Moor Allerton (Blackmoor & High) - Yorkshire - England

I play here quite alot with friends who are members and still im left perplexed by the apparent lack of progress at the club despite a large membership and a very high green fee.

The course is consistently poorly maintained and cut far less frequently than a good course should be, rendering it looking scruffy.

Friends who are members often make the point that they have yet to see a single greenkeeper this year.

You can rarely tell the difference between rough and fairway after October , the paths are absolutely shocking, the bunkers lack sand and are full of water, the greens look diseased and full of blight.

Finally the facilities are shocking.

The locker room is like a factory locker room from 1972. The bar is like a bingo hall and they dont even pay for BT Sport. The driving range is possibly the worst i have laid eyes on.

With the right investment and maintenance the place could be special, but its a tad embarrassing compared to its neighbours at Wike, Sandmoor and Alwoodley.

Finally and more recently its become apparent - these guys have never heard of a leaf blower, every single fairway is littered with them which renders play slow and constantly having to move them from your swing and liw.

Great layout but shockingly maintained. No stroke savers on a course where one needed to be aware of water hazards, virtually no sand in bunkers, bumpy and poorly kept greens, tees just about acceptable (but had been spiked), lockers which ate up £1 coins and didn’t work, signs saying don’t wash shoes in the sink. All basically signs that this course is extremely overplayed and isn’t given the attention it needs

Played here every year for 15 years and saw the course mature with each year that went by. Recently went back after 8 years and could not believe how much more mature the course has got. Always a great test no mater what mix of the 9s you play.

Always plays windy, and a mix of long strategic drives are required. Again the greens and fairways were as I fondly remembered them, lush and rolling like the best carpet.

Great welcome and food always wonderful in the clubhouse. Planned my trip next year already

Moor Allerton offers you something a little different when compared to its multiple neighbours. For starters I don't think there is a bad set of 9 out of the 3 on offer so you shouldn't be disappointed if you don't get on Blackmoor & High as the Lakes 9 is just as good.

Moor Allerton has more of an American feel to it rather than all the parkland courses that surrounds it. The greens are huge with massive slopes and multiple tiers, I found myself never being able to play the trusty bump and run as the greens were all raised meaning I was having to take an arial route.

The highlight of this loop of 18 has to be the Par 5 27th hole. Elevated tee box over a hazard ending up with an approach over a large pond right in front of the clubhouse bar!

For me this is up there with Sand Moor and is a must play if you are in the area.

Just outside Leeds, in an area packed with good golf, and in the city which was also home of Alastair McKenzie, Moor Allerton is a 27 club built by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Built on a hilly piece of property, there is a lot of elevation which can sometimes mean it is a tiring walk. There are good holes and variety throughout. I enjoy the strategy on the short par 4s, especially the 4th & 6th. In general the greens here can be tricky, with different tiers and not many straight putts, which can make players really have to think there way round. Other stand out holes include the dogleg right 16th, which has my favourite shot on the course on it. Played from a slightly down hill like, players normally have a low iron/wedge into a back to front sloped green, while carrying a barranca. The barranca makes you think that short is not good, but in reality if you go past the hole you are also in a lot of trouble! In my opinion 1-18 are the best holes, but the 27th hole finisher is also memorable, a par 5 where players can choose to go for it in 2 but can put themselves in a lot of danger. A nice track all round, that rewards the thinking golfer.

I played the Blackmoor/High loops of 9 yesterday. This is a big course, parkland played through woodland, with all 27 holes starting out and returning to the Clubhouse, which sits imposingly overlooking the 19th tee, 27th green and 18th green. Both the 19th tee (where you tee off across the gully) and the 27th Green where your shot from the fairway to the green is shot over the same gully, give you an immediate feel of how tough this course is likely to be. A glance to the left and the approach to the 18th green across a narrow entrance to an upward green with water in front, reminds if you needed it, how hard the round you are about to embark on will be.

And it is tough. The land is very undulating and there are not many level lies on the 1st loop we played (19th-27th)

The greens are large and undulating, making where you land your ball so important. I found them however very true if you got your line right. The greens are flanked by some large bunker complexes, The fairways were cut tight and narrow. The rough, whilst only a few inches deep wrapped around your clubs and was very ‘sticky’. The tight fairways, given rain in the days preceding, meant that the 1st signs of Autumn/Winter golf were visible. Ball striking had to be clean otherwise your club would snag on the damp course.

