Headingley Golf Club West Yorkshire

Founded in 1892, Headingley is the oldest golf club in the city of Leeds, only a few miles from the centre of this vibrant city and only a few minutes drive from the sweeping green valleys of the Yorkshire Dales.

One of only 14 Yorkshire clubs to figure in the official Golf Club Directory of 1892, Headingley started as a nine-hole course close to the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey. The club moved in 1906 to their present home, alongside the 12th century Adel Church, one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the country today.

The world famous Dr Alister Mackenzie was retained in 1913 at a cost of £50 to remodel parts of the course and Harry S Colt, of Royal Portrush and Sunningdale fame was called in to create new bunkers. Headingleys stature grew so quickly that many of the worlds golfing greats, including Harry Vardon, James Braid and Henry Cotton competed here in professional events and in 1923 the course staged what was then billed as the unofficial ‘Championship of the World’ between American superstars Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen. Hagen triumphed, but lost in the final by a two-hole margin to Ryder Cup star Bert Jolly.

Built on lowland heath, where the Romans had a settlement in the fifth century, Headingley’s rolling terrain and slick greens have always produced a stern test of golf for players of all standards. And now the course has been elevated to modern criteria, with a par of 71, by the lengthening of holes seven and eight into par fives. The changes have extended the course to an impressive 6720 yards. Also four greens have been re-laid to USGA standards during the winter, with more interest added to the putting surfaces.

Only the finest golf will establish new course records at Headingley, where the final drive over the dreaded ravine demands concentration to the very end, before completing the round directly in front of the clubhouse windows.