NEHL - The South Moor golf course was opened in 1924 by Major Sir Clive Morrison-Bell, a veteran and Conservative MP for Honiton in Devon. It was initially three holes in the west of the current course, though within a year a full 18 holes were created stretching 5000 yards. Photographs of Morrison Bell teeing off at the course can be seen in the Consett Guardian of 02/05/1924. This is alongside a shot of the newly erected club house - a fairly standard design with a large sloping roof which appears to still remain.

This was an Alister McKenzie course after a redesign in 1925, a well known golf course architect who designed three of the current top 10 golf courses in the world. He suggested major improvements to the routing of the course, such as removing scrub to create more challenging holes as well as more contours and unique design.

The first senior committee consisted of colliery management, with the course linked to mining from the start. The aim was to provide recreation for them. Eventually after WWII the club was formally tied with the pits, being named the Holmside and South Moor Collieries Officials Recreation and Golf Club. As a condition of employment all colliery officials had to contribute a shilling a week for use of the club. A bowling green and 2 tennis courts were also added to the north east of the club house.

The course, alongside its bowling green and two tennis courts, can be seen on aerial imagery from the 1940s.

Eventually, the condition of employment rule was scrapped and some pitmen were allowed to join, though there was not an influx and the makeup of membership continued to be pit officials or external members.

In 1995, the club bought the rights to the land from British Coal for £200k with help from the National Lottery, and NCB employees are still entitled to reduced membership fees.

Much of this information is from the excellent article on their history on the South Moor Golf Club website: https://www.southmoorgc.co.uk/golf/history/