A meet was posted by Hobbit (Brian) a long term member and no doubt ambassador of Cleveland Golf Club for many years, this was then hijacked into a North East Vs Yorkshire annual Challenge, and the rest is history, as they say.
As an honorary guest for the NE massive last year at Alwoodley where the NE retained the trophy, it was only fitting that I made the journey to the bleak North East coast.
My day started with a 3hr drive to Middlesbrough where I booked into the Holiday Inn Express, once unpacked I telephoned Brian to find he was still 2 hours away so I ventured out into the town centre which was packed as some local football team was playing in the FA Cup :smirk:
As the crowds disappeared to the ground I found a sports bar called the Pig Iron, a bit rough & ready but at only £2 a pint I could ignore the general demeanor and characters and so had me a few beers whilst watching the footy scores come in until Brian picked me up a couple of hours and 3 pints later.
Bri then drove me to Cleveland Golf Club where he was immediately well received and he duly introduced me to some of the members. I had a look around the clubhouse and saw the 1st hole and 18th green and we obviously had a couple of beers :cheers:
Back to the hotel and into the town for a few more beers and a curry.
Bri forgot his glasses and has to stand to read the menu, personally I don't think him standing up makes any difference :rofl:
We ordered a bit of a special which was very tasty but with no draft beer I had to go on the Cobra.
Another quick beer (Smirnoff Ice) and then it was an early night in readiness for the big day ahead.
All the lads had met earlier at the club for a breakfast but I'd eaten at the hotel (wish I hadn't) so turned up last, then it was down to the 1st tee.
Arrived at the tee just after 10.30 for our first 10.50-ish tee time but there had been a delay earlier (frost I think) so it was running behind and the 1st was heaving, I think I teed off an hour later!
I know a lot of people that don't like a par 3 start but just watching the members and some of our earlier lads teeing off before me this was a tough start as people pulled their shots OOB, sliced them down the 18th fairway or came up short to what was only a 162 yards into a cold light wind to a raised green and pin!
Who's that walking up the right of the 18th, the 1st is 90 yards to your left :rofl: (Sorry Paul :ears: )
Immediately on that 1st green it was obvious that the greens were fast (12 on the stimp in winter!) and true, the roll on the ball was superb, but a millimetre away and they wouldn't drop and run past leaving an even scarier putt back!
Luckily the rough just off the fairways was cut back and so finding a ball wasn't too much of an issue with those wayward drives, I'd hate and yet love to see it in the summer when its grown up a bit and displaying even more definition.
Thankfully I didn't find any bunkers so I can't comment on them, but just walking by them I could see you would have to take your medicine as they were small and deep.
I can however comment on a couple of the lateral water hazards as I donated 2 balls to these narrow twisting burns that flanked some of the fairways, I wouldn't take a driver off the tee on those holes again, especially the doglegs, you can't take the chance of bringing them into play with a long blocked drive!
We had it calm & sunny and yet the par 3's all still played long and being such small targets I can imagine they're a nightmare in tougher conditions and off the back stones.
Overall I loved the course, it's not picturesque, well not at this time of the year and you don't see the sea, well I didn't, but it's a tough but fair course where course knowledge is key as you have to plot your way around, especially for positions off the tee and opening the greens up better with approach shots as some pins were tucked away, I think we'd all play it differently next time around, well I'd try to :mmm:
I always like a good finishing hole and I thought the 18th was just that, although we were all guessing for a line with our blind 2nd shots but thankfully we were all in good shape and it's even better to finish with a regulation par :whoo:
Back into the clubhouse and members that I saw the day before came up to me and asked how I'd got on and if I liked the course, they even introduced me to their wives & girlfriends, what an excellent, friendly and welcoming club this is, a few southern clubs could do with doing an exchange for a weekend to learn a few things and remove the over stuffiness we all endure at times!
Would I go back, hell yeah, it's a bit of a journey but with what I've been told I'd like a couple of days up norf to play Cleveland again along with Seaton Carew but in the summer months (future meet
).
Thank you Brian for organising and everyone for making it a great day but more importantly thank you Cleveland Golf Club and your members, you are a credit to what golf is all about and your greens staff should all be well looked after, thank you :clap:
Apparently there was some fun and singing going on in the lead fourball You had to be there to get the joke I'm informed. Basically, if a ball set off sideways towards the deep rough there was a chorus of "Nellie the elephant packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus."
