Sand Moor - picture tour complete

[Mark Pearce]

North of the city of Leeds, by Eccup resevoir, is wonderful land for golf.  Originally boasting four courses, the land has suffered from urban development and one course, Moor Allerton, has been lost entirely.  Of the three remaining courses, Alwoodley is one of the very best inland courses in the UK.  A second, Moortown, is a former Ryder Cup host and offers some very good holes, but appears to have lost some quality with land lost to housing and new, inferior holes replacing them.  The third, and fairly unanimously lesser of the three courses is Sand Moor.  Originally adjoining Moortown to the north, Sand Moor lost four holes to development in the '60s and now sits entirely north of Alwoodley Lane.

Historically, Sand Moor had a rather attractive Art Deco clubhouse (Ally McIntosh posted a picture in a previous thread) but this large, rather unattractive building replaced it, just to the north of the putting green, which Ally suggests (and I think he's right) was originally the 16th green.


Close by the putting green is the first tee.  The first hole illustrates much of what is both good and bad about Sand Moor.  Hole lengths in this tour are from the white tees, which we played.  A par 5 of only 486 yards is a clear birdie chance.
An uphill tee shot on a short par 5.  Trees are hard by the left hand side and are certainly in play on the right.  That said, there's enough room to go after a tee shot.  A decent drive leaves an enticing second shot.  This picture, taken from somewhere forwards of where most players will drive to, shows the downhill approach to a well bunkered green:

It's an enticing second shot but a difficult green to hit.  The lay up is no gimme, though, that short left bunker is well placed.  A view of the green from the 2nd tee shows the two tiers in the small green.

As far as I can tell the second is one of the four holes which replaced the four lost to development.  Three of these (2, 3 and 4) are on a new plot of land west of the original course and the fourth, the 13th, is squeezed in between the 12th and the (extended) 14th.  The second ( a par 4 of only 256 yards) may be the weakest tee shot on the course (13 offers strong competition for that title).
The green is tucked around the corner to the left but I can't see anyone trying to drive the green, even though it's a very driveable distance.  For me, it was a utility off the tee, for better golfers I imagine a 5 iron would be perfect.  You want to hit the ball 200 yards to leave this
Just 70 yards to a small, pear shaped green.  Not a bad hole but not a good one.  An unintereting tee shot leaving a reasonably precise second.


The third, a par 4 of 411 yards) is another "new" hole and another less interesting one.  A decent tee shot suits a gentle draw
Leaving another downhill approach, though a far less interesting one than the first.  This picture is taken from the left rough, halfway down the hill
Only a short iron off a decent drive.


More to follow.

[Jon Wiggett]

Mark,


you are correct that 2-4 and 13 are the new holes. The second is in my opinion the worst of the bunch though the last time I played it you could still see the green from the tee and looking at your photo of the tee shot it appear to have worsened with age. The last few times I played there with Sandmoor members we walked from the first green straight to the fifth tee and also skipped the 13th. It made the whole feel of the round much better. Of the new holes only the second shot on the 4th was a decent one.


On another note, I have commented in another thread that the course would be much improved were they to clear fell the trees along the reservoir and fell much of the internal trees to open up the vista.


Looking forward to the rest of the tour.


Jon

[Michael Felton]

This is a course of which I have happy memories. I won the Northern Universities here in must have been 1997 or 1998, birdieing the last four holes to win by 1 (for the record I didn't know that I needed to do that at the time). I remember some of the holes, in particular a short par four where your second shot is blind down a hill. And a hole where I was in a greenside bunker with the hole cut close on my side and the green running away. I had no way to stop it other than to hit the flag, so I aimed at the flag and actually hit it. One of my finer moments on a golf course. Enough bragging

[Mark Pearce]

Jon,


There's no doubt in my mind that the four new holes are the worst four holes on the course.  If the trees by the reservoir were chopped down then 11 and 12 would be absolutely spectacular, they're two of the best holes on the course.  However, it isn't just those trees that the course would benefit from the removal of.  As you'll see, several tee shots are like hitting through chutes and holes would be greatly improved by their removal.

[Mark Pearce]

The third and fourth holes, on the newer parcel of land, seem rather lusher than the rest of the course, as this photo of the tee shot on 4 (par 4, 374 yards) shows.

Sand Moor is only 6446 yards off the back tees, to a par of 71 but seems to play rather longer, partly because there are a couple of short par 4s, but mostly because there are a number of steeply uphill shots.  This tee shot is one.  A reasonable shot leaves this approach:

Which, I agree with Andrew, is the best single shot on any of the four new holes.  This picture, from closer to the green, hopefully shows how well placed this front bunker is.  There's room aver it to land a ball and run it on, but it looks far closer to the green from 150 yards than it does from close up:
.


