Whitby
You will find Whitby Golf Club just a mile north of the seaside town towards Sandsend. It is primely located high on the cliff-tops looking out towards the North Sea and is a very friendly club.
The Club was in fact originally founded at Goathland in 1892 but has been located at this stunning location since 1895. There are wonderful views along the coast between Kettleness and the iconic Whitby Abbey and views inland towards the rolling North Yorkshire Moors.
I played here on a bracing October afternoon with a strong wind whipping off the sea and this ensured a fun round of golf.
The course is very exposed so you are unlikely to seek shelter from the elements although for holes 10 to 16 we do dip inland to a more wooded, and undulating, part of the property.
Holes 6 to 9 and the 17th are also on a separate parcel of land to the rest of the course and to get there (and back) you must cross over a really cool bridge which is quite narrow and very high - if you are scared of heights (or drops) you may want to give Whitby a miss.
Otherwise you will enjoy a course that will not beat you up but still has plenty of challenges. I guess most of the holes need to be quite wide due to the windy nature of the site and this is certainly the case at the opening holes although I can imagine the clubhouse and car park will come into play at the second when the wind is blowing off the moors.
Things start to get more interesting from the approach into the fifth green, which is not only raised but also angled and two-tiered. It is the best green complex on the course by a mile. We then drive over a cleft in the cliffs ("Upgang Ravine") at the sixth (which we must re-cross at the last) before the downhill seventh gives us a real chance of birdie.
Holes 10 to 16 are certainly more undulating and have a different character to what has come before as we now find golf of the parkland variety here. There are three par 3s on this piece of land - which are the only short holes on the entire course! Although I suspect the fact that 15 is currently playing as a one-shotter is due to a health and safety matter pertaining to the close proximity of houses down the right-hand-side.
The 17th is driveable, although a burn runs right in front of the green, and two good blows could get you home in two at the par-five 18th so a good finish is a strong possibility.
At 5,921 yards (par 71) Whitby is not a long course and I suspect on a calm day you should be able to post a good score but like most coastal courses the weather will have its say.
