WORSLEY GOLF CLUB

WORSLEY GOLF COURSE

No more than 7 miles from Manchester City Centre is the charming village of Worsley. Known throughout the North West for its small village character, canal side charm and beautiful properties (48 listed buildings), it made total sense to us at Northern Golfer that the Golf Club that shares its name could be something a little bit special. So never ones to shy away from a tough afternoon on the course, we went down to take a look.

Driving into the car park for the first time is a pleasure all on its own. You catch a glimpse of the golf challenge ahead as you look straight down the inviting par 5 first, then turn to see the full glory of the club house, putting green and multi coloured flower beds. Now well into its second century, Worsley Golf Club is the perfect mixture of old and new. From the outside the club house gives the air of a very British, quaint hall overlooking the local village green (putting green), but the recently renovated interior and locker rooms are not only very well presented but also fittingly modern, with everything you would expect from a top of the range club.

Some of the local professional footballers past and present are members including one who has recently been honoured with an MBE. The club also has a thriving Ladies Section and also a very active junior section.

Worsley are proud to stage Open Competitions which comprise of two Senior Opens one in June and the other in September. The mixed Open is played in late May bank holiday. There are also two other events open to the golfing public which are the AM-AM a team of four amateurs and the PRO-AM which is three amateurs who will play with one of the top North Regional professionals. Both of these events are in August and further information can be obtained from the web site www.worsleygolfclub.co.uk or from the office Mike Heath 0161 789 4202

When Northern Golfer arrived we were warmly received by the Secretary / Manager Mike Heath who introduced us to the Club Professional Andrew Cory. Andrew recently took up the position of Head Teaching Professional at Worsley and has transformed the shop into one of the smartest shops we have seen for some time. Once we had been given the 'heads up' on the best way to approach the more challenging holes that lay ahead, we set off in the glorious sunshine to try and tame the tricky parkland course.

The course was beautifully presented to both look at and play, which made for a very enjoyable round of golf. We strongly recommend warming up before you begin as the first three holes cover a whopping 1431 yards!! Not for the faint hearted, but a hugely satisfying start if you can keep your head. As with many courses like Worsley, a good drive can produce fantastic results, as was demonstrated by Northern Golfer Ian who drove to within 12ft of the pin on the 305 yard par 4 17th.

No more than a week after we played Worsley to write this article, we were back - just playing for fun. We can give no stronger endorsement than to say we be there playing today - if we didn't have to run this golf magazine.

Northern Golfer Rating - 4 / 5