The HOLYWELL GC Hook

[Sean_A]

Situated on Brynford Common in the Welsh county of Flintshire, a rudimentary nine-hole version of Holywell was created in 1906. Most of the current course is owned by the Duke of Westminster on what was once limestone quarries, gravel pits and lead mines. The club own the land for three holes (4-6) which were incorporated into the final 1991 design. Unfortunately, these three holes play over heavy, parkland turf and are architecturally disappointing.  Prior to the creation of these three holes, the course was made up of 15 greens, three of which were played from different tees. Because of this the routing was quite disjointed with some long green to tee walks. The remnants of mining and quarrying account for many of the interesting features prevalent on the course today despite the seemingly countless design alterations. Other than the remarkable features to be enjoyed, as one would guess, turf over gravel pits and limestone quarries will drain exceedingly well.  It is also the case that Holwell is blessed with admirable turf.

Much of the front nine is rather prosaic in the main due to new holes (4-6), however, the opener offers a good flavour of the best holes on the clubhouse side of the road.  One can see the interesting terrain.




Blindly, the green dives wildly right.


A flock of sheep is the main hazard on the 2nd.




A longish hole, the 3rd holds no special interest. 4-6 are frankly not worth the walk, but it is easy to go from 3 green to 7 tee. The hole is extremely tight with the dreaded internal OOB left and gorse right. The tilted fairway is not wide enough for the job!  Onto the 8th, there is a ledge which signals the left rough.  Its difficult to see the fairway, but there is an aiming fence in the far distance. This hole used to be a limestone quarry that was filled in during the 80s.




The most interesting drive on the front nine, the 9th features a large hollow just right of the marker pole. The hole legs left to a well sited green with a deep drop off on the left.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Ally Mcintosh]

This is the first course you’ve profiled that I haven’t even heard of. I thought you were down at St. Enodoc when I saw the thread title.


Looks really cool too.


Thank you - waiting for the rest.

[Duncan Cheslett]

I played Holywell a few years ago on the recommendation of Mark Rowlinson. The three bastard holes spoil a decent enough front nine over marvellous limestone based turf.


The back nine however, is what lingers in the memory and will draw me back. I shall leave it to you to describe and look forward to seeing your pics.


I was particularly impressed that a course full of sheep required no fences around the greens. Do they stay away because of the relative lack of food?

[Thomas Dai]

Intriguing. Looking forward to reading more.
Atb

[Tommy Williamsen]

This is one of the courses I had wanted to play but ran out of time. I am eager to see the course.

[Sean_A]

I played Holywell a few years ago on the recommendation of Mark Rowlinson. The three bastard holes spoil a decent enough front nine over marvellous limestone based turf.

The back nine however, is what lingers in the memory and will draw me back. I shall leave it to you to describe and look forward to seeing your pics.

I was particularly impressed that a course full of sheep required no fences around the greens. Do they stay away because of the relative lack of food?

I chose Holywell because it was on a direct route back to the M6 off the A55.  Delamere was the first option, but I thought 60 quid was a bit steep for a course I am not a super fan of because of the flat greens. 

I have never seen fences around greens for sheep. In my experience fences are for cattle/horses. Regardless, Holywell's turf is magnificent. I also appreciate that they keep the fairways fairly long as it makes a short course play a bit longer and makes total sense for a small club on a limited budget.

HOLYWELL TOUR CONT

Without a doubt the back nine is more interesting than the front nine. Once the road is crossed it is clear the remnants of mining will play a major role.  The Cynfaen Memorial Methodist Church is across the street from the 10th tee.  I did wonder how many golfers are buried in the very small cemetary.


For any who spend time on British roads they will know signs are very popular.  The same holds true for many who operate golf courses.


The hole too seems cluttered with visuals, but if one sticks to the middle path all should be well.  The three shot 10th plays fairly straight over two old greens.


The large mounds are mining shaft entrances.


The 11th plays as a short par 4 or a medium length par 3. The gorse on the left isn't more than 25 paces from the hole location!  This is an excellent and demanding green.  A small raised left rear area can just be seen in this photo.


