This is the first episode of our new ‘History of a Golf Club’ YouTube series, where we travel the length and breadth of the UK, sharing the rich tapestry that is the history of golf and the stories and folklore that have become fact, whilst taking an aerial look at course architecture and showcasing the clubs and their unique ethos.
Silloth on Solway Golf Club (est 1892) is best known for offering the best value golf experience in UK&I, but this simply does not do the club justice. We spent a day up at Silloth with their members, the secretary Alan, and the club professional and we drove away desperate to arrange our next visit. It stands out for its welcoming and friendly environment, the hugely undulating fairways and above all else the moments where the course reveals itself.
Many links courses offer great visibility across the property, but at Silloth (due in part to the wonderful steep sand dunes) you play the course in a series of chapters, and at the start of each stretch of holes when you approach the green or ascend to the next tee you see a completely different side of the course. Alistair Mackenzie knew this when he moved the teeing ground on the short par-4 fourth, where you tee off with uninterrupted views across the Solway Firth, down into a fairway that flows through the a valley of sand dunes and onto a green that sits neatly balanced either side of a steep 15 feet drop on either side. Whilst blind tee and approach shots provide a practical challenge for tournament play and are often criticised, their existence reminds you of the history of the game, and how the early course architects would use the natural landscape to create holes. Blind approaches to the 1st and 7th also provide further moments of excitement as you enter these stunning punchbowl greens, and these ‘big reveal’ moments as you play the course help give you constant elation (even if your score does not).
At a modest length, Silloth uses the topography of the land, the undulating fairways and the brutal prevailing wind to defend itself, which gives the golfer a unique feeling of playing a course that is a genuine challenge for all standards of golfer without having had to move teeing grounds back and compromise on its initial strategic principles. The routing also means that you play against all possible wind directions which keeps the variety and constant challenge throughout.
Silloth is proud of its rich history. Founded in 1892 with thanks to the North British Railway co of the time, who enlisted the services of David Grant from North Berwick to build the course, it was remodelled by Willie Park years later and who is credited with the layout we enjoy now. It was also fascinating to look over the work Alistair Mackenzie did with the club in 1914, proposing a series of improvements, however with the start of the War, and with finances stretched, only the modest changes were introduced (notably the movement of the 3rd green, and creation of the 4th teeing ground). It is interesting to think what the forgotten of lost mackenzie holes would be like, down the side of the 7th and 8th fairways, where there is beautiful untouched duneland, currently only enjoyed by local dog walkers today and home to the occasional errant drive.
Cecilia Leitch remains the clubs most prominent golfer. Cecilia (or Cecil) not only won multiple (12) national Open Championships, but she also played Harold Hilton in a 72 hole exhibition match, coming from 5-down with 15 holes remaining to win on the 71st hole down at Walton Heath and Sunningdale. She was one of the first great ambassadors for womens golf alongside others like Joyce Wethered. The club are rightly proud of her achievemnts, as the daughter of a local doctor, who played her golf at Silloth on Solway, alongside her sisters who were also highly competitive, and the recently refurbished lounge plays homage to her talent and accomplishments.
The club have also recently enlisted the services of Mackenzie & Ebert to help with future development of the course, and their early work on the 5th, a long Par 5, that sweeps across to the left along the Solway Firth is a breath-taking and difficult golf hole against the prevailing wind.
We hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed recording it, and we hope it isn’t long till we get to visit this very special place again!
