West Riding - Baildon Golf Club
Try your hand at a James Braid designed course
Baildon Golf Club boasts a stunning 18-hole moorland course with views over Ilkley Moor, the Yorkshire Dales and beyond. The course was originally designed by James Braid (5 time Open Champion). Their signature 2nd hole is one that you'll find yourself thinking about long after you've finished your round.
From the higher points of the course there are amazing views down and across the Aire Gap, with the Yorkshire hillscapes as foreground and in the distance purple moors melting into wide horizons. Watching how the colours of the landscape change through the seasons is an added delight.
There are only a handful of bunkers and no trees, but don't be fooled. If you stray from the relatively wide fairways - always a possibility thanks to the crosswinds of the exposed location - you'll be punished by the clumpy grass and heather rough.
The signature second hole is a par three played over a quarry to a table top green, which is sat proud on a plateau. It's magnificent and must be a real terror in high winds.
You're likely to share the course with sheep, ramblers, dog walkers, horse riders, cyclists and joggers, but this only adds to the natural feel. We even watched a paraglider attempt to take-off down the 15th fairway!
The Baildon clubhouse makes the most of the idyllic scenery that surrounds its locations at the edge of Baildon Moor. It has a spacious open bar, lounge and dining area; a quiet snug area; a ladies lounge; and a spacious 19th with a snooker table.