Crosland Heath pictures - at last!

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Sean, When our current building works are complete you can stay with us - Crosland Heath is about 45 minutes away. Alwoodley is 75 minutes. Alwoodley is far superior to CH, so a better pairing with CH might be Huddersfield, Halifax or Saddleworth.

[Andrew Mitchell]

Sean

From Alwoodley it would probably take you 45 minutes to an hour, assuming that the notorious M62 was relatively hassle free.  However, once you are at Alwoodley the temptation is to either play another 18 holes there or walk across the road to Moortown.

You really should take a trip up to Yorkshire someday.

Andrew

I think you are right.  Would you or any of you northern boys be interested in a 1 nighter to include Crosland and Alwoodley?

Ciao

Sean

I'd be up for that, subject to anything you sort out with Mark following his comments above.

[Sean_A]

Mark's mention or going back to Crosland Heath on another thread prompted me to have another look at his review.  The more I look at the pix the more impressed  I am!

Bringing back this thread also highlights the excellent work Art aka Richard (tee hee) did in creating a readily available bank of reveiws.  I am told Jason and Garland are helping keep the site up to date.  All of these chaps deserve a round of applause.

Ciao

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Sean, I played in their Seniors' Open last week. The competition was a 4-ball better ball Stableford and we just managed to get more points than we lost balls! It was in marvellous condition with good, fast greens and beautiful, springy fairway turf. Crosland Heath is wonderfully drained and makes for enjoyable winter golf even in wet weather. The course being so exposed to the wind, you have to hit straight and true. I don't, as well you know. Everyone there was exceptionally welcoming. I enjoyed it every bit as much as I did on my first visit, despite my inept play. I left with a feeling of great satisfaction.

I suppose the course is about 30 miles from where I live, so it is similar in time to playing at Cavendish, Halifax, Huddersfield or Ormskirk. I should not say that you should drive 200 miles simply to play it, but if you have cause to be in West Yorkshire then it ought to be on the list for consideration.

There are two facets to the architecture which appeal in particular: many brilliantly located green sites; the ingenuity with which MacKenzie routed the course so that both nines have a similarly high degree of interest and that he squeezed so much interesting golf onto such a compact site. The only negative is that there are a lot of crossing holes and you need to keep your wits about you on a busy day such as we had.

[Sean_A]

I am still impressed.

Ciao

[Jon Wiggett]

Found it Photos on the first page.

Jon

[Mark Pearce]

Looks well worth a trip some time. 

Sean,

Are you interested, perhaps in the Spring?

[Mark_Rowlinson]

It's quite high up, so it will be a month or so later coming into condition than lowland courses. I'd be happy to join anyone there. If you want to make it a 2-day affair you could play Huddersfield as well. Also make sure you drive past Marsden, one of the very few 9-hole MacKenzie courses. You can see most of it from the car.

[Duncan Cheslett]

Mark has been telling me about Crosland Heath for the last year or so but I haven't made it there yet. A friend who plays at Halifax also rates it highly, so put me down as a definite if anything is organised.

[Adam Lawrence]

CH is a nice course but Ogden (Halifax) is far more interesting IMO.

[Jon Wiggett]

CH is a nice course but Ogden (Halifax) is far more interesting IMO.

I guess that is where personal preference comes in. I really like Ogden as a course but think that CH has more variety and stand out holes than Ogden. Having said that the 18th at Ogden is one cracking finishing hole and beats CH's hands down. I suppose that Ogden is much more laid out on the natural land where CH uses man made features such as the quarries and stonewalls much more.

Both are well worth playing. On a decent weather day they are both good fun courses but a bad weather day is not so good at CH were as at Ogden you might think it enhances the experience rather than detracting,

Jon

[Neil White]

Mark has been telling me about Crosland Heath for the last year or so but I haven't made it there yet. A friend who plays at Halifax also rates it highly, so put me down as a definite if anything is organised.

Mark,

+1

Neil.

[Duncan Cheslett]

I've been drawn against a chap from Wakefield in a matchplay comp and need to choose a course somewhere handy for both of us which is playable in winter.

I've narrowed it down to Crosland Heath, Halifax, or Huddersfield. Any thoughts?

[Jon Wiggett]

Duncan,

Crosland Heath is a good winter course from memory as is Ogden (Halifax) both are exposed to the weather though so great on a fine winters day and challenging on a blustery one. From memory you have to be straighter at CH than Ogden due to the heather. Huddersfield (Fixby) is also a fine course though more parkland than heathland. It drains pretty well though there are some holes that can be a bit boggy. Huddersfield also has the most natural par 4 I have ever played with the 16th.

If I were to chose I would CH but what ever you decide good luck.

Jon

[Adam Lawrence]

Duncan - I grew up in Huddersfield. I'd go for Fixby like a shot, clearly the best course in the area. CH is fun, and I love Ogden, but both are very high up and extremely exposed. Potentially brutal on a winter's day. On the other hand, if you're a good wind player and want to maximise your chances of winning....

[Jon Wiggett]

Adam,

at which course did you play when growing up in Huddersfield?

Jon

[Adam Lawrence]

Jon - I learned to play at the municipal, Bradley Park. Was a junior at Meltham for a while, and played a fair bit at Bradley Hall in Elland where my Dad was a member for some years (Dad later moved to Meltham too, so I guess, though I was never an adult member, I'd regard that as 'home').

[Jon Wiggett]

Lawrence,

I have fond memories of Bradley Park and playing a few winter alliances. Also of Bradley Hall and Meltham from Junior Opens there in the early 80's.

Jon

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Duncan, Whichever course you eventually choose go and play it first. All three are courses on which advance knowledge is a considerable advantage. Mark.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Duncan, Whichever course you eventually choose make a preliminary visit. There are plenty of holes on which you need to have discovered the best lines, whether or not you can cross a mountain stream in two shots etc, and even where the next tee is! Mark.

[Adam Lawrence]

Duncan, Whichever course you eventually choose make a preliminary visit. There are plenty of holes on which you need to have discovered the best lines, whether or not you can cross a mountain stream in two shots etc, and even where the next tee is! Mark.

The last part of Mark's post is especially relevant at Halifax!

[Robin_Hiseman]

Lawrence,

I have fond memories of Bradley Park and playing a few winter alliances. Also of Bradley Hall and Meltham from Junior Opens there in the early 80's.

Jon

Jon

I played my first ever round of golf at Bradley Park - still have the scorecard! That will have been 1980 i think, when the pylons were by far the most dominant landscape feature.

I also used to play in the Junior Opens at Bradley Hall in the early 80's, as a member of Ryburn. The tee shot on 5 across the field and the shot over the ravine on 13 were especially scary for us little kids. Remember that?