http://www.sillothgolfclub.co.uk
White tees par 72
Red tees par 75
Like many links courses Silloth on Solway owes its existence to the railway - it was founded by the North British Railway Company in 1892. It was laid out by David Grant, a playing and teaching professional at North Berwick, where Lord Tweedale, the chairman of the Company, had been captain. Silloth's most famous member was Cecilia (Cecil) Leitch who won 12 titles, including 4 British Ladies Amateur Championships in the early part of the 20th century. A portrait of her dominates the clubhouse lounge to this day.
 |
| The 1st green with the clubhouse in the background |
 |
| Views over the Solway Firth to the hills of Dumfriesshire |
We played Silloth on a cold and windy day. Silloth is an old Victorian seaside town which is a long drive from the M6. It is an old fashioned links course which follows the Solway coast and has magnificent views over the water to Dumfriesshire in Scotland. The first nine is shorter (par 35) and goes predominantly in a westerly direction into the prevailing wind. Relief is obtained when one turns back to the clubhouse in the longer back nine ( par 37 for men and 40 for ladies including 6 par 5s and only one par 4)! The course was very wet with a swan swimming in the middle of the 8th fairway. Probably as a result the greens were slower than we would expect of links greens. We were disappointed to be charged full summer rates despite preferred lies being allowed and a mat on the tee at the 9th.
Worth a visit? In drier conditions if you have a day to spare.