[video=youtube_share;7S2dOeu6vi4]https://youtu.be/7S2dOeu6vi4[/video]
As an honorary guest for the NE massive last year at Alwoodley where the NE retained the trophy, it was only fitting that I made the journey to the bleak North East coast.
My day started with a 3hr drive to Middlesbrough where I booked into the Holiday Inn Express, once unpacked I telephoned Brian to find he was still 2 hours away so I ventured out into the town centre which was packed as some local football team was playing in the FA Cup :smirk:
As the crowds disappeared to the ground I found a sports bar called the Pig Iron, a bit rough & ready but at only £2 a pint I could ignore the general demeanor and characters and so had me a few beers whilst watching the footy scores come in until Brian picked me up a couple of hours and 3 pints later.
Bri then drove me to Cleveland Golf Club where he was immediately well received and he duly introduced me to some of the members. I had a look around the clubhouse and saw the 1st hole and 18th green and we obviously had a couple of beers :cheers:
Back to the hotel and into the town for a few more beers and a curry.
Bri forgot his glasses and has to stand to read the menu, personally I don't think him standing up makes any difference :rofl:
We ordered a bit of a special which was very tasty but with no draft beer I had to go on the Cobra.
Another quick beer (Smirnoff Ice) and then it was an early night in readiness for the big day ahead.
All the lads had met earlier at the club for a breakfast but I'd eaten at the hotel (wish I hadn't) so turned up last, then it was down to the 1st tee.
Arrived at the tee just after 10.30 for our first 10.50-ish tee time but there had been a delay earlier (frost I think) so it was running behind and the 1st was heaving, I think I teed off an hour later!
I know a lot of people that don't like a par 3 start but just watching the members and some of our earlier lads teeing off before me this was a tough start as people pulled their shots OOB, sliced them down the 18th fairway or came up short to what was only a 162 yards into a cold light wind to a raised green and pin!
Who's that walking up the right of the 18th, the 1st is 90 yards to your left :rofl: (Sorry Paul :ears: )
Immediately on that 1st green it was obvious that the greens were fast (12 on the stimp in winter!) and true, the roll on the ball was superb, but a millimetre away and they wouldn't drop and run past leaving an even scarier putt back!
Luckily the rough just off the fairways was cut back and so finding a ball wasn't too much of an issue with those wayward drives, I'd hate and yet love to see it in the summer when its grown up a bit and displaying even more definition.
Thankfully I didn't find any bunkers so I can't comment on them, but just walking by them I could see you would have to take your medicine as they were small and deep.
I can however comment on a couple of the lateral water hazards as I donated 2 balls to these narrow twisting burns that flanked some of the fairways, I wouldn't take a driver off the tee on those holes again, especially the doglegs, you can't take the chance of bringing them into play with a long blocked drive!
We had it calm & sunny and yet the par 3's all still played long and being such small targets I can imagine they're a nightmare in tougher conditions and off the back stones.
Overall I loved the course, it's not picturesque, well not at this time of the year and you don't see the sea, well I didn't, but it's a tough but fair course where course knowledge is key as you have to plot your way around, especially for positions off the tee and opening the greens up better with approach shots as some pins were tucked away, I think we'd all play it differently next time around, well I'd try to :mmm:
I always like a good finishing hole and I thought the 18th was just that, although we were all guessing for a line with our blind 2nd shots but thankfully we were all in good shape and it's even better to finish with a regulation par :whoo:
Back into the clubhouse and members that I saw the day before came up to me and asked how I'd got on and if I liked the course, they even introduced me to their wives & girlfriends, what an excellent, friendly and welcoming club this is, a few southern clubs could do with doing an exchange for a weekend to learn a few things and remove the over stuffiness we all endure at times!
Would I go back, hell yeah, it's a bit of a journey but with what I've been told I'd like a couple of days up norf to play Cleveland again along with Seaton Carew but in the summer months (future meet
).Thank you Brian for organising and everyone for making it a great day but more importantly thank you Cleveland Golf Club and your members, you are a credit to what golf is all about and your greens staff should all be well looked after, thank you :clap:
Apparently there was some fun and singing going on in the lead fourball
You had to be there to get the joke I'm informed. Basically, if a ball set off sideways towards the deep rough there was a chorus of "Nellie the elephant packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus."[video=youtube_share;7S2dOeu6vi4]https://youtu.be/7S2dOeu6vi4[/video]
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