When golfers talk about the purest form of the game, they often picture windswept fairways, rumpled turf, riveted bunkers and the endless horizon of the sea. You might think of storied venues across the UK — but you’ll find those same authentic links characteristics right here at Cleveland.

Here on the dramatic North Yorkshire coastline in Redcar, our course showcases many of the features traditionally associated with true links golf — and our team continues to enhance them, most recently with the outstanding renovation of our riveted face bunkers.

Few sights in golf are as striking — or as intimidating — as a riveted bunker face.
Our greens team have been doing a fantastic job renovating Cleveland’s bunkers in this traditional style. Built using stacked turf to create steep, riveted faces, these hazards are not only visually stunning but demand precision and creativity. Escape requires skill. Recovery often means accepting your medicine.

They frame holes beautifully, define strategy from the tee and reward thoughtful placement. More importantly, they root the course firmly in links tradition — rugged, strategic and uncompromising.

True links golf is played along the ground as much as through the air.

At Cleveland, firm turf is a defining feature of the experience. Approach shots release and feed towards greens. Tee shots chase down fairways. The clever use of contours can gain — or cost — precious yards.

Playing here means thinking differently. Bump-and-runs become essential. Trajectory control matters. Creativity is rewarded.

When conditions are firm, Cleveland offers golf in its most traditional and imaginative form.

Links courses are born of the coastline, and Cleveland is no exception.
Perched not far from the sea front, the course is shaped by the elements. The wind is rarely still. It shifts, tests, challenges and occasionally humbles.

Some days it is a gentle companion. On others, it demands your full attention. Either way, it ensures that no two rounds are ever quite the same.

This is not manicured parkland. It is golf laid gently across natural terrain.
Sand dunes ripple through the landscape. Fairways weave between natural undulations. Long, wispy rough waits patiently for the errant strike. The setting feels raw, open and authentic — a course that belongs to its environment rather than imposing upon it.

There’s a quiet drama to the place. Wide skies. Moving grasses. The sound of the wind and the distant sea.

It is golf in harmony with nature.

Another hallmark of traditional links design is the classic out-and-back routing.

At Cleveland, the front nine gradually carries you away from the clubhouse, with the 9th hole marking the furthest point on the course — a true turning point both physically and mentally.

From there, the inward nine brings you home, often with a different wind direction to consider, adding fresh strategic challenges to holes that demand thoughtful shot-making.

It’s a routing that builds rhythm into the round — a journey outward towards the old steelworks before returning home.

From riveted face bunkers and firm-running turf to dune-framed fairways and a sea-swept setting, Cleveland embodies the spirit of traditional links golf.

Thanks to the dedication and craftsmanship of our greens team — particularly in the ongoing bunker renovations — the course continues to evolve while staying true to its heritage.

If you love strategic golf. If you relish creativity. If you appreciate rugged beauty shaped by nature and time.

You’ll find it here.