A compact coastline with a lot of history
North Tyneside doesn't have a large roster of clubs, but what's here punches well above its weight. Five courses are dotted across Backworth, Wallsend, Whitley Bay and the wider Tyne and Wear area, and green fees start from a very reasonable £25, making this an accessible corner of the North East for anyone touring the region's golf rather than a single destination in itself. The two clubs with real depth of story are Tynemouth and Whitley Bay, both parkland courses set between the North Sea coastline and inland countryside, and both worth building a day around.
Tynemouth and Whitley Bay: parkland with sea air
Tynemouth Golf Club dates back to 1913 and was laid out by Willie Park, one of the defining figures of early British course design. The club remains part of the James Braid Association and offers reciprocal arrangements with other member clubs, so it's a useful stop for golfers already exploring further afield. Its setting, sandwiched between coastline and countryside, gives the round a shifting character: sheltered parkland holes give way to stretches where the sea air is unmistakable.
Whitley Bay Golf Club, founded in 1890, is the older of the two and carries an even more decorated history. It was designed by Ted Ray, the 1912 Open Champion, and its fast, true greens have drawn serious attention over the decades. Harry Vardon, James Braid and Lee Trevino have all played the course, and in 1977 it hosted the Callers International Open, with Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman among the field. That's a striking amount of golfing pedigree for a coastal parkland course near the Northumberland coastline, and it's the kind of fact that gives an ordinary weekend round an extra layer of interest.
The rest of the county
Backworth Golf Club and Wallsend Golf Club round out the traditional club offering, giving golfers in those towns a course close to home without needing to travel into Newcastle or further up the coast. Neither comes with the documented history of Tynemouth or Whitley Bay in the data available, but their presence means North Tyneside golfers have genuine local options across Backworth and Wallsend as well as the coastal towns.
For something less formal, Whitley Bay also has a Mini Golf & FootGolf facility, which sits apart from the traditional 18-hole game but is worth knowing about if you're bringing a group that includes non-golfers, or fancy an easy hour before heading down to the seafront.
What to expect from a round here
With parkland as the dominant course type recorded in the county, North Tyneside golf tends towards tree-lined fairways and well-defined holes rather than the wide-open dunes you'd find further along the Northumberland coast. But the proximity to the sea, especially at Tynemouth and Whitley Bay, means the wind is rarely absent for long, and both courses use that coastal setting to good effect. It's a county where a modest number of clubs still adds up to a proper day of golf, with two courses carrying design links to Willie Park and Ted Ray respectively, and a shared history that runs through some of the biggest names the game has produced. For golfers based in or passing through Tyne and Wear, it's a corner of the North East that rewards a visit rather than a detour.