Another short hole follows. A foozle will not do!


There is plenty of space to play safe.


Not a special hole, but the 13th is one which needs care as the drive zone is narrower than it looks. One of the best trained dogs I have seen is in the photo.  We saw it trotting down the correct side of the road behind the horses.  It then made a left to follow and didn't run over the policeman's toes! 


A most intimidating par 5 is next on the plate. There is room to move a drive around or over the trees to a wider part of the fairway. If one wants to reach the green in two caution must be thrown to the wind and a driver up the pipe will be required.


The approach is narrow regardless if one is laying up or going for the green.




I didn't realize how narrow the sunken green is!  Its fairly easy not to have a clear putting line to the hole.




More to follow.

Ciao

[John Mayhugh]

The remnants of mining and quarrying account for many of the interesting features prevalent on the course today despite the seemingly countless design alterations.

After the passage of enough time, these end up seeming almost like natural features.

[Sean_A]

HOLYWELL TOUR CONT

The short 15th is a very imaginative hole with its green on the far side of a quarry.




There is a bit of a hiccup in the routing as the 16th tee is next to the 15th tee....shades of Tobacco Road. A short par 4, the 16th turns left around humps and bumps.


A very short par 4, the 17th is an extremely tight hole. In fact, I expect golfers who can carry the ball 230ish with ease would always play for the green rather than try the difficult lay-up.


The green sits in open country.  The tricky aspects of the green are its runaway nature and hollow protecting the left flank.


The fairly long par four 18th plays over the road to a green nestled among mining humps and hollows.




Holywell is far from a great course and I couldn't say it is recommended for any but hardcore rustic golf lovers.  That said, one can expect very high quality turf, a friendly welcome, a lovely walk despite the 800 feet elevation and a few unusual holes. We left the 18th with smiles on our faces and were more than satisfied. If one is in the area and wants to stop in for a game, I would suggest avoiding #s 4-6, if not the entire front 9. Most of the best golf is across the road on the back nine and I wouldn't be surprised if I return someday to play these holes again.

Holywell was the last game of a short trip to North Wales and Wallasey in which we spent three nights in very quiet Llandudno. We didn't find anything noteworthy in terms of bars or restaurants, but the town has an evident charm.  None of the courses seriously impressed me, but all were very different and enjoyable in their own way.  Wallasey is ostensibly the best course of the four, but I would say it is my least favourite. My favourites in order:

Bull Bay
North Wales
Holywell
Wallasey

Placing Wallasey last has much to do with the other three courses combined costing less than Wallasey and we played two of them on a weekend!  Cost aside, I can't say Wallasey has more really good holes than either North Wales or Bull Bay.  That is a problem for a guy who is seeking out highlight holes. Anyway, I would recommend all four and the general North Wales area for golf. Of course we missed Conwy on this trip and if we had one more day it likely would have been added to the itinerary.

Ciao

[Clyde Johnson]

I like the look of 14 and 15!

Cheers.

[Ben Stephens]

Holes 4-6 are really alien to the rest of the course based on Google Earth viewing!

[Duncan Cheslett]

Holes 4-6 are really alien to the rest of the course based on Google Earth viewing!

4-6 would be poor holes on a poor parkland course.


On a quirky free-draining course across limestone common land they are unforgivable.


They make Tenby’s three bastard holes look positively inspired!

[jeffwarne]

Very nice tour.
I love playing off turf clipped by sheep.


I've not played Holywell, but having played the rest, I agree with your ranking-and I really enjoyed Wallessey.
It's just that Bull Bay and North Wales are quite unique.

[Sean_A]

Very nice tour.
I love playing off turf clipped by sheep.

I've not played Holywell, but having played the rest, I agree with your ranking-and I really enjoyed Wallessey.
It's just that Bull Bay and North Wales are quite unique.

You would enjoy Holywell.

You are right to enjoy sheep trimmed turf. It has a soft liveliness which is difficult explain. The turf is the hook man.

Ciao