Hallamshire - Yorkshire - England

“Is this your ball?”, queried our playing partner as he fished the guilty Callaway from his ripped bag.

Five minutes earlier, carried away by the excitement of a birdie two on the previous hole, I had carved the ball from The Hallamshire’s tenth tee.

But instead of a glorious hit down the middle, I had hooked a worm-killer at the lads who were standing little more than 20 yards in front of me.

Fortunately, it missed them and hit the bag and, I believed, was deflected into nearby rough never to be seen again.

Only on the next hole, when the chap saw his bag’s tear did we realise where it was.

This was just one of the memorable moments we took away from the over-55s’ open at one of Yorkshire’s top courses.

Yep, this was the day I downed THREE birdie twos – in the only open I have played in which there was no twos competition!

One of the par-threes even yielded a nearest the pin hopeful but it transpired I was outdone by just 50 centimetres.

And should I mention the ghost on the 16th tee? Maybe later.

The welcome at the Hallamshire is super. From the email before our arrival to the pleasantries in the club shop, service in the clubhouse and even the complimentary water and chocolate on the first tee.

But what I should have remembered from Master White’s student days in Sheffield is how cold the city is, especially on its higher ground.

Thus, it was freezing and the wind was blowing as we embarked upon the toughest opening stretch of holes I can recall.

Put simply, if your driver isn’t working then the first and third will be write-offs even before the pace of the greens bamboozles.

I was hitting the ball pretty well but it took me until the 6th before I felt that I had sussed out the putting surfaces.

The 5th is where the fun/drama starts – on the face of it, the 479-yard par-five should be a relief but a cavernous bunker needs to be negotiated before finding an elevated green.

This is the beginning of the course’s most memorable section – with dips, rises and beautiful views over the Yorkshire countryside.

The 7th fairway is on such a steep incline that my tee shot flew over an intimidating valley and footbridge only to roll 40 yards back down the hill.

The aforementioned 10th is a cracking hole over a brow before descending down towards a brook and then up to the green.

Other favourites included the 13th – a 401-yard par four which ascends over water, between bunkers with trees to the right. Another very tough hole.

Hole 14 is simply known as Long (as if the previous holes hadn’t been!). At 584 yards, with the wind blowing, I have rarely played a sterner par-five.

On the 16th we were greeted by an old-timer who told us he was known as “The Snowman” and asked: “What have you done with the weather?”.

It transpired he was using the hole as his own driving range in between folk teeing off.

Or was he? One of our playing partners was convinced he was a ghost.

Anyway, something heavenly nearly happened on 17, a superb par-three known as quarry because of the rocks which surround it. My nine-iron approach kissed the hole before ending 140cm from the cup. Sadly, I was just edged in the nearest the pin comp.

Then there is the final hole – a 487-yard par-four which must be the world’s most difficult stroke index 14. My pal hammered two of the best shots I have ever seen him play with the wind behind and still couldn’t reach it.

The Hallamshire offered up one of my most eventful golf experiences of the year. It is a curious place – combining traditional and modern in its clubhouse and a mixture of beautiful, intriguing and plain brutal holes.

Its condition is certainly up there with some of those in top100golfcourses’s best in England list. I note that it is included by National Club Golfer.

I can understand why.

Great course. There are a few bland holes, but the majority of the course is a joy to play. The up and down nature of the terrain give the course some great character holes. Well maintained with good greens. Well worth a visit.

The quality of this course was unreal, fabulous condition and testing layout with holes undulating and interesting with the condition sublime. Don't think there was a weak hole on this layout, it has a heathland, moorland, woodland feel without being any, and the fact I can not decide which 10 photos to choose is a real testament to our day. Starting with a tough 464 yard par 4 into the wind through to the tricky par 5 18th the course needs to be treated with respect, with many of the apparent shorter holes playing much longer than the yardage due to undulating ground. For me this would rank only just slightly behind the renowned inland courses of Alwoodley and Ganton in rank of Yorkshire courses, having played all others supposedly above it in the rankings. A true classy golf club.

I played Hallamshire last week, on a hot, dry, sunny and windless late afternoon. The weather could not have been better. Usually I play Hallamshire in the wind and rain. It therefore gave me the opportunity to reevaluate the course in a totally different light, enabling a more objective view.

The course did not disappoint. The conditioning was excellent, the greens true, the rough penal and for the 1st time I got to appreciate the 14th -16th stretch so much better.

