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A golfers journey through the Welsh borderland – Part 2

23 February 2021
11 min. read
Dirk Keßeboehmer
This is part 2 of a Golfers Journey through the Welsh Borderland. So “welcome” or “welcome back”! I'm really happy, that you are following Klaus and me on our golfing tour through the borderland between Wales and England. In this second part, we will take you to several courses again.
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Church Stretton Golf Club (Photo: Dirk Kessebohmer)

Day 8 – Shrewsbury Golf Club

On the 8th day, we started after we had another healthy breakfast (did you ever try “Marmite” on your toast?). There was a quick 15-minute drive to the Shrewsbury Golf Club, which is located in Condover and as we drove to the parking site, we already saw some golfers playing.

While checking in at the Pro-Shop, we were able to have a really nice talk with the Pro – and he still remembered me as his guest from the year before (German golfers must be something special I think ☺). We both were able to stay away from the water hazard at the Captain’s hole and so we had some more pounds to spend on a pint in the evening.

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Charity Pond at Shewsbury Golf Club (Photo: Dirk Kessebohmer)

Klaus and I had a fabulous round out on the course, great sunny weather, perfect fairways and fast greens – really wow! Honestly, it is not so hard to get a good score on your card here – just take a look at the complete review GC Shrewsbury

My favourite hole is number 1 – you have to walk a little bit behind the clubhouse and then you get to the 1st tee. The hole looks down to a broad fairway, which narrows at the end with a slight dogleg to the right. A perfect start, not as easy as it looks, but fair to play and definitely how golf should be.

So – with the afternoon without golf - we had time to visit the park and the centre of Shrewsbury with a cone of ice cream in our hands. The Severn flowing by, friendly people, small shops and old timber-framed houses. A lovely walk that ended in a pub in the middle of the old houses. We finished the day with really good food and of course some pints. 

Day 9 – Arscott Golf Club

Our tee-time was set at 11:30 so we could take our time. We visited this course a year before as well and it was one of our favourite courses (still joking about the dress code for the similar-sounding horse race). During the 30-minute drive, we sat in full excitement about how the course would play that day.

Arriving at the car park we were sure that this would be a perfect day of golf and honestly – it was!

We had a quick chat with the members in the Pro-shop and grabbed a coffee at the clubhouse. We made some small swings to warm up and off to the first tee. You start your round in front of the entrance  - and yep, some eyes were on our backs as we pitched our shots onto the first green (always makes me a bit nervous, but on that day it didn’t do any harm to my shot).

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A challenging hole with a pond at the front at Arscott Golf Club (Photo: Dirk Kessebohmer)

The fairways were in brilliant condition and the course was as beautiful as we had it on our minds – so, the set-up was perfect for a great round. After the 5th tee shot, I noticed, that Klaus and I were both playing really good golf, just nice-and-easy swings and the ball was almost going in the direction we wanted it to go. There were only two more groups out at that time that we saw from a distance. It felt like an experience of just the two of us on the course. During normal rounds, we talk and laugh a lot, during this round we were quieter and just enjoyed the course and nature around us.

If someone would ask me my favourite hole on this course I wouldn't be able to answer it easily. There are a lot of nice holes. I would recommend the last hole - a not-so-long par 4 with a straight tee shot. However, if you didn't leave a good distance for your second shot, you might get into problems. There is a water hazard in front of the green that definitely makes this hole difficult. The hole requires a game of risk and reward, maybe a lay-up isn't so bad after all. 
You can read the whole review here GC Arscott

Coming back to our B&B late in the afternoon, we decided to take a small nap (good idea with aching feet …) and – yes, we had some pints at the end of the nice day in our favourite pub just across the street.

Day 10 – Church Stretton Golf Club

The day started with some headaches (maybe that last pint was too much?!), but Sonia's breakfast helped a lot. We had a slow start but it is safe to say that we were saving energy for a great round of golf.  

The drive to a very special course was a quick one. The course lies on top of the Shropshire Hills and is one of the highest clubs in England. It was about 30 minutes from our B&B where it was all upward the last few minutes. James was waiting for us at the clubhouse and Pro-shop. We talked a bit and noticed that we were the first group of the day to go out. I remembered from my first visit that walking this course could ruin our scores so we managed to get a buggy (“good choice mates !”).

We started off ok, two similar straight shots down the fairway, chop to the greens and some putts. The greens were very fast and the course very hilly. After all, we were really really happy that we used a buggy that day. 

On many of the fairways, there were white spots wandering around and as we came closer we noticed, that there were flocks of sheep on the course. But I think they knew us already – when a shot went in their direction, they just walked aside and honestly, we didn’t harm one of them.

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The short Par 3 number 2 at Church Stretton Golf Club (Photo: Dirk Kessebohmer)

The course itself is a world on its own, all around you are the brilliant views to the valleys. The fairways feel a bit strange, the special kind of grass is laid out on very bumpy soil. When you gain confidence and get used to it you can really hit good shots. Take a read at my full review of this course.
GC Church Stretton

My favourite hole is the short Par 3 number 2. You hit a blind shot uphill and from then it's just hoping that you aimed well. Accuracy is important otherwise it will leave you no chance for par here. Also, be aware of lots of sheep eyes watching you!
On our visit, we saw a young one hiding behind its mother as we walked up to the green. So cute!  

