Since golf was first played here over 130 years ago, there have been holes to the north of the present clubhouse.
They were variously part of the main course, at other times part of a shorter 9 hole layout. Some of the holes were of the original Braid design, but with additional land purchased in 1982, the new holes 5-12 were added to make up the full 18. With further refinements and some new bunkers, the current Holywell layout of 9 par 3s and 9 par 4s adds up to just over 4000 yards.