Golf
A life on ‘THE HILL’
How many courses offer the golfer the opportunity to play in two different countries during one round, pay a visit to Offa’s Dyke, meet the professional who taught Ian Woosnam as a junior member, and a greenkeeper who, in 2012, will have devoted forty years of his life to maintaining the place he loves?
Neil Hancock visits Llanymynech Golf Club and uncovers a real gem - course and greenkeeper!
s a golfer myself, I have, over the years, heard tales of this special place called Llanymynech, set on ‘The Hill’ as it is affectionately known, but had never been to see for myself just what the fascination was. So, when Pitchcare invited me to spend some time with Course Manager, Allen Lewis, to find out just what it is that has held his affection for so much of his lifetime, I jumped at the opportunity. Welcome to Llanymynech Golf club, the jewel in the Welsh and English borderlands. Fortunately, the day that Allen and I
A
agreed to meet was one of those glorious blue sky, late autumn ones. I have to confess that, on arrival at the car park via the narrow lane that leads up to the traditional club house, for this 6,968 yard Par 70, the very first thing I did was get out of my car to photograph some of the wonderful views you get to enjoy from all parts of the course.
Sitting in his office and enjoying a mug of tea with his three assistants - the team consists of Alan Evans, James Hampson and Alan’s son Mathew, all keen golfers, and qualified to NVQ Level 3 - during their morning break, we chatted about all things golf, and I began to find out more about his love for the club and just why and how it has held him there for so long.
“I was a junior member here and lived just a few miles from the course, so I suppose you could say that I have grown up alongside it and with it,” comments Allen. “When the opportunity arose in 1972, at just fifteen years of age and straight from school, to become one of two greenkeepers, I guess I was attracted by the chance to care for and maintain the course where I played my own golf. I then went on to be appointed Course Manager in 1975.”
One of the oldest hill fort sites in
Wales, a site for copper mining since Roman times and now a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), golf has been played on the one hundred and sixty acre limestone plateau for over one hundred years. But, in 1931, the then Oswestry Golf Club moved to a new site at Aston Park and the course, for a two year period, fell into disrepair. In 1933, in the form of a £400 guarantee, an attempt was made by a small group to re-establish the playing of golf on The Hill. The nine-hole Llanymynech Golf Club grew in popularity, in spite of a dip during the Second World War, and, in 1963, the number of holes was increased to twelve. By 1968 fifteen were open, and the full eighteen became a reality in May 1971, when the present 4th, 5th and 6th were declared open on FA Cup Final day.
The stunning views from different vantage points around the course, which at its highest point reaches 740 feet above sea level, take in both the relatively flat English Landscape and the mountain ranges and valleys of Wales. “To play golf on an SSSI site, in this particular location, is pretty special, but it can make the greenkeeper’s art quite difficult,” explained Allen. “The substrate on Llanymynech Hill is a mixture of limestone rock and clay, which sets us a number of problems, ranging from water retention in some areas of the course to virtually no grass growth in others where thin soil cover and prevailing winds have an impact. My team and I pride ourselves on the limited number of days play lost to course closure over the years, but I do think the climate changes experienced more recently, in the form of much colder and longer winters, present us with a host of new challenges in the future.” “One of the big decisions we took, with
regard to course changes, was ten years ago when we replaced all eighteen greens. We were suffering from poor drainage and, as a consequence, pooling, resulting in greens that were generally too soft, particularly over the winter months. As we took the decision to carry out the work in-house, it was a big project for such a small team, representing a cost to the club of £200,000. We ultimately
“To play golf on an SSSI site, in this particular location, is pretty special, but it can make the greenkeeper’s art quite difficult”
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2011 PC 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156