On the way back we stopped at the huge shopping mall in Shrewsbury and filled up our stock of golfballs, food and drinks for our next days. After a shower, we walked along the Severn and took some refreshments at one of the pubs on the riverbanks until the sun went down.

Day 11 – The Astbury

On the 11th day, we played The Astbury. Having read about this club, the owner and some of its members we became really curious to visit. The course was a bit longer to drive, about 45 minutes, so we took off a bit earlier. On the driveway through the car-park, we saw some posters showing Darren Clarke (European Ryder Cup Captain of 2016) on it, WOW! 

The Clubhouse looked like an old manor house and inside it was just amazing – old interior mixing up with new furniture. This was the first time I took pictures from inside a clubhouse! On our way to take a coffee at the bar, we met Darren himself – friendly, smiling and in the end, he even had time for a little chat with the guests from Germany. Oh my – we’ve been so nervous that we nearly missed our time to tee off at the 1st tee! 

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Former Judas Priest guitarist's hotel Astbury Hall (Photo: Dirk Kessebohmer)

On the first tee, we managed to hit a straight drive and it was a great experience, as we never played on such a championship-course before. The fairways manicured to the finest, the bunkers (try to avoid them!) filled up with very fine sand and the greens hard, but fair to play. Around the manor, there is some water in play and that takes me to my signature hole – Number 18. It is a 160 meter Par 3, where you have to hit all the way carry, because between tee and green there lies a huge pond and at the end of the green, the Clubhouse is overlooking everything. To read my review just click here The Astbury

In the late afternoon, we visited the market hall in Shrewsbury, had a delicious bap there and on the way back to bed we found another pub just 5 minutes walk from our home.

Day 12 – Horsehay Village Golf Club

Day 12 – we were tired but nonetheless interested in another new course to visit. So “jump” out of bed (which seemed more like crawling) and off to Telford. We exited the motorway and just a roundabout later we stood at the car park of the Horsehay Village GC.

A new and friendly clubhouse was waiting for us. The staff gave us a short introduction to the course and showed us the way to the driving range. Yep, there really is a driving-range and a nice short-game area. 

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Nice weather at Horsehay Village Golf Club (Photo: Dirk Kessebohmer)

The first tee is right in front of the clubhouse and the noise of the motorway is noticeable, but when you walk off the first green and head on to tee number 2, you don’t hear a thing – just birds singing and bees humming by. The complete course was in good condition, nice fairways and some bunkers were waiting for our shots and the greens were undulated, fast and fair to play. Take a look at my review here Horsehay Village GC the course meanders around the outskirts of Telford.

My favourite hole is number 17 – a Par 5 with water on the left side and a blind shot to play – there are bushes and trees waiting in front of you and I would recommend a layup for the second shot to avoid this ambush.

On our way back we made a stop at the Telford Shopping Mall – impressive to see how many different shops are within the huge building, and so Klaus and I were able to find some nice souvenirs to take home with us. Back at Shrewsbury, we visited the cathedral and after an early dinner in our favourite pub, we fell asleep ….

Day 13 – Wrekin Golf Club

The morning of day 13 started with a mixture of clouds and sun – the forecast said some rain showers might come across and so we had to repack our bags again. Whatever – it was the last day of golfing for this trip and so we grabbed our waterproofs from the car and headed to the Wrekin GC.

Again a 30-minute drive was required, and as we came closer to the course, the clouds started to vanish. The car park was nearly empty and so we had some minutes for a chat with the Pro. Having noticed, that we were visitors from Germany he gave us a good intro to the course and some special hints for some of the holes to come.

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A fantastic view of Wrekin Golf Club (Photo: Dirk Kessebohmer)

Both of us wanted to make this last round of our trip a remarkable one and so we started without a hurry and just enjoyed our play. The course is a beauty – huge old trees overlooking the fairways and nothing but pure nature around with small valleys and a brook running through. You can find my review here <Wrekin GC>

My signature hole is number 7 – a midsize Par 3 where you have to hit it straight through an alley of old trees down to the green. Be aware of the challenging wind, which grabs your ball after it passed the trees – really challenging!

So, all we had to do after coming back to our B&B was to pack our luggage and then go out for the last diner – we had a fantastic trip, met a lot of nice people and … in the end we were sure, that there will be more trips to come.

If you are interested in a golfing trip to the borderland between Wales and England just contact me – I hope I was able to make you curious about golfing in this part of the UK.

About the author
Biography
Dirk Keßeboehmer is one of Germany's ambassadors for Leading Courses. Having played nearly 60 courses in Wales, you can safely say he has a deep-rooted love for the British county. His favourite Welsh golf course is Nefyn & District Golf Club.
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