Scarcroft

Charles Atkinson Mackenzie, the younger brother of Alister MacKenzie, is mentioned in the design credits for the courses at Pannal (1933) and Fulford (1935) before he laid out the course at Scarcroft Golf Club in 1937.

Not too much is known about Charles but it’s thought he and his firm British Golf Course Construction Company were the “go-to” firm for clubs that were looking for somebody to actually build the layouts his brother was planning for them.

Certainly, Alister and Charles had previously worked on a number of projects outside Yorkshire (Duff House Royal in 1923, Cork in 1924, Aberdeen Hazlehead in 1925) but there may well be other architects for which he carried out construction work.

The course is bisected by Syke Lane, with the opening six holes laid out on the south side of the road before the remainder of the round is played on the clubhouse side. Measuring 6,456 yards from the back tees, the course plays to a par of 71 with a standard scratch score of 72.

Highlights include the first (and shortest) of the par threes at the 145-yard 5th; the longest par four (rated stroke index 2) at the 442-yard 10th; and the right doglegging par five 14th, where a pond in front of the raised green dictates a lay-up with the second shot for most players.