Best holes on this loop? The 19th which you first tee off from is straightforward from the tee, but drift left or right and your second shot is made difficult by the dip before the green, narrow fairway and sticky rough. The par 3’s (holes 20 and 24) are similar, nothing too standout about them.

The 21st is a solid par 5 but certainly a good birdie chance, followed by a strong 22nd, where the tee shot needs to be played up the left hand side to create a better 2nd shot opportunity. Bunkers to the front right and steep banking to the right provide protection and a difficult shot if you play from the right. The 23rd is a dog left right and the 25th are nothing special in terms of design, but the green complex around the 26th is visually a great looking green. You then descend down a sweeping 27th where unless you are a big hitter, you will need to lay up and then hit a confident 3rd across to a large green complex back in front of the club house.

You will no doubt be tired even just after 9 holes, so make sure you get some added energy from the half way hut or pro shop before heading onto the 2nd loop.

The 10th is a good starting hole for this loop. Be brave and aim over the trees on the left as your tee shot will feed into the fairway leaving a straight shot to the green. It’s still a long way protected by bunkers front and right with a brook in the dip before the green. The 11th simply needs a good drive over the brow of the hill leaving a straight forward if uphill mid iron to the green. 12th, 13th and 14th are strong holes. It helps to have played before because on the 12th the fairway narrows very close ahead of the green with bunker to the right and steep fall away to the left. Do not go left at all costs. The 13th is gorgeous looking par 3 with the shot being all carry to the green, bunker in front. The 14th is a narrow par 5 with woodland to the right and water in play down the left. Key is where to lay up your 2nd shot, leaving a short iron over the pond to the green. Be too greedy or not committed to your shot and it will end up in a watery grave. 15th and 16th are nothing speciial followed by an uphill par 3 - nice but very similar to a lot of the holes with bunkers front and steep banking in front of it.

When you are totally tired you then climb the hill to the 18th. Play to the left/centre of fairway as the fairway slopes off to the right and a slice will see your ball lost. You are still left with a difficult 2nd across the gully, over the pond and to a raised green protected again by bunkers and undulating green. Tough finish, tough hole.

You certainly know you have played a tough golf course, with so many hills, narrow fairways, undulating fairways and greens, all in an American style design.

It’s a good course and worthy of playing after you have played the greats of Alwoodley, Moortown as well as Sand Moor. It’s not in their league but it offers something different and if you want to test every aspect of your golf game, as well as stamina, then it is worth seeking out.

Not a course you fall in love with as previous reviewers have mentioned, but 3 loops of 9 holes provide good variety and a decent test. It is a bit bland in some places and lacks a bit of character- it is rather American in appearance and comes across as a bit of a 'commercial' course at times. However the conditioning at this time of year is very good- the greens running fast and the rest of the course in very good condition. The front nine doesn't compare to the middle and top nines and the middle nine is certainly better and tougher than the top nine. The par 3 13th on the middle nine is a serious challenge! Wouldn't place the course in the same bracket as Alwoodley, Moortown, Sand Moor, Ilkley etc. But its an enjoyable day out all the same!

Moor Allerton has some very good features - 3 distinct loops of 9 nine that all feel quite different being one of the them. The condition of the course in summer is also worth mentioning. The greens are very fast, true and in many cases - undulating, making Moor Allerton a serious test of your short game. Downsides? It's not a course you really 'fall in love with' because there aren't many great holes. On the positive side, there aren't many poor ones and - played from the tips - it is a challenge worthy of very, very good players. So overall? Good - but not in the same league as nearby Alwoodley.

Played here today in the pouring rain. All though the weather made the course almost unplayable I have to say I really enjoyed it and was really impressed. Very much an american style course the greens were lightning fast and layed out in the yorkshire countryside there were plenty of hills to make a fantastic layout. Not as good as nearby heathland courses Moortown and Alwoodley but very impressive. Favourite holes were 14th,17th,27th

Surely people cannot begin to rank moor allerton on the same level as such classy courses as alwoodley and moortown, Played recently with friends as I do fairly regularly, and majority of greens were hard and slow, and collapsed underneath. Some good holes- the 18th and 27th were pretty good, but the rest i felt were fairly average. Fairway condition was good, but in my opinion MA cannot compete with the likes of alwoodley, moortown, sandmoor and Pannal etc!