A county built on parkland, with two coastal exceptions
North Yorkshire's golf is overwhelmingly a parkland story. Sixteen of the county's clubs fall into that category, spread across towns like Bedale, Harrogate, Northallerton and Malton, and the character shifts with the ground beneath them. Bedale Golf Club sits on eighteenth-century parkland that was once a deer park, with water in play on seven holes and views out to the Wensleydale Hills. Romanby Golf & Country Club, near Northallerton, takes a different route, following the River Wiske through more than 200 acres, while Sandburn Hall near York has been planted with 30 hectares of new trees and large lakes since it opened in 2005, giving it a younger, more open feel than the older estates.
Harrogate alone accounts for a cluster of strong parkland clubs. Oakdale, designed by Dr Alister MacKenzie in 1914, runs through 130 acres of gentle valley with the Oak Beck stream tracking the 10th fairway and guarding the 9th and 18th greens — Peter Alliss was said to admire the closing hole. Harrogate Golf Club itself dates to 1892 and has Mackenzie-style greens across its wooded, undulating layout, while Pannal, up on the moorland edge of town, has hosted Open Championship regional qualifying and the English Amateur. Rudding Park adds a different dimension again, with a Martin Hawtree design and a short course that picked up the Golf Course Awards' Short Course of the Year in 2025.
Links golf and Ganton's place among the elite
The coastal and links courses are fewer but significant. Filey Golf Club, laid out by James Braid in 1897 along the Yorkshire coastline, has a clubhouse rebuilt in 2002 and a history that includes challenge matches played by Harry Vardon, with some suggestion that Alister Mackenzie later had a hand in amendments. Inland, but built on sandy, links-like ground, Ganton is the county's standout: a Harry Colt and Alister Mackenzie design from 1891 that has hosted the 1949 Ryder Cup, the 2000 Curtis Cup and the 2003 Walker Cup, and is regularly ranked among the world's top 100 courses by Golf World. Few counties can offer a course of that pedigree within reach of a normal golfing trip.
Dales, moors and a few curiosities
Away from the big names, North Yorkshire has plenty of character courses worth seeking out. Kirkbymoorside looks out over the North Yorkshire Moors, the Yorkshire Wolds and the Hambleton Hills, with the view from the 13th tee reason enough for the visit. Masham, a nine-holer near Ripon founded in 1895, is cut through by the River Burn and has hosted rounds from Bing Crosby and Peter Alliss over the years. Ghyll Golf Club at Barnoldswick is the oddity of the county — eleven holes straddling the Lancashire-Yorkshire border, with a stream marking the boundary and two holes built on the Lancashire side during the 1990s. Drax Golf Club near Selby takes industrial ground and turns it into something unexpected, built on a former construction tip beside the UK's largest power station, with wildflower meadows, bug hotels and a signature 8th hole requiring a 190-yard carry over two ditches.
Green fees start from around £15, which keeps the county accessible even where the golf is serious. With Easingwold's Hawtree-designed heathland adding another texture to the mix, and clubs such as Richmond Yorks rated among the UK's best value courses, North Yorkshire rewards a bit of exploring rather than sticking to one postcode. The spread from Dales parkland to coastal links to Ganton's inland links means a week here can look very different depending on which direction you drive.