Richard
I read somewhere that LWs was also used for News Of The World qualifying!
ATB
LWs is certainly hilly!
Landrindod Wells Tour ContOne of the better holes on the course, the 5th is a roller coaster ride par 5. A blind tee shot, I thought the hole turned left, but no. The hole slips slightly right, but the left side is where you want to be.
Playing downhill, on many days, many people will have the length to reach the green in two with an iron. Noticing the rather odd cut line I thought it best to play right and wait for the KICK.
Not a hole to miss left.
The 6th & 7th are not up to much. A bit tighter with marshy ground and a pond left, the 8th has a cool cops which I bet used to cover the entire front of the green. I wonder if some of these more basic, but lovable features have been removed?
The side closes with an excellent hole which is blind from the tee. Visually, the hole looks very narrow, but there is more room on the left than it appears. Below is a look at the green from about 200 yards out. The tilt left is clearly the green's main defense.
I have taken a strong liking to long par 3s in the right situations. These hill top courses are often short so may benefit from one or two such par 3s. The interesting aspect of the 10th is the presence of fairway for the many golfers who cannot reach the green.
The hole is loooong, some 230 yards.
Turning back, the short 11th is fairly long as well....not to mention busy looking. This hole is an extreme example of the many two tier greens. Looking back to the tee.
Playing downhill enough to be blind, the 12th green runs quite harshly away from play.
An odd looking hole, #13 must be one of the par 4s which can be driven even with fairways that are kept fairly long.
Back to back long holes follow. Often times par 5s are left to cover less interesting terrain and can essentially act as links to good terrain. It seems to me there was a concentrated effort at Llandindod Wells for the long holes to cover much of the best terrain. All are interesting and use the land well in terms of offering a clearly better side of attack. That is except for the 14th. Yes, it runs over very good land, but the hole remains straight-forward. The overly used two-tier green caps the hole which borders beautiful countryside.
However, #15 is a good hole turning a bit against the grain of the terrain.
Another blind tee shot, there is loads more room than it appears on the 16th tee.
An odd and rugged looking par 3 takes us back up to high ground.
The apparent signature hole, Death or Glory, is a short par 4 which requires playing over a road. The carry is about 250 yards so a large percentage of golfers will play blindly over the road! I looked at the hole from the ladies tee and I must say this would make for a terrific long par 3. All is not solved if one does drive the green. The surface runs hard away from the tee and is sort of reverse tiered. Its a shame we had to wait until the 18th for a highly entertaining green.
For sure Llandrindod Wells is too hilly with too many blind tee shots to be anything but holiday golf. But good holiday golf it is with an enticing green fee to match! Should anyone care to suggest that the holiday golf label is not quite representative of Llandrindod Wells, there are numerous good holes in 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13 & 15 to support such a claim. Unfortunately, being 30 minutes from my favourite course makes it difficult for me to pass up a game at Kington for the pleasures of Llandrindod Wells. But for those who like to spread the wealth, the two make a natural pairing for an overnight trip. 2019
Ciao