight and narrow, as I did regularly, you find yourself blocked out on many occassions. That can't be blamed on anything other than a bad day off the tee, and certainly shouldn't be held against the track which I thought was well laid out. The greens were a little wooly when we played but, again, we'd had an awful lot of rain over the previous week or so and I imagine this had some bearing. My only real criticism was that the green staff had appeared to leave quite a lot of cuttings/workings dotted around the course, again possibly due to the poor weather, but it made it look a little scruffy in parts. The catering was fine, though as I say I thought it was all a little cramped. But all in all, well worth a visit, especially to enjoy that finishing hole if nothing else.

Played here on Friday 2nd August and what a great course. The tricky 1st hole and the superb last make it a course to play again The condition of the greens, fairways, and tees were a tribute to the green staff The hand pumped Tetleys served by pretty and friendly staff .The laid back atmosphere and the very good food made it a society day to go back to.

Had a full day yesterday in wet and none too pleasant conditions. Despite this we had a great day which at £12.50 each with 2 for 1 vouchers represented excellent value for money. Some great holes especially the par 3's. Non are particularly long but all have great character - especially the 4th through a tight gap in the trees with out of bounds on 3 sides and the 18th, easily the most attractive hole any of our party have ever played. In the middle of summer I can imagine this is even better. The 1st is also a superb hole with the tee perched below the clubhouse on the side of a ravine. It certainly makes for a challenging first shot! Pro staff friendly as were most of the members...except for one group who drove through us and then had the audacity to lecture us on course etiquette. We soon put him in his place. Now found, this is a course we will certainly play again...and soon.

An interesting course in places with an exceptional 18th described I believe by Peter Alliss as the best closing hole in England. Friendly and not too busy. Some very nice holes, although back nine can be a bit of a slog