The Golf Course
Between 1920 and 1946, Hob Moor was used as a golf course belonging to the North Eastern Railway Institute. There were nine holes initially over the central area of the ancient common. The Parks Committee regulated the fee charged by the Club to non-members, with members given preference on Bank Holidays, Saturdays and during competitions.
The Club soon started to thrive: membership in 1920 was 33; this grew to 200 by the following year and by 1933 there was already a waiting list with membership approaching 400 by the outbreak of the war. A new clubhouse, opened in 1929, and house for the greenkeeper were installed by the railway line. These consisted of a hut and railway carriages which had been lifted down from the railway track. By 1934 the Parks Committee had bought extra fields adjacent to the moor at the western side and these were incorporated into the golf course raising it ultimately to 15 holes, the first three holes being replayed to make a full round of 18. The picture here, courtesy of Pike Hills Golf Club, shows the course in 1935.
The development of the Club was not always smooth: during the races, cattle were temporarily moved from the Knavesmire onto the moor; children were using the greens to play cricket; bunkers being made in breach of the tenancy agreement; the use of the Club hut as a dwelling; etc.
One animal was welcomed on the course - Scamp the horse. He was bought by the club in 1922 for £18 to work on the course. He was also loaned out, on a "meat for work" basis. He was stabled at Bungalow Farm and then under a carriage roof near the clubhouse. Scamp was replaced in 1926 but it was then decided to buy a Dennis motor mower although horses were still used occasionally to help cut the rough areas.
Problems of damage to the greens started to increase as more housing was built around the moor. During the war, part of the course had to be turned over to grazing and a request for additional space to increase the course to 18 holes was turned down. The Club decided to start looking for new premises and after the war they moved to a new site at Pike Hills in 1946. Some of the turf from the greens was taken by locals for their gardens and the bunkers were levelled by the Corporation in preparation for football pitches to be marked out. However, the site of at least one of the bunkers is still clear - the picture below is of the 15th green today.
