The club was formed in 1904 as the Knavesmire Golf Club and moved to Hob Moor in 1922. We moved to our current site in 1946 and during the past 70 years have developed into one of the finest parkland courses in the North. Situated just off the A64, the course is approx 2 miles south west of the historic city of York.
A delightful eighteen hole parkland course, with tree lined fairways, built around Askham Nature Reserve, an area which has been designated a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). As you make the short walk from the 6th green to the 7th tee you will suddenly find yourself immersed in a little wilderness – the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Askham Nature Reserve. It is not uncommon to see deer roaming across the course with many squirrels, rabbits and a variety of birds – Mother Nature at her best!
The course is 6,212 yards with a par 71, has a challenging variety of holes, varying lengths of par 4’s, challenging par 5’s and testing par 3’s. It has a blend of long and short holes which require good course management and careful shot making decisions have to be made. A couple of ponds come into play and you are never far away from a dyke which runs from Askham Bog. When the fairways have been negotiated, some of the trickiest greens in the north of England await. This is when the good putter comes to the fore. Altogether, it makes Pike Hills a most enjoyable course and, at the same time, a testing game for golfers of all abilities.
Visitors and members always receive a warm welcome at Pike Hills and you will leave after an enjoyable visit with long lasting memories of a great day out.
A Golfing Odyssey, a must read book on Pike Hills Golf Club, published in 2004 after celebrating 100 years!. A Golfing Odyssey II
Below are some of Pike Hills fantastic features which can be found around the club.
Stained Glass Window: Just after the Christmas period of 1982 a pictorial stained glass window was installed over the staircase in the clubhouse. This window was designed and painted by a local glass painter by the name of Sep Waugh and is a key feature of the clubhouse. It was presented and installed by the then member Norman Allen, who was a highly skilled glass technician.
To this day the glass reflects the sunshine and project beautiful rays of light onto the staircase and will be part of the golf club and its history for many years to come.
The History of Pike Hills Club Clock: An interesting feature mounted on the outside of the Club House is an old railway turret clock, which was installed in 1987, with a clock mechanism manufactured by Potts of Leeds in 1899.
The movement was a acquired by Michael Newsome, the then Chairman of the Club, when he was Stores Controller for the Eastern Region of British Rail. Part of his duties were to supervise the Clock & Watch Section, located in Doncaster Works. During one visit to the Works he noticed the clock movement, which was from Ilkley, a former LMS Station, which had been condemned because many of the ratchet teeth were broken off due to the counterweight being allowed to drop uncontrolled, which resulted teeth being damaged. There were only a few teeth remaining and it was judged, a potential danger to staff winding the mechanism and the cost to repair was substantial and could not be justified. It was then condemned to be sent for scrap. It was then sold to Michael at scrap price and he intended to covert this to a coffee table to demonstrate the mechanism.
However, the Divisional Manager, British Rail Leeds Division, was preparing a scheme to redevelop Ilkley Station and when he learnt of the sale, stopped it, with a view to having this restored for use at the Station. The Divisional Manager then arranged for the Clock restored at the Carriage & Wagon Works, York only for the redevelopment scheme to be shelved later and once again the mechanism was purchased by Pike Hills.
The Clock only contained the bare movements, with the weights, pulleys and universal joints still in Ilkley Station but these were later recovered to go with the mechanism.
There was no clock face, as the one at Ilkley had been against the end bay of the platform.
Graham Oliver, Pike Hills Vice Chairman at the time became aware of a clock face cabinet and brackets at Keighley Station, where its’ internal movement had long been disposed of. This cabinet was bought by the Club and transported to York.
Despite having all the main components, the only realistic position to mount the Clock face was on the outside wall of the Club opposite the First Tee which in-turn meant the counterweights and the clockwork mechanism had to be in the stair well(still here today), at an appropriate height and a significant distance from the clock face with a change in drive direction. This required two sets of gears, additional universal joints, two 90 degree changes at the movement and two 45 degree changes at the clock face.
A second universal joint was required and this made by apprentices at the Carriage Works and was to such a high standard that it is not easy to identify which joint is modern and which is over 100 years old!.
We hope you enjoy looking at this fantastic piece of engineering and club history, its still working to this day!.
