About Malton and Norton Golf Club

Club History

The Club was founded in 1910 with the original course being situated off the A64 opposite Huttons Ambo Low Road.  The course moved to its present site at Welham in 1922.  The land was rented from Captain Gibson and 9 holes were built on approximately 70 acres of land (on some of the land where holes 10-18 are now situated).  Mr Ireland was the first greenkeeper and he used a horse to pull the machinery to look after the fairways.  The first clubhouse was a green wooden hut which was originally a refreshment room at Ganton Golf Club! 

During the war we lost half of the land as it was returned to agricultural use and we nearly lost it all.  By 1946 though we had about 150 members and the rough was cut just once a year for hay!  The Club had a part-time greenkeeper who would work in the summer and sign onto the dole in the winter to save the Club money.

In late 1956 Major Creagh Gibson informed Ken Machin (our former President and influential member of the Club) that he was moving to Scotland and offered the 35½ acres of rented land that the course was situated on for sale for £3,500.  Ken told him that this was too much and Major Gibson’s agent wrote the next week reducing the price to £3,000.  Further negotiations and a meeting with Major Gibson (where plenty of whisky was consumed!) saw the price for the land being finally agreed at £2,500.  This money was raised by members loans (interest free) and donations.  The Club also wrote to Captains of other local golf clubs requesting assistance and they even ran a raffle!

The debt from the land purchase was soon paid off and an extra £100 had been raised for a locker room, which later became the caddy car shed, and then went on to be the club shed at Gilling Castle.  All this had happened just in time as Mrs Passmore, the lady who had bought the rest of the farm from Major Gibson informed us that had we not purchased the land then she would have given us notice to quit by April 1958.  However by 1967 the small farm she owned was not viable and we bought the 66 acres (which is now the land used for holes 1-9) for £13,000.  Designed by Hawtrey and Son, the land was sown in 1968 and ready for play in 1970/71.

Now we had 18 holes the Club realised that we would have to have more members and a larger clubhouse so a handful of members set about building.  This was later extended outwards with an entrance and secretary’s office at one end and a dining room at the other.

In 1975 the Club purchased some more land from Mr E Davey – 2½ acres to extend our original 9 holes on the west side and 7 acres for a practice ground.  In 1991 we acquired further land to construct our new 9 holes (holes 19-27), the only snag being that we lost part of our practice ground. 

Over the years we have made many improvements such as the road and car park facilities.  On the course new water hazards have been introduced, stone bridges built, 1000s of trees planted and a computerised sprinkler system installed. 

The clubhouse which had been built in 1971 gave 22 years of excellent service but to cope with the popularity of our club it was rebuilt in 1992 with the additional space and improved facilities being of great benefit to all.  The Clubhouse was further altered in 2000 with a Committee Room/small function room being added.  This clubhouse is a long way on from the original little green hut where it all began.  As mentioned earlier, the green hut was originally the refreshment room at Ganton Golf Club and it was moved to Malton in 1922.  This clubhouse was the scene of many enjoyable days and nights in the immediate post war years and then was later used by the greenkeepers as their staff room.  Unfortunately it was knocked down a few years ago to make room for the new Professional’s Shop and Greenkeepers Shed, which are the envy of many golf clubs.

In 2002 we acquired more land to develop our practice facilities and the driving range was soon up and running.  An excellent short game practice area has also been developed on the site of the old practice ground.

Good golf courses make good golfers and we are very proud of the achievements of our members at all levels of competition.  Not many clubs can boast of a top lady amateur golfer and a top male golfer among their members.  Emma Brown nee Duggleby was British Ladies Amateur Champion in 1994 and has since added many other honours to her name as you will see from the board on the clubhouse wall.  European Amateur Champion in 2000, twice English Champion and a member of the Curtis Cup Team in 2000, 2002 and 2004 are the highlights of Emma’s impressive golfing career.  Simon Dyson was a member of the Walker Cup Team before turning professional in 1999 and what an excellent start he made to his professional career – winning 3 events on the Asian Tour and finishing top of the Order of Merit.  Injury in 2003 slightly halted his progress however he has bounced back and having re-gained his European Tour card he is enjoying more and more success, and I am sure a Tour win is not too far away. 

Our Head Professional Michael Brooks continues the tradition with a fine golfing pedigree, having himself been a member of the Walker Cup squad as well as many scottish national amateur titles.  He joined the club in December 2008 and plans to develop the junior section and produce a new generation of fine golfers.

Our progress as a Club has come a long way since the early days.  A glance at the 1947 balance sheet shows that the total assets of the Club were a mere £75!  Today, we are a private members club held in trust by four trustees.  The course covers approximately 190 acres and we now have a membership of around 900