A small county with a clear identity
Gateshead doesn't have a huge number of clubs, but the seven on offer cover a surprising range of terrain for such a compact area. Three are classed as parkland, and even the others lean that way in character, shaped by the valleys and hillsides either side of the River Tyne. Ryton Golf Club sits right against the river itself, a flat layout bordered by the Tyne, while Birtley Golf Club at Chester le Street climbs a hillside and opens with a genuinely stern 238-yard par 3. Tyneside Golf Club occupies an elevated site above the Tyne valley on a sand and gravel base, which keeps it playable through the winter months when heavier clay-based courses elsewhere would be closed.
Old clubs, real pedigree
There's more history packed into this small county than the numbers suggest. Tyneside Golf Club was founded in 1879 and ranks as the 11th oldest golf club in England and the oldest inland club in the North East. The current course dates from 1911 and was designed by Harry S Colt, which gives Ryton two courses of note within the same town. Ravensworth Golf Club, on the outskirts of Gateshead near Eighton Banks, was founded in 1906 and is the seventh oldest club in County Durham, one of the founder members of the Durham County Golf Union. Its clubhouse, rebuilt and opened in December 2003, looks out towards the Angel of the North, and membership brings access to the wider 1906 Club network of around 60 courses across the UK. Birtley, meanwhile, has been going since 1922 and still tests members with long par fours as well as that testing opening hole.
Across the towns
Garesfield Golf Club, also founded in 1922, sits among woodland and rolling countryside near Newcastle upon Tyne with views stretching over the Derwent Valley; its 11th hole is generally reckoned the hardest on the course, and winter greens are kept in use when conditions demand. Whickham Golf Club, also in the Newcastle upon Tyne area, offers a full spread of tee options from white through to red and ladies' tees, alongside its own winter course configuration. Ryton Golf Club, founded in 1891, holds Community Amateur Sports Club status and takes part in the Tyne Valley Golf Alliance, which gives members reciprocal play at affiliated courses in the area. Heworth Golf Club rounds out the Gateshead side of the county, completing a set of seven clubs that between them cover most of the ground between Chester le Street and Ryton.
Planning a visit
Green fees in the county start from around £27, which is reasonable for parkland golf this close to Newcastle and Gateshead's built-up areas. Given the mix of hillside, riverside and valley courses, it's worth picking your club with the weather and the season in mind: Tyneside's sand and gravel base and Garesfield's winter greens both point to courses built to cope with a North East winter, while Ryton's flat riverside layout offers an easier walk than Birtley's hillside test. For golfers based in or visiting Newcastle, the whole county is compact enough to reach several clubs within a short drive, making it easy to sample the Colt design at Tyneside one day and the Angel of the North views from Ravensworth the next.