Ilfracombe golf club

[pokerjoke]

Ilfracombe golf club is set on the hills of Haggington above Ilfracombe itself with superb views of the English channel.It is also Devons second oldest golf course.The course itself has an undulating start and gradually levels out at halfway.It is 5795 yrds long consisting of 6 par 3s-9 par 4s and 3 par 5s.The short par 3 fourth hole is only 75 yrds to a small sloping green but in between is a quarry 40ft deep and can cause even the better golfers problems when the wind blows.When the wind is blowing this golf course can become extremely demanding and a true test of character.The views when you are up the top of the hills is truely breathtaking out to the English channel and over to Wales,also taking in little hangman and big hangman two large hills above Combe Martin.It also has superb drainage and is generally open all year around and is kept in pristine condition by the superb greenkeeping team.The shop is well stocked and run by the club pro Mark and his junior assistant Joe.The clubhouse is run by Dean and his team and it overlooks the practice putting green and the hills of hillsborough above Ilfracombe.The food is fantastic and the service always comes with a smile,all in all if your in North Devon Ilfracombe Golf Course is a must.

 

[The_LHC]

Ilfracombe golf club is set on the hills of Haggington above Ilfracombe itself with superb views of the English channel.It is also Devons second oldest golf course.The course itself has an undulating start and gradually levels out at halfway.It is 5795 yrds long consisting of 6 par 3s-9 par 4s and 3 par 5s.The short par 3 fourth hole is only 75 yrds to a small sloping green but in between is a quarry 40ft deep and can cause even the better golfers problems when the wind blows.When the wind is blowing this golf course can become extremely demanding and a true test of character.The views when you are up the top of the hills is truely breathtaking out to the English channel and over to Wales,also taking in little hangman and big hangman two large hills above Combe Martin.It also has superb drainage and is generally open all year around and is kept in pristine condition by the superb greenkeeping team.The shop is well stocked and run by the club pro Mark and his junior assistant Joe.The clubhouse is run by Dean and his team and it overlooks the practice putting green and the hills of hillsborough above Ilfracombe.The food is fantastic and the service always comes with a smile,all in all if your in North Devon Ilfracombe Golf Course is a must.

I played here a couple of months ago on a Friday. As a local it only cost me a tenner, which can't be bad, for that money it could have been a pitch and putt and I'd have been happy, but it isn't...

To flesh out what was said above, the main thing about Ilfracombe is that it's hilly, very hilly! The course is actually built around the peak of a hill (with the 13th tee and some of the most amazing views in the South West perched right on top) and whilst 4 and half of the holes are on the plateau at the top the rest of them are up, down or around the hillside, with all the par 5s (which are all on the front 9) playing at least partly up the hill, 1 and 8 play up and across, 5 pretty much straight up. Only 8 actually plays a decent par 5 length off the yellows but gradient obviously adds length and after you've slogged your way up them you won't be worrying about that! This course will give your heart and lungs a good workout!

The short par 3 fourth hole is only 75 yrds to a small sloping green but in between is a quarry 40ft deep and can cause even the better golfers problems when the wind blows.

And the rest of us problems when it doesn't! It's so short that actually getting the correct distance is quite tricky as it isn't a full shot and the green is so severly sloped on the left side that if the pin's over there putting can be extremely difficult (one could argue borderline unfair but I guess that's how the hole defends itself). For the record I took a 6 there! Tee shot was too long into the shrubbery on the slope above the back of the green, found it in the long grass and played a flop shot out about as well as I possibly could have done, landing the ball on the fringe only to watch is trundle onto the green past the hole and all the way off the front of the green! I then hit my putt up the hill, missed the hole and sent it three fit past. The return putt, hit as softly as I could (literally just a tap to get it rolling) missed the left edge and rolled back off the front of the green again, I got down in two from there, making sure I left my first (5th) putt short of the hole this time.

2,3 and 4 are all par 3s, two, a 172yd shot to a blind green, three a very tough 196yds to an elevated green with a huge drop away to the right front.

It's a very idiosyncratic course, with crossover fairways, those 3 par threes in a row, and, most interestingly a shared tee on 16 and 17! 16 is a par three straight down the hill, 17 the last par 4, starts at the same place and runs alongside, so (except in competition) rather than play 16 and then walk all the way back up the (very steep) hill to the 17th tee, you hit both tee shots in succession, go down to the 16th green, putt out and then walk straight across to the 17th fairway to play your second shots there!

The short length and par of 69 might lead you to think that the course will be a pushover but even if the wind isn't blowing the hill will see that you have to think about every shot, frequently playing to the heart of the green or even playing directly at the green at all is the wrong shot and a short par 4 like 14 might seem like easy pickings but if you don't make sure to send your drive up the right side of the fairway you'll find yourself in the rough down in a hollow, with a tricky second to a very sloping green to come.

I've played plenty of longer courses, and I've played harder courses but not many, I haven't played many that will simultaneously having you laughing with joy in between fighting for breath. And it's only 5 minutes in the car from where I live, if I wasn't such an unfit larda** I'd join it tomorrow.

Hmmm, maybe that's why I SHOULD join!