Reviews

A review by the South Wales Golfer:

• Usk Course
• Monnow Course

Usk Course

Phil Carradice tries his luck on the new Alice Springs layout

It's hard, when writing a review like this, not to refer back to the old layout at Alice Springs. If you've played the old courses before then reference to and about the various holes, obviously, means something. If you haven't - well, I suppose it won't matter much. But I'll try to keep it simple and describe the holes as I found them this time.

You start alongside the entrance. It's a par 4 of 267 yards and is an innocuous enough start. A good drive and you'll be left with just a little chip onto what used to the old 9th green of the Kings course. For those who have played the Kings, the 9th was a par 3 off the top of the hill - what they've done here is to take out the ninth hole but keep the green. That's an excellent use of existing facilities.

The second (the old 10th) offers you a wide fairway where you drive towards an hour glass shaped green. The best approach is from the left as this allows you to avoid the real proliferation of bunkers and hillocks around the putting surface.

I loved the third, which was the old eleventh of the Kings. Your drive is wide open but then you come to the foot of a steep hill. The green is up there above you and you reach it through a man-made valley or depression cut out of the surrounding slopes. Excellent.

For the fourth you drive off an elevated tee, onto a fairway which has lots of water on the left. Keep your ball centre of the fairway - go too far left, you're in the water; too far right and you're left with a frightening fairway wood, over water and bunkers which lie just short of the green.

The fifth is a brand new hole along the right flank of a hill. The fairway doglegs left at the top of the slope and takes you towards a green which is backed by tall trees and is shaped like a figure of eight. From here on you move over to the old Queens course.

The new sixth is the old sixth hole of the Queens. There's a thick wood on the left and the green lies around the corner of the hill. Provided you're long and straight it shouldn't cause too many problems.

The seventh is a cracking par three of 161 yards, across the side of the hill. Hit the green or be right of it - go left and there's no way back. Even if you find your ball you'll be way down the hillside.

It's a blind drive for the eighth and there's all sorts of thick rough along the left of the fairway. There's plenty of space out right but beware the twin bunkers which guard the entrance to the green.

The ninth takes you back