The drive on the 5th (par 4, 358 yards) is again uphill and, again, dominated by a narrow chute of trees. 

What can't be seen off the tee is this fairway bunker on the left:

After the drive, another good approach:

There appears to be a clear advantage to coming in from the left.  However,what isn't perhaps as clear from this photo is that, as well as being slightly uphill, the ball is slightly above your feet from there.  I suspect, in fact, that it may be more straightforward to come in from the right, where the land is a bit more level.


The 6th (a meaty par 4 at 476 yards) is one of the best holes in Leeds, IMO.  A downhill drive to a left to right canted fairway:

Again, rather spoilt by the bloody tress but still a thrilling shot.  A well hit drive leaves this:

The green is behind the last bunker on the right.  Again, how much better would this be if that stupid tree didn't obscure the view?  Once round the trees you get a far better idea of the green complex:

I hit an almost perfect (for me) utility which looked for most of its path to be homing in on the flag, before it bounced left into the last bunker.  From behind you can (hopefully) see that the camber of the fairway and green will bring a ball hit down the left back towards the flag:



There's no doubt that tree removal would improve this hole but it is still thrilling to play. 


More to follow.

[Mark Pearce]

The 7th (par 4, 388 yards) is another strong mid-length par 4.  This time, a drive from an elevated tee downhill:

leaves this approach.  The theme of having bunkers 30 yards or so short of the green repeats perhaps a couple of times more than ideal but each one is quite well done:

Looking back from the side of the green the uphill nature of the second shot and the cant of the fairway is more obvious.  None of the bunkers is visible!

The 8th (186 yards) is the first of the par 3s.  That's a while to wait for a short hole.  In the original routing I think this would have been the 7th.  Each of the short holes is very good.  If there's a criticism, however, as you'll see as the tour continues, they are a bit samey.

The 9th (par 4, 363 yards) is a gentle dogleg right, with out of bounds hard by the right side of the fairway and green.  Sadly, any temptation to be deceived by the line of charm and take on a shot hard by the OOB is removed by yet more trees, which mean that, again, the green can't be seen from the tee:

Playing the 9th we were invited through by the group in front and I didn't get a shot of the approach.  The green is, however, right by the OOB, close enough that Giles, having hit an excellent drive but missing the green long left with his approach, hit a slightly overcooked pitch back and went OOB.  What can't be seen from the above picture is that the fairway falls away sharply on the left hand side and a drive that hugs the left side is likely to leave a shot from under the trees off an uphill lie will ball above feet.

[Mark Pearce]

After an 8 hole wait for the first par 3, the second arrives in a hurry at the 10th.  Again, it's a good hole but as this picture shows,at 170 yards and slightly downhill, it's very similar to 8:

11 (par 4, 392 yards) plays towards Eccup reservoir.  Before the trees grew, this would have been a spectacular hole.  Now it has to settle for being an excellent par four, doglegging down and to the right, with three expertly placed fairway bunkers, en echelon, on the inside of the dogleg.

A good drive down the left hand side, leaves this approach, to a steeply back to front sloping green:

The resevoir is just yards behind those trees on the right and behind the green.  What a shame.  From behind, the incline of the fairway and the uphill nature of the approach to the green are evident:



12, at 529 yards, is a good par 5, running alongside the water, sadly, again, hidden by forestation.  The tee shot plays up over a hill of heather.  There are heathland elements at Sand Moor, none more so than in this corner of the course.

The marker post feels to be too far left but a drive down the right hand side leaves a blind second, whilst a fairway lie and a clean sight of the remainder of the hole is the reward for playing left. 
I went right and got this for a second:

A decent lay up left this:

Another well bunkered, interesting green complex.  What a shame, though, that we can't see that long and right is water.  Not in play but for the majestic setting it would make.


Whilst the 3s at Sand Moor are all good holes but similar, the three par 5s are all excellent holes, of varying nature and length.  A very good set indeed.


More to follow.

[Mark Pearce]

After a run of very good golf from the 5th, we come to a juddering halt.  I think that before the changes the current 14th (then, presumably, the 12th) followed the current 12th (then the 11th).  Another short par 4 has been inserted between the two, meaning a 200 yard walk back to the tee on 13 (336 yards) and, it seems, the lengthening of 14.  The walk back to the tee only serves to make you realise that, so far in the round, green to tee walks have, without exception, been remarkably short.


Like the 2nd, the 13th is not a high quality short par 4, not least because I can't imagine anyone actually trying to drive the green (despite the approach here being steeply downhill.  The tee shot is flat, featureless and uninspiring:

The lone tree on the left is just under 250 yards from the back tees, so for mortals a 3 wood is the sensible play, avoiding the risk of being blocked by it.  Better golfers will, again, hit iron.  A safe tee shot down the left (the hole doglegs right, so the left hand side opens the approach up) leaves a blind second.  Walking forwards a few yards reveals this approach:

If anything, the extra length of this hole over 2 makes the approach (a full gap wedge for me on this occasion at 100 yards) easier.  It's not a bad green complex but it really is an uninspiring hole.  Once again, I can't help thinking that getting rid of all those trees on the right would make this a better hole and giving a direct line to the green just might provide some temptation that, as currently set up, just isn't there.  Removing all those tress right and behind would also reveal that this green is, again, perched on the edge of the resevoir.


At 458 yards uphill, 14 is a serious par 4.  Once again trees give it at least the impression of a tight tee shot:

An enormous drive might leave you this approach:

The two balls in the picture are both second shots, however.  Although not spectacular, this is another good, subtle approach.  The land moves down and to the right, allowing a ball to feed in.  A tough par 4, for sure, and a slightly uninspiring but togh tee shot, but quality at the end.


15 is the most different of the short holes, and an excellent one it is at that.  At 161 it appears shorter than the other three but it plays steepl uphill, to a green angled right to left:

This picture of the green from short left shows how steeply the front half of the green slopes back to front:



More to follow.

[Mark Pearce]

At 556 yards 16 is the longest and perhaps the best of the excellent set of par 5s.  The first half of the hole has steeply left to right sloping fairway and a blind tee shot.  I think there's a stream (which crosses in front of the 5th tee)behind those trees on the right but I drove into the first cut on the left, so never got to find out:

After a good uphill drive, with a hint of draw, a spectacular downhill approach tempts the good player:

After a lay up, the approach is uphill with the camber of the fairway feeding towards that fairway bunker:

This photograph shows hints of the rig and furrow agriculture that resulted in Alwoodley's distinctive fairways and which is noticeable more than once at Sand Moor.


17 (168 yards) is the last of the par 3s.  Again, a mid-iron to a well bunkered, small green:



18 appears to have been altered in the '60s.  A 378 yard par 4, it has another uphill drive:

But this time a half decent shot leaves a completely blind second:

and even from 30 yards forward, the shot is still semi-blind:

Eventually, however, we see this green:

Long, or left, are both dead.  Ally McIntosh thinks that the original 16th green was what is now the putting green, in which case the fairway would have passed lower, through what is now the clubhouse.  That would have been a somewhat longer but, I suspect, far more interesting hole.

[Mark Pearce]

I have been fairly critical in this tour and there is a fair amount to be critical of.  Of the four "new" holes (the changes were made by Henry Cotton), 2 and 13 are poor short par 4s, 3 is uninspiring and 4 is an OK hole.  Whether 14 was a better hole at its original length, I don't know, I think it remains a pretty good, if rather severe par 4.  18 is the weakest of the original holes, but then it probably isn't really original.  There are several thousand too many trees on the course.  Although it may look narrow in the pictures, it never really felt claustrophobic, but there are several holes that would clearly be improved by some tree removal and 11, 12, 13 and 16 are deprived of views over the reservoir by thick foliage.  The par 3s, whilst a really strong set are just a little bit similar to each other.


All that said, I really liked Sand Moor.  Apparently designed by Mackenzie, and officially opened in 1926, the original holes are of very high quality.  It's very playable but challenging, with plenty of really interesting, exciting shots.  The land is more dramatic than Alwoodley or Moortown and the course both benefits and suffers as a result.  Flat lies are unusual and a member here will need both to know how to play off sloping lies and out of bunkers.  It's a while since I have played Moortown but I don't remember enjoying Moortown as much as I enjoyed Sand Moor.  Alwoodley is clearly the best course in Leeds, I'll need to get back to Moortown but I'm impressed enough by Sand Moor to question whether Moortown deserves its assumed second place.

[Giles Payne]

Mark

I really enjoyed our round at Sand Moor. I also agree with your conclusions.One gripe would be about the inconsistent conditioning with most of the course playing like a lush parkland course (although, to be fair, it played quite firm) and only a few of the holes at the bottom of the course still playing more like a heathland course with finer grasses.

There has also been some recent tree planting which will in time have an even more detrimental effect on the course.

I think that my preference for Alwoodly is further enhanced by the maintenance meld enhancing its heathland characteristics. It is a long time since I played Moortown and I will be interested to compare it to Sand Moor.

However, all that said, I still enjoyed the round and thought that it was a good testing course and not one to be casually overlooked if your are considering golf in Leeds.

[Jon Wiggett]

Mark,


you are correct about the 18th (old 16th) originally playing the putting green. Also, the 13th used to be a tad under 300 yards and so drivable with a fade to a green that was more open at the front. It was still a weak hole though. The 14th used to be played from tees in the middle of the 13th fairway level with the 12th's green. They were still there in the late 70s and most members on a normal round still played from them skipping the 13th altogether.


Jon