To please Sean here is Kington:
We may as well have a few more upland courses.
Known to and loved by many on GCA, Painswick.
This is West Monmouthshire in South Wales which is said to be the highest golf course in the British Isles. I know I’ve shown this before, in one of those infernal quizzes. Similarly the next one.
Ffestiniog in North Wales, probably the most primitive golf course I have ever played, yet great fun. Not to be missed if you are in the area – it’s only about half an hour’s drive from Royal St David’s.
This is Braid’s Welshpool in the Welsh Marches. It is an extraordinary course with several really spectacular holes including a vertiginous Spion Kop. The 18th is one of the most demanding long par 4s I have ever played.
There are, of course, many bracing upland courses in Scotland but few, if any, feature in high res on GE, so we’ll return to England.
Church Stretton is Shropshire’s oldest 18-hole course. It was first laid out by Jack Morris of Hoylake and one James Hepburn. Later alterations were made by Harry Vardon and James Braid. The course roams the end of the Long Mynd and is spectacular if diminutive.
Broadway is situated on the western edge of the Cotswolds with stunning views out over the Vale of Evesham and onwards for miles and miles and miles…. It is reputed to be the driest course in England and it has won awards for the standard of its greenkeeping. I last played it in a snowstorm!
This is Cavendish, Alister MacKenzie’s fine course in Buxton. There are several first rate holes and much fun to be had.
Saddleworth is another MacKenzie course in the rugged country of the Pennines.
There are many upland courses throughout the Pennines. This is Halifax, a Braid layout modified by MacKenzie. Essentially you play out climbing all the time until you reach the top of the course when you break out onto Ilkley Moor. You play along the moor for a few holes then plunge down a dramatic hillside in a single blow on the 17th. Some very uncompromising holes, especially the 3rd, 4th and 5th.
Finally Windermere, a diminutive course in the heart of the Lake District, very short on the card and very long in character.