Great Golf in the heart of Cymru

by Dave Pedler on the fairways of Mid-Wales - Re-produced from the North Devon Journal


SKY TV watchers will have seen the advertisement for Golf in Wales. A player bounces his ball across a pond before it sinks into the hole. That "shot" was shot at the delightful par three 3rd hole at Cradoc Golf Club. I won't bore you with my effort at the same hole. Oh, all right then, if you insist! A superbly struck wedge soared between trees guarding both sides of the pond right in front of the green, rolled straight at the pin, stopped 18 inches short and I rolled in the putt for a birdie. Some shot eh? And some hole too, on one of three inviting courses in the heart of the Dragon's lair.

Penchant
Cradoc, just two miles outside Brecon, Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells combine to provide an ideal destination for those with a penchant for putting away from their home greens. None of the grandeur of Celtic Manor, the traditions of St Pierre or the links terrors of Royal Porthcawl. But then, little of the expense either. If your golfing "bag" is uncrowded, friendly, testing, immaculately prepared and, it has to be said, very cheap golf courses, these are for you. The midweek green fee at all of them is around £20 and their worth every penny.

And there's a rather splendid Victorian hotel in Llandrindod Wells where you could get a decent deal on accommodation. It's five storeys high, has towers in the corners and is called The Metropole. a very tall building in the middle of a tall town.

Llandrindod Wells is about 30 miles from Brecon over a wonderfully scenic moorland road, with Builth in between, so no travel problems getting to the courses, which are about three and a half hours from North Devon. Builth is the baby of the three at 5376 yards off the competition tees and no par fives. But, after a fairly straight-forward first eight you start having to earn your scores, particularly at the 10th, a cleverly laid out 339 yard dog-leg crossed twice by a river. And, by the time you get back to the historic clubhouse - a listed 16th century Welsh longhouse - you'll have done well to get close to the par of 66.

The greens suffer in dry summers when the club is forbidden to use it's sole water source - the river - but the fairways are smooth and the rough what it should be, punishing but not penal. The course gives you time to look around and admire the lush Welsh scenery and, over the hills at Cradoc, the views get better still. The Brecon Beacons dominate the sky line at a more modern club with more yards to negotiate - 6331 off the back tees - and more challenges on the way. There's that 3rd for a start, plenty of tree-lined fairways and the par five 14th - which is club professional Richard Davies' favourite hole.

There's a driving range at Cradoc to loosen up before you go out and you might feel you need it because the course is a physical as well as golfing test. A lot of the fairways are on the side of the hill and you'll need some puff, particularly for the 7th, 8th and 9th which are so notorious that the club is replacing them with three new and rather less strenuous holes. Overall, though, Cradoc is a delight - beautifully kept parkland course in a beautiful setting.


You don't have to admire the scenery at Llandrindod Wells Golf Club, you're part of it. The course is 1200 feet up in the hills of Radnor and it's a stunner! Golfing legend Harry Vardon designed it and it's as near as you'll get to links golf away from the sea. "Upland links" is how the club itself describes a course which, after an initial steep climb away from the clubhouse, roams among the bracken, gorse and pines of the hills above the town. Everywhere you look there is a magnificent view and everywhere you plant your tee there is a golfing question to be answered. Peter Alliss included the 16th hole in his well publicised list of favourites.

Death or Glory
My own is the 18th - Death or Glory- where your drive, if you're lucky, flies across a deep valley either into the steep hill on the far side or, if you can carry 240 yards - over the top of it and, possibly, onto the green. A par four there takes you into the 19th with a satisfied smile, but it would be difficult not to be happy after playing Llandrindod's 5759 yards. There are a lot of blind tee shots (the club has a very good course planner to help you find your way) and no sand because when, the wind blows up there, it wouldn't stay in the bunkers. On a still, clear day, though, this is God's golfing country.

Mid Wales doesn't immediately spring to mind when people think of somewhere to go for a long weekend's golf. To be honest it hadn't even occurred to me until I went there. But Cradoc, Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells - and the wonderful scenery they are part of - make a tasty threesome whether you play off 12 or 24.



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