South Moor Golf Club Co Durham

In golf, the name of Dr. Alistair McKenzie will forever be synonymous with the course that hosts the U.S masters. Though Augusta national is undoubtably McKenzie’s masterpiece, it is widely accepted that his place in history as a legendary architect, was already assured.

McKenzie was hardly a prolific designer like a James Braid but his courses are typical of his vision, none more so than South Moor, near Stanley, Co. Durham. Here, he has designed a course that winds between gorse, heather and bracken in a superb moorland layout. The large, slopey greens are a typical McKenzie trait, guaranteeing that even when hit in regulation, the player will have to work hard with his putter to match par, harder still to make birdie.

At 6271 yards from the back tips, the course is hardly long by today’s standards but with a premium on accuracy it would be foolish to try to overpower the course with the driver, particularly with out of bounds a factor on eleven holes.

The course starts gently enough and though the first seven holes are no pushover it is widely accepted that barring the long par 4 fourth, they present the course’s best birdie opportunities. It is from the eighth tee onwards that one really begins to appreciate the course’s design. The way McKenzie uses the contours of the land can at times, from the tee, make the fairways look pencil thin.

Ultimately though, South Moor is a great challenge, a tough but fair examination of every part of the game. The club’s recently refurbished clubhouse provides a great place for reflection. Take a drink into the conservatory, gaze out and up the eighteenth fairway and wonder how anyone could possibly miss such a wide open area….