A great course blending heathland with a feel of the links that will test the very best players. It’s a historic venue with big ambition and vision to move forward.
Ganton Golf Club Course Review
Top 100 Ranking 2021/22 – TBC
Previous Rankings
2019/20 – 28
2017/18 – 25
2015/16 – 19
2013/14 – 20
2011/12 – 23
2009/10 – 27
Summer Green Fees
Round – £130wd, £150we Day – £150wd, £170we
Visitors: Welcome any day of the week by prior arrangement
Medal Tee: Par 71 – 6,789 Yards
Changes since previous ranking
Improved revetted bunkering, gorse clearance, creation of sandy waste areas
Ganton Golf Club Course Review
Martin Ebert has advised on gorse clearance and course pathways. Also altering the bunker revetting to make them more natural-looking in places.
Sandy areas are being restored and options for improving holes further are being looked at.
Ganton is Yorkshire’s finest course and it oozes old-school class. It 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 of 1957, in which GB&I secured a famous win, and the Walker Cup of 2003.
It remains the only inland course to host the Amateur Championship, with golf’s unpaid elite visiting in 1964, 1977 and 1991.
The 14th at Ganton
Related: Top 100 golf courses UK and Ireland
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.”
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.
Assessor Feedback
To do well at Ganton, you must drive well and hit unerring irons, otherwise your day will be a long and frustrating one. In addition to over 100 bunkers, there’s deep rough, trees, and disconcerting gorse to contend with.
It’s exciting times at Ganton with big plans for the future. The course will host the Brabazon Trophy and the Senior Amateur Championship in 2021.
GM Verdict
A great course blending heathland with a feel of the links that will test the very best players. It’s a historic venue with big ambition and vision to move forward.
This article Ganton Golf Club Course Review appeared first on Golf Monthly.