Wetherby

From first impressions, by standing on the elevated first tee, you would be forgiven for thinking that the course will be quite hilly and undulating but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Once you have descended down to the fairway on the opening hole the remainder of the course is virtually dead flat. Two fine par three’s on the back nine, played from constructed high tees, are the only noticeable changes in elevation during the round.

Unusually the course has more par-fives than par-threes. There are five long holes in total versus just four short holes. This leaves us with a par of 73 that plays to a maximum yardage of 6,694. In the remaining nine two-shotters there is a good mix of length, imperative on a flat site, with holes ranging from 309 to 446 yards.

Whilst you are unlikely to lose a ball most of the fairways are lined with trees and you will struggle to find the green if you find yourself amongst them. Most of the holes feature tight playing corridors and this places a premium on straight hitting on your drives whilst the main defence of the course around the greens are large bunkers. The putting surfaces are moderately undulating with a couple (the 8th and 10th) featuring two levels.

I recently played here in The Club’s annual 36 hole scratch event and the course was well-presented. The greens ran true, if not overly quickly, and they were quite firm which meant that stopping the ball quickly could only be done from the fairway.

There are some interesting holes that ask the golfer to shape the ball one way or another; the fifth and sixth are good examples of this. The green location of the 14th is also memorable for it lies in a dell, beyond a ridge just short of the green, and has the River Wharfe hard against its rear. I also thought the 17th was a good hole; it has options from the tee and a particularly well-guarded green.

Overall Wetherby is a good test of golf. It has a number of birdie chances, especially for longer hitters, but there are some demanding holes too; the third and fourth on the front nine are particularly tough whilst the run of holes from 10 to 14, which all played into the wind on my visit, feature out-of-bounds down the right-hand side.