Credit Crunch Golf! (Temple Newsam Golf Course)

Member Name: JJJJ

Product:	Temple Newsam Golf Course
Date:	25/06/09 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Value for Money, Well Designed Courses

Disadvantages: Holes aren't marked very well, litter

Whilst in Leeds last week, I found myself with spare time on my hands which gave me the chance to play a spot of golf. As I didn't want to splash out in the region of £70 to play at one of Yorkshire's posher clubs, I decided to take a look at some of the municipal courses that Leeds has to offer. After a quick web search, I came across the 'Temple Newsam Golf Club', which has not one, but two 18 hole courses on its grounds.

For those of you unaware of what Temple Newsam is, it's a large Tudor-Jacobean house with gardens landscaped by Capability Brown. The building itself is over 300 years old, and was the birthplace of Lord Darnley who was the consort of Mary Queen of Scots - but enough about houses, let's talk golf!


Direct me!
- - - - - - -
The Temple Newsam Golf Course is located around five miles from Leeds city centre, and there is adequate parking on the premises. If you're traveling from within Leeds, you'll need to take the A64 to the junction with the A63, and then bear right onto the A63 and follow the road to the traffic lights at the top of the hill. After the lights, take the fourth right which will hopefully take you to the clubhouse, OR... depending on the quality of my directions, you may well be sitting in the middle of a pond somewhere.


The Price is Right
- - - - - - - - - - -
It costs only £10 to play 18 holes on either 'The Lord' or 'The Lady' course on a weekday, which represents exceptional value considering that to play a course back home on the Isle of Wight, it would normally set you back around £20 a round. On a weekend, the price rises to £13, but this is still reasonable in this day and age. Juniors (under 18's) can play for £3.60, whilst over 60's pay only £8.


Build me a golf club!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
In terms of the history of the place, the first golf club at Temple Newsam was opened in 1923 and designed by Dr. Alistair Mackenzie - the same guy who put together Augusta National, home of the US Masters tournament. It seems odd that whilst Augusta is widely regarded as one of the world's top courses, Temple Newsam is municipal and can be played for a tenner!

Due to the popularity of the Temple Newsam course (apparently 25,000 rounds were played there during the first two years!), a second course was opened on the site in 1925, along with a new clubhouse which remains to this day.


First Impressions
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Upon driving into the carpark, my initial impression of the club was not that great. The clubhouse looked a little shabby and is overlooked by two large poles with protected CCTV cameras on top of them. This gave the impression of a prison rather than a golfing facility, and whilst that may be an exaggerated view, it's a shame that such prominent surveillance is the first thing that greets visitors. Also, the general area looked a little untidy and could have perhaps done with a bit of extra planting around the place to make it more welcoming.

The practice putting green is large, and I found it to be in good condition, although there weren't any mini-flags in the holes - presumably to prevent them from being nicked!

There is a pro shop on the premises which had a decent selection of clubs for sale, and the guy working there was friendly and helpful.

The clubhouse features a cafe which is open to both golfers and non-golfers, serving breakfasts, snacks and meals, plus a selection of beverages. It is supposed to be open from 7am until 3pm, but the door was firmly locked when I was there, and it was only 1 in the afternoon. The interior of the building is quite dated, with tatty paintwork and a 70's feel, and, due to vandalism, if you want to use the toilets, you'll need to retrieve a 'bathroom key' from the pro-shop.


Hit some balls
- - - - - - - - -
On my visit, I found the course itself to be in excellent condition, with fairways and greens very neatly cut. The layout made for a very pleasing round of golf, and the undulating fairways provided some challenging and variable ball lies.

On the downside, there was a fair bit of litter lying around the place - especially in the walkways between holes, which wasn't that nice to see, and made the area look a bit tatty.

Of the two courses, 'The Lord' is the larger, measuring 6460 yards from white tees, whilst 'The Lady' is distanced at 6290 yards - both have great views over the surrounding countryside, and also have a championship feel about them due to their large open fairways and mature, appropriate planting.

Unfortunately, the course was pretty much unmarked in terms of hole numbers or yardage information - this made the round of golf slightly confusing, as on a number of occasions we finished a hole and then saw a couple of tees in front of us, and didn't know which was the next one to play.

The bunkers were in a good condition, and held plenty of dark coloured sand which made playing from these well placed traps a pleasure.


Final Word
- - - - - - -
All in all, I really enjoyed my round of golf at Temple Newsam Golf Course, and felt it represented amazing value for money. That said, a few minor niggles hold back the venue from its full potential, and it's a shame to see these ultimately fixable issues marring things slightly. The course itself is great, and I highly recommend it from purely a golfing perspective.

Although it could be improved with better general upkeep, Temple Newsam Golf Course makes for a challenging and relaxing round of golf - I would definitely play there again.

Telephone : 0113 2647362

Summary: The Cheapest Golf Course in Leeds