Goswick Links is well on its way to adding its first all-new hole since the 1960s with the construction of the par-3 7th designed by renowned golf course architects Mackenzie & Ebert that replaces the existing par-3 9th hole.
Goswick broke ground on the new hole near the end of 2025 with lead architect Tom Mackenzie signing off on the shaping of the tees, green and surrounds. Finishing work on the two greenside bunkers remains. The new hole will be ready for play in April.
“It’s just amazingly rewarding to see everything coming together,” said Mackenzie during a recent site visit. “I hope we have delivered what we promised we were going to deliver in terms of the improvement to the front nine and creating a really good new hole.”
The creation of this new hole represents a major milestone in a front nine improvement plan proposed by Mackenze & Ebert and approved overwhelmingly by the club’s membership in 2022. Since then, Goswick has improved the green surrounds and the 2nd and 3rd holes, built new tees and significantly resculpted the green on the 4th, as well as building new tees on the 5th and 6th that have added length.
At the same time that it carved out the new 7th hole, the club also built new dramatically positioned tees on what will become the 8th hole. Those, too, will be ready for play in April.
The removal of the 9th hole now creates the opportunity to reroute the 1st hole and to build a world class short game practice facility. Those improvements are scheduled to begin in October. The Mackenzie & Ebert plan also calls for new tees and a new green for what will become the new 9th hole. The timing of that work remains to be set.
Situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the northeast coast of England, six miles south of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the original course at Goswick Links was built in 1890 in consultation with well-known golfer Tom Dunn, but was significantly extended and reshaped by James Braid in the 1930s, with further modifications in the 1960s by Frank Pennink.