Northumberland Golf Club

Northumberland Golf Club was formed in 1898 when disaffected members of another local club decided to set up their own course at High Gosforth Park, adjacent to the Newcastle racecourse, and a small clubhouse was constructed close to the start of the mile-long straight to cater for the new membership.

Sometime after 1905, when another clubhouse was built in a more commanding position to the west of the property, Harry Colt was called in to redesign the existing layout. Unfortunately, World War I intervened during the rebuild, and this work was put on hold.

When the war was over, Colt’s remodelling got under way but James Braid was also engaged in October 1919 to advise on further alterations, resulting in a number of additional changes to the layout. On 29th May 1920, Braid took part in an invitation event along with George Duncan, Abe Mitchell and Harry Vardon to mark the opening of the reconstructed course.

Today, the fairways weave in and out of the racecourse, starting at the par five 3rd. Holes 4 to 12 are then routed inside the rails before the tough par four 13th (stroke index 1 on the scorecard) leads golfers back outside the track for three holes. The 16th and 17th (formerly named “Paddock” and “Grandstand”) are played inside the track, ahead of a tee shot back to the clubhouse at the 408-yard 18th.

The club has hosted a number of notable tournaments down the years, including the Dunlop Masters in 1972, which New Zealand's Bob Charles won by two shots from England's Tony Jacklin. More recently, the club staged Open Regional Qualifying for the R&A over a five-year period from 2013.