The course offers a lot of variety - the par 4 4th is lined by small pines and on this sunny hot afternoon, had the look of courses seen in Portugal and Spain (until you see the trees all bend heavily due to the prevailing wind!). The stretch 7 - 11 crosses and re crosses a valley through the course and the 15th and 16th have a real links feel with the low sun casting long shadows across the sandy based turf.

The 7th is one of the less strong holes, playing downhill, short and better to have played before, as placement is key but even then the ball can run onto trouble. The same can be said for the 10th as too well a hot drive will leave your ball running out of fairway and into the heather!

The par 3’s are all good, all different with the 17th in the quarry remaining the best.

There are some unfortunate lies and slopes despite good drives - the sloping fairway on the par 5 5th can be really cruel, but overall this is an excellent course and worthy of it’s ranking within Yorkshire lists.

Hallamshire Golf Club in my hometown of Sheffield sits proudly on the edge of the City, almost 1000 feet up and with the Peak District on it’s doorstep. So when the wind blows in from the West, as it invariably does, this is a tough course as the 1st 8 holes (apart from the Par 5 5th) are played out into the wind. The 1st is a tough start in these conditions and the par 3 2nd equally so. To keep your card intact by the turn is somewhat of an achievement.

Looking at other reviews I would describe Hallamshire as heathland/moorland - has the gorse and some linksy elements on some holes.

The 6th is a class par 3 and the 17th a stunningly set short par 3, which can still be a card wrecker. Hole 7 is a quirky short downhiller and the 8th back across the valley can play very hard on a windy day.

The 10th is good and they have just extended the 11th with some guidance I believe from Matt Fitzpatrick, who is a member here.

If I was being critical of the course I find the stretch from 14 to 16 a bit samey with 2 par 5’s and a long into the wind par 4 16th. I find this part of the course a bit bland. But that is being critical and then the 17th makes up for that feeling and the 18th off the whites is a nice gently curving to the left par 5 with the green right in front of the clubhouse

A quality track and deservedly best in Sheffield, though it;s not quite as good as the Hallamshire members would have you believe. Play it on a still day, if you are lucky!

Hallamshire Golf Club lies on a narrow strip of land at the edge of the city of Sheffield, overlooking the Derbyshire Peak District National Park and Pennines.

Golfers outside the White Rose county may not be too familiar with this course but it's certainly one they should familiarise themselves with as soon as possible.

Hallamshire is a difficult course to categorise. It's obviously not a links (although there are some linkesque elements to be found here), it features plenty of heather but I wouldn't class it as a heathland course (some do though including the Sports Turf Research Institute), it's high on the edge of the Peak District moors but it's not what I would call moorland, it's parkland to a certain extent but not in your typical sense and there are plenty of trees but it isn't a woodland course!

So what is it then? Well, my answer to that is... does it have to be anything? Why should a course be classed as any particular type, what does it matter? Hallamshire basically takes some the best properties of the above mentioned categories and creates quite a unique experience. The Hallamshire Experience.

Its elevation of almost 900 feet above sea level provides glorious views but also means that it is exposed to the elements (hail showers at the end of May on one visit). It also means that wind is a big factor up here.

Harry Colt has designed and influenced many great courses. This one might not fall into the top echelon of those but the 'Hallamshire Experience' is a very enjoyable, testing and rewarding one.

I dislike the phrase 'hidden gem' but for many that's what this course will be until they play it for the first time.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

Was finally able to play Hallamshire to complete the top 10 in Yorkshire, and it certainly didn't disappoint. The condition of the course was absolutely fantastic 2 days after having a storm, it felt like you were playing a course ready for summer. Greens had very good pace about them for February. As for the layout, it has an extremely tough 1st 4 holes, 450 yard Par 4 1st with OOB right, long Par 3 followed by 2 strong Par 4s. You then play a great risk reward Par 5 where your 2nd shot is played over a 50 foot quarry to a heavily sloping green. Another cracking Par 3 follows downhill to a small well bunkered green. You then play a stretch of extremely hilly golf holes, but the way they are laid out is very clever hitting approach shots over the valley and teeing off on the edge of the quarry. You then begin the finishing stretch, with a great mix of short Par 3 and 4 followed by 2 rewarding Par 5s. The signature hole is the 17th, a quite brilliant short Par 3 (Only about 135 from the very back) to a tiny green. You play from an elevated tee with a wide expanse of gorse infront and all down the right as the green sits right under the edge of a quarry. 2 very steep run off areas left and right make it key to hitting an accurate tee shot, it is a wonderfully designed short Par 3. The finishing hole is another great risk reward Par 5, gorse running the entire length of the right hand side of the hole. Another last he gorse bush and 2 cleverly placed bunkers down the left make it a tough tee shot. With the hole relatively short, you then have the decision whether to go for the green, but with a large drop off area down the left and clubhouse sitting 10 yards to the right of the green it is an extremely dangerous 2nd shot. Hallamshire is a great example of using every bit of land available and producing a testing but very enjoyable layout with a variety of short and long holes. A must play for anyone, oh and the views are pretty amazing too!

I completed the Yorkshire Top 10 (as it currently stands anyway) with a trip to the Hallamshire on a sunny evening in mid-July. The course is quite undulating (is there a flat course in Sheffield?) which leads to a variety of challenges. However, being located on the western outskirts of the city I was hoping for more views of the beautiful surrounding countryside of the Peak District to the west but except for sneaking a look over the wall at the back of the 8th green, I was slightly disappointed. Having said that, the view stretching many miles eastwards from the 10th tee is quite something.Broadly the course is an out and back layout with a couple of loops thrown in to stop there being too many consecutive holes in the same direction. It has a combination of tough Par 4’s heading out into the prevailing wind and Par 5’s which all come back the other way. If I had to be picky, I’d have routed at least one Par 5 in the opposite direction.All holes give the golfer some to think about both off the tee and nearer the green. Course management is very important and you probably need to play here more than once to appreciate this. This is most evident in the stretch from 5 to 10. The Par 5 5th has a wide valley which is not fairway beginning around 100 yards before the green which requires a player to either lay up with a very short iron or go for the green with a fairway wood – there’s not much scope for anything in between. 6 is a pretty par 3 but the steep descent to the green means club selection is a challenge. 7 is a short par 4 with a blind tee shot where all of our fourball party would have played very different tee shots had we known where we were going. The Par 4 10th is another downhill hole where prior knowledge is essential. I would guess the Hallamshire wins a lot of its home matches in competitions!The welcome was very friendly from the Pro and members alike and the clubhouse is superbly situated with a balcony to view both the setting sun and the action on the 18th green.In my opinion is not in the same class as the Yorkshire Top 3 of Ganton, Alwoodley and Moortown but sits comfortably in the top 10 – I just need to play it a few more times. RdD

Up on the Moors, Hallamshire provides a test to match the views, not least when the wind is blowing, as it most likely will up there. The challenge starts immediately on the 1st, as length is a major defence for the first few holes. After the tricky, but reachable Par 5 5th, you then reach the stunning downhill Par 3 6th, which plays its full length into the wind, and requires a true strike, as short and right is not an option. The course then moves into a more undulating section, placing a premium on course management and positioning. The back 9 offers 3 Par 5's that do provide a little rest bite, and the chance of a birdie, but are offset by 2 short Par 3's, on which a 3 is always a good score. The 17th is particularly pretty. With the 18th finishing under the clubhouse windows, Hallamshire provides a great days golf, on what was on the day a fast running course with small, quick and true greens. Well worth the visit if in the area.

At one of the highest points in Yorkshire, Sheffield's Hallamshire Golf Club can be found and this is well worth a visit. There is no friendly start though, straight into a 467 yard par-4, then a 200 yard par-3 and then followed by two more par-4’s over 400 yards – a tough run of four holes anywhere in the round let alone at the start. The 6th is a pretty par-3, downhill but all carry over the waste-land then the 7th is the short par-4 that all courses should have; a mid-iron from the tee should leave a short iron that needs to land short of the green (it will run on, trust me). The rest of the course has a really nice combination of holes that twist and turn up and down-hill. Pick of the second nine for me, up hill par-4 13th and the picturesque 17th, a par-3 with gorse and a quarry to carry. Nice par-5 to finish and very close to the clubhouse, so don’t go right! Just as a footnote …. Many courses have holes with names but is there a better hole name anywhere than ‘Bilberry Dumpling’ which is the fourth here? – The course feels like a strong 4.5 ball rating, so am happy to a rating of 5 in this case.