Alwoodley Golf Club: Course Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info

Dr Alister MacKenzie's very first course design is a superb heathland layout blessed with particularly fine opening and closing holes

Alwoodley Golf Club
The attractive 1st hole sets the scene beautifully at Alwoodley
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Top 100 Courses UK & Ireland 2023/24

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Alwoodley Golf Club Key Information

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Header Cell - Column 0 Header Cell - Column 1
AddressWigton Lane, Leeds, Yorkshire, LS17 8SA.
Phone Number+44 (0)113 268 1680
Websitealwoodleygolfclub.com/
Emailmanager@alwoodley.co.uk
Green Fees£150-£175 per round April-Oct; £90 in winter months
Visitor TimesSelected Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Sundays
ParMen: 71 blue, 72 white, 70 yellow; Ladies: 73 red
Slope RatingMen: 138 blue & white, 130 yellow; Ladies: 135 red
Opened1907
Designed byDr Alister MacKenzie
Golf Monthly Verdict

Alwoodley Golf Club

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Alwoodley is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It wouldn’t feel out of place nestled among Surrey and Berkshire’s finest. A tough test of golf characterised by long carries from the tees, challenging heather and beautiful sweeping holes, all culminating in an incredibly strong finish and wonderful 18th hole.

The course - largely still MacKenzie’s handiwork with input from Harry Colt - continues to challenge the best today while also delighting golfers of all standards with its attractive bunkering, superb conditioning and far-reaching vistas.

REASONS TO PLAY ALWOODLEY

- A chance to experience the very first course on which MacKenzie showcased his design philosophies and skills

- Many memorable holes, including some visually strong par 3s

- A wonderful feeling of openness now in the middle part of the course following the clearing work of recent years

RANKINGS

UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2023/24 - 54

One of the finest inland championship tests and best golf courses not just in Yorkshire but also England, Alwoodley near Leeds has long enjoyed a near ever-present position in the top 60 of our rankings.

It is, famously, the first design project of surgeon-turned-golf course architect, Dr Alister MacKenzie, a founding member and the first secretary of the club in 1907.

The course - largely still MacKenzie’s handiwork with input from Harry Colt - continues to challenge the best today while also delighting golfers of all standards with its attractive bunkering, superb conditioning and far-reaching vistas.

The bunkering performs the ideal dual role of strategy and aesthetics as well as anywhere, and the tree-clearing work of recent years – a course of action so prevalent on heathand courses right now – has given Alwoodley a more open feel once more, bringing to mind Walton Heath in Surrey in some places.

There is plenty of risk-reward and variety among the holes, with the back nine into the prevailing wind serving up a particularly tough finish via a quartet of par 4s that all exceed 400 yards - one of the reasons it has often been used as an Open Championship regional qualifying venue.

It's perhaps true that Alwoodley is more about considerable strength in depth rather than individual stand-out holes.

But special mention should go to the beautiful, long par-3 9th at the far end of the course - a massive 235 yards from the championship tee - and the truly testing closing hole back towards the distinctive clubhouse, where sand aplenty stares back at you as you contemplate the 484 yards that lie ahead of you off the tips. Thankfully, other tees are available!

Alwoodley Golf Club

The short par-3 7th hole

(Image credit: Getty Images)

What The Top 100 Panel Said

Andrew Oliver UK&I Top 100 panel
Andrew Oliver

Visually the course continues to improve as a result of further tree management, which enhances the wide open heathland. There is little around the course to spoil your views apart from some fairly quiet roads and, given its proximity to a major city, it’s a surprise how peaceful it is.

Emily Hudson UK&I Top 100 panel
Emily Hudson

An all-round great golf course. It didn’t feel like there was only one outstanding hole - each hole is a nice individual challenge and kept my interest all the way. A track that keeps you thoroughly entertained and challenged throughout.

Alwoodley Golf Club Location

Alwoodley Golf Club Green Fees

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April 2023£150Row 0 - Cell 2
May to October 2023£175Row 1 - Cell 2
Winter green fee£90Row 2 - Cell 2
Winter fourball offer£325Row 3 - Cell 2
Summer 18-hole package - selected Thursdays£205 inc breakfast roll and two-course lunchRow 4 - Cell 2
Summer 36-hole package - selected Thursdays£235 inc breakfast roll and two-course lunchRow 5 - Cell 2

Contact the club to enquire

Alwoodley Golf Club Scorecard

Alwoodley Golf Club scorecard

(Image credit: Alwoodley Golf Club)

Best Courses Near Alwoodley

MOORTOWN

<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/courses/top-100-courses/moortown-golf-club-course-review-60614" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"">MOORTOWN
Moortown was the venue for the first Ryder Cup match to be held on British soil back in 1929. Designed by the great Dr Alister MacKenzie in 1908, large undulating greens and deep bunkers are evidence of his contribution. With heather, birch, burns and bushes to contend with, a round here requires precision and strategy.

HEADINGLEY

<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/courses/uk-and-ireland/headingley-golf-club-course-review-134906" data-link-merchant="golfmonthly.com"">HEADINGLEY
Play golf around Leeds and the name Alister MacKenzie will never be far from the lips. So it is at Headingley, where he remodelled a number of holes in 1913.  The par-5 14th perhaps edges the ‘most attractive tee shot’ stakes. If you can then safely negotiate the devilish 16th green and the beautiful par-3 17th, where there isn’t really a good miss, the shortish home hole across a deep gully may serve up one final decent birdie chance.

Best Places To Stay Near Alwoodley

Village Hotel Leeds North -  Book now at Booking.com
With an impressive leisure centre and a restaurant, Village Hotel Leeds North offers modern rooms with free WiFi. The hotel is situated in Headingley just over four miles from Alwoodley Golf Club and ten minutes' drive from the centre of Leeds.

Oulton Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort - Book now at Booking.com
Oulton Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort is an 18th-century mansion and has award-winning cuisine, a spa, and a 27-hole championship golf complex in its grounds. There is free WiFi, free parking, and Leeds train station is five miles away.

Alwoodley Gallery

ALWOODLEY HISTORICAL TOP 100 RANKING UK&I

  • 2023/24 - 54
  • 2021/22 - 50
  • 2019/20 - 50
  • 2017/18 - 48
  • 2015/16 - 52
  • 2013/14 - 55
  • 2011/12 - 62
  • 2009/10 - 58

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Alwoodley the best golf course in Yorkshire?

For most golfers and observers there are three courses vying for 'best course in Yorkshire' honours - Ganton ten miles south-west of Scarborough, plus Alwoodley and Moortown to the north of Leeds. All three are in the Golf Monthly UK&I Top 100, with Ganton (34th) currently ranked 20 places higher than Alwoodley (54th), and Moortown then a further 14 places below Alwoodley in 68th place.

Was Alwoodley Dr Alister MacKenzie's first golf course design?

Yes, it is known as the 'Original MacKenzie'. Alwoodley Golf Club was founded in 1907. MacKenzie, a local GP, was one of the founders and he also designed the layout on Wigton Moor. He would go on to become one of the game's finest architects, creating the world-famous courses at Augusta National, Cypress Point, Royal Melbourne and many others.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response