Hartlepool Golf Club, England

www.hartlepoolgolfclub.co.uk

White tees par 70, SSS 71, 6298 yards

Red tees par 72, SSS 72, 5562 yards

Hartlepool golf course lies just north of the town of the same name on the north-east coast of England.  Built in 1906 this is a part links course with some of the holes through the sand dunes reputedly reworked by James Braid.  On the seaward side the course is protected by sand dunes and on the landward side the town is hidden from the course by a large railway embankment.

There is danger short, left and long on the 5th

We had a friendly welcome at Hartlepool where we played on a very windy day.  The first four holes are more parkland than true links holes. The par 3 fifth is played over a ravine to the left and requires accurate clubbing to avoid disaster - short, long or left is a lost ball.  The 6th enters duneland proper and is a totally blind drive.  Unfortunately the marker post is for the men's and not the ladies' tees.  The fairway slopes left to right and it is likely that your second shot will have a difficult stance.  There is a narrow entrance to the elevated sloping green.  The drive at the 8th is angled across the fairway making it difficult to hold on a windy day unless with a very controlled fade.  This is a long par four which was previously a par 5.

The tenth green is set in a bowl

The tenth hole was redesigned by James Braid and is a driveable par 4 in a favourable wind.  The green is in a deep hollow with thick rough behind to punish an over zealous shot.  The 11th is a lovely par 3 with an uphill carry over marram grass to a green sloping from back to front.  This is followed by another par 3 which is sharply downhill from an elevated tee with views over the coastline to the North and a green which slopes from front to back.  The 14th is an excellent hole which doglegs right to left around the dunes.  A longer drive is rewarded by a view of the green tucked into the far point of the course.  A sloping right to left fairway and left to right dogleg at the fifteenth ensures a testing hole.  The final three holes return to the less 'linksy' style of the opening holes.

There is a long carry to the par 3 11th

Hartlepool is an inconsistent course in terms of the quality and true links nature of the holes but the friendly welcome made it an enjoyable experience.

Worth playing?  Don't make a special trip to play it but you will get a welcome if you are in the area.

Cleveland Golf Club, Redcar, Yorkshire, England

https://cleveland-golf-club.com/

White tees par 72, SSS 73, 6704 yards
Red tees par 72, SSS 74, 5545 yards  

On stepping on to the first tee at Cleveland the first impression is of the vista of caravan parks, steel works, wind farms, noisy fun fair and further down the course a scrap yard but if you are put off by this you will miss a classic and top quality true links course.  In a curious way the steel works are a dramatic background to a links course which would be rated much more highly if it were on the east coast of Scotland or the west coast of Ireland.

The par 3 6th with the Redcar steel works as a backdrop

Established in 1887, Cleveland was designed by a number of architects including Harry Colt and most recently Donald Steel who designed three new holes in 2000.  It is the oldest and the only true links course in the county of Yorkshire.  We played it on a beautiful sunny summer day with light winds, the perfect conditions for links golf!  Unusually the course starts with a par three which requires an accurate shot – if not there is a deep gully awaiting on the right and bunkers guarding both sides.  The next three holes head into the prevailing wind with out of bounds down the left side of each.  There are two more par 3s in the first nine, both of which are strong typical links course holes. 

The 12th is a right to left dogleg with a view reminiscent of St Andrews

Most of the second nine heads back towards the town of Redcar, with a backdrop reminiscent of the spires of St Andrews.  The par 4 12^th is a right to left dogleg which is very well bunkered at the angle of the dogleg and round the green.  The well bunkered theme continues on the 13^th_, a natural looking hole where the task in hand is clear from the elevated tee.  The course finishes with three well designed tricky holes from 15 to 17 and then the relatively short par 5 18^th with its sloping green.

The 18th green.  The 1st hole can be seen on the right.

Worth playing?  Yes if you can block out the surroundings.

Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, England

www.seatoncarewgolfclub.co.uk

White tees: Old Course par 71, SSS 72, 6603 yards
                   Brabazon par 73, SSS 73, 6920 yards
                   Micklem par 71, no SSS, 6594 yards
                   Bishop par 73, SSS 73, 6857 yards           

Red tees: Old Course par 73, SSS 74, 5526 yards
                Brabazon par 74, SSS 76, 5853 yards
                Micklem par 72, no SSS, 5513 yards
                Bishop par 74, no SSS, 5788 yards

The best known of the true links courses in this area, Seaton Carew's unusual name derives from the name of a Norman family who settled in the area (Carou) while 'seaton' means a farmstead or settlement by the sea.  Originally the Durham and Yorkshire golf club, it was founded as a 14 hole course in 1874 and converted to 18 holes in 1891.  Seaton Carew is unusual in that it has 22 holes and 23 greens, played as five different layouts.  Eighteen of the holes were designed by Alister Mackenzie who created Augusta National and the newer four by Frank Pennink.

The narrow entrance to the 7th green

After a friendly welcome we played the Old Course format which is the original Alister Mackenzie layout on a windy but bright day.  Compared to many links courses it is flat and has no views of the sea because of the massive buckthorn wind barrier.  Named 'Doctor' after Mackenzie, the 3rd hole is a memorable par 3 with a wall of huge bunkers awaiting a short shot and a right to left sloping green punishing anything less than a perfect shot.  Perfection is also required for the approach shot to the 7th with its narrow entrance.  At the turn the newer four holes can be seen. These have more dunes  than the original course and are closer to the beach so do have sea views. 

The second nine heads back towards the clubhouse with 'Lagoon', the 10th hole, again requirng accurate shots to avoid the fairway bunkers and the lateral water hazard on the right and to remain on the sloping plateau green.  The 12th is not for the faint hearted - a par 3 with a fearsome carry over suicidal rough.  The theme of difficult approaches and greens continues at the 17th, an excellent par four with a narrow tilted green complex.  With lots of out of bounds areas the 18th completes a testing course.

The par 3 12th

Worth playing?  Yes. An interesting course.  Try to play the layout with the newer holes which look good.

Newbiggin Golf Course, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, England

http://www.newbiggingolfclub.co.uk/

White tees par 72, SSS 72, 6536 yards
Red tees par 73, SSS 74, 5673 yards

Newbiggin golf course lies on the North East coast of England just north of the city of Newcastle in the town of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. Golf was introduced to Newbiggin by a Scot, Mr Laing, who created the first 9 holes. Permission to play golf on the moor was granted in 1884 by the Freeholders for an annual payment of £2 after which the current layout was designed by Willie Park. The club has the dubious distinction of having had its clubhouse destroyed by fire on two separate occasions in 1921 and 1977.  On the former occasion the historical records of the club were destroyed. An ancient tradition of dunting new freeholders of the town is still carried out on the dunting stone on the eighth fairway.

Looking back to the town from behind the 3rd green

On first sight Newbiggin is unprepossessing.  It is situated on flat moorland but is a true seaside links course and is rather spoiled by Lynemouth power station which dominates its furthest point.  Being on the North Sea coast it suffers at times from the haar or sea mist.  We were told that if the marker post on the first cannot be seen the course is deemed unplayable!  Fortunately we had no visibility problems when we played it with Rosie and Martin Dennis on a warm and windy day.  The first four holes follow the coast with out of bounds awaiting the sliced shot.  The fifth is a memorable drive across cliffs and then a semi-blind second shot to a sloping green.  The green at the lovely par 4 sixth is in a bowl which reminded us of the thirteenth hole at Strandhill (18 September 2015).  The seventh is a par 4 where the challenge is in putting on the severely sloping green. The following holes are less memorable with a few having softer more parkland type turf although we were told that there are plans to replace them.  There are only two par 3s, the thirteenth and the seventeenth, both of which are well thought out and good tests of golf.  Overall we enjoyed the course although the greens were slower than we would expect on a links course.  At £14 per round (twilight) it is great value. 

The drive at the 5th is across a rocky inlet

Worth playing?  At that price and for holiday golf - yes