Course Review
by: Phil Carradice
Mountain Ash Golf Club has been in existence since 1908. It was founded as Aberdare Valley but when Aberdare Golf Club was created in the 1920s a degree of confusion arose. As a consequence the name was changed to Mountain Ash just after the Second World War.
When Trudy and I arrived to review the course we were met by Secretary Geoff Matthews and club pro Marcus Wills. I don't think I've ever seen anybody hit a ball quite so crisply as Marcus - but, then, after three successful years on the European Tour you couldn't really expect anything less.
The first is a hard opener. You drive off down a narrow fairway (houses and out of bounds on the right) which becomes a heavy uphill pull after the first 200 yards. The green is elevated and you need to make sure you hit it. Land short and your ball will quickly funnel down the slope, leaving you a nasty pitch back up the hill.
Marcus dropped his first birdie of the day on the par 3 second and then proceeded to virtually drive the green on the 300 yard third - with a three iron! I joke not. The hole is all down hill, back towards the club-house, and provided you hit the shot well there shouldn't be too many problems. The green, however, is lightning fast.
I really liked the fourth hole. It's only 254 yards but it's all uphill to a raised green which is guarded by an two bunkers right and left in front. The slope behind the green has been given a collar or ridge so that you can't hit onto the hill and let your ball trickle down on to the green. You really do have to hit the short stuff.
The fifth hole takes you up a very steep hill - one that's guaranteed to leave you breathless. It's a blind drive so you need to hit long to get a view of the green. There's a stone wall behind, so don't be too long on your second shot. The sixth is the first par 5 of the course. At 500 yards it is long enough to need three good shots but as the fairway slopes dramatically sideways you have to beware of the almost automatic run to the right your ball will take.
"That's Lord Aberdare's old house," said Geoff Matthews as we approached the green. "He hasn't lived there for years but what a lovely spot for a house."
He's right. The house sits in perfect seclusion behind the green, looking out over the valley and the course.
"When I win the lottery," I told Trudy.
The seventh is a par 3. Deceptively easy, it's quite common to hit the green, only to find that your ball has rolled off the other end, down a slight incline. The eighth is stroke index 1. You need a good drive, over the marker post. It's blind all the way to grassy banks or ridges which cross the fairway about 140 yards short of the green.
My eight iron shot hit the green but unfortunately ran off the back edge. It's all downhill and if - as was the case on the day we played- the pin is at the front edge then you're better off below the hole. My chip back up the slope went right over the hole and finished up six feet past I barely touched my putt - only to find the ball gathering momentum and finishing six feet past the pin on the other side!
The ninth is a simple. enough par 4, provided you're straight. Go left and you're in the rough right and there's trees, slopes, hillocks and all types of danger. ;;
Holes 10 and 11 are not too difficult - again, though, you've got to be straight on both drives, even the par 3 eleventh. There are lots of little hillocks and mounds and the greens are both lightning fast.
The 423 yard twelfth is stroke index 2. Another blind drive faces you on the lee and there is a row of tall trees on the left. Trudy managed to hit them and had absolutely no shot out. I mis-hit my 5 wood but the ball just ran and ran.
"You'd never believe we've had months of rain," said Geoff, watching my ball heading towards the green. "That's the beauty of valleys golf."
The green is raised and slopes dramatically left to right. Putting on this one is a real problem.
The thirteenth is one of my favourite holes here. The fairway slopes to the right and dog legs right at the very end as well. There are trees on the left and right fo the fairway and the green is set down the slope. Taking Marcus' advice I barely touched my pitching wedge shot and the ball simply rolled and rolled down the hill, onto the green. Of course, he had actually driven the 300 yard hole and promptly sank yet another birdie putt.
There are no real problems on the par 3 fourteenth, then you come to the long (353 yards) fifteenth. There are several hillocks in front of the tee and your drive has to be long and straight. Although it's SI 18, I really liked the sixteenth. Slide left (as I did) and you're invariably behind a tree or close to the stone wall. As the lie of the land takes you this way you've got to be very accurate.
Time for a quick boast now. I birdied the 17th and 18th holes - in fact the last hole should have been an eagle but that's golf!
The 17th is a 188 yard par 3 guarded by bunkers at front left. I hit to the right side of the green and, luckily - though I'd never admit it to Trudy sank the thirty foot putt. Marcus had come within inches of a hole-in-one and easily tapped in for another birdie.
The 18th hole is something quite special. You drive off a high hill with lots of gorse and bushes in front of you. Hit the fairway and your ball will gather momentum, shooting even further forward down the hill. The hole measures 516 yards, but the slope really reduces this by a good 50/60 yards. For my second shot I hit a good 5 wood which bounced just beyond the bunker (short and left of the green) and ran on to finish up eight feet from the pin.
It's rare to hit a par 5 in two so I stepped up to the putt with much optimism. My eagle putt just slid off to the right and I had to content myself with another birdie.
"Oh, what a shame," Trudy said trying desperately to get her tongue out of her cheek.
This last hole is a beauty. It's crossed by a ditch and there are lots of tall
Trees on the edge of the fairway. It's probably my favourite hole on the
course .
There is no doubt that Mountain Ash is a first class golf club. It's not unduly long (5553 yards) but it's hilly in parts, narrow in others and with some of the most wicked borrows you'll ever find on a Welsh course.
The club-house is warm and friendly. They've recently spent a lot of money, creating a function room - complete with stage. All in all, Mountain Ash is one of those courses that you should mark down and play as soon as possible. It is very well recommended.
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