One of Britain's great inland courses, Ganton, the former Ryder Cup, Walker Cup and Curtis Cup host, is steeped in history
Ganton Golf Club Course Review
Green Fee Range: £55-140
Medal Tee: Par 73 – 6,739 Yards
Visitor Times: Any day of the week, including weekends, by prior arrangements & subject to availability
Website: www.gantongolfclub.com
Ganton Golf Club Course Review
Yorkshire’s finest, which oozes old-school class, dates back to 1891 when Tom Chisholm of St Andrews first laid out a course that would go on to host every major event a non-links course can host, including the Ryder Cup and Walker Cup.
It remains the only inland course to host the Amateur Championship, with golf’s unpaid elite visiting in 1964, 1977 and 1991.
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In part, this may be due to the land being blessed with many links characteristics, since many aeons ago it was right by the North Sea.
Ganton Golf Club hosted the Ryder Cup in 1949 (Getty Images)
It may also be down to nearly every bygone golfing great lending a design hand over the years, including Harry Vardon (club professional from 1896 to 1903), James Braid, JH Taylor, Harry Colt, Dr Alister MacKenzie and Tom Simpson.
Sir Michael Bonallack, Britain’s greatest amateur, said of Ganton, “The journey from tee to green on every hole is one of the most enjoyable golfing examinations that a player is ever likely to experience.”
The heathland layout in the Vale of Pickering boasts deep bunkers to that rival and match Woodhall Spa’s, and swathes of gorse courtesy of a planting programme in the 1930s, so it can defend itself admirably when the wind sweeps in as it often does.
There are too many great holes to list, but the 6th, with a hint of Gleneagles, stands out, as does the very pretty par-3 10th, where the green is heavily bunkered and contoured, but also slightly concave, meaning that only the worst of miscues will suffer, while minor ones may gather back in.
When you play the 17th and 18th, which both cross the entrance road, marvel at the vast pit between the two… and then marvel even more when you learn that this was once a vast bunker maintained by horse-drawn rakes or ploughs!
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Course changes since previous ranking
Tree and gorse clearance and bunker improvements. Opening up of the the ‘Pandy’ waste sand area on the 17th/18th – this was an original feature of the course lost to undergrowth over the years and now reinstated as the original architect planned.
Proposed course changes
Redesign of the 9th hole par-5 in conjunction with Martin Ebert, this will give more shape to the hole and open up another sand waste area along the fairway.
Ganton Golf Club Course Review – Golf Monthly Verdict
A course, blending links and heathland, with great history that will test all facets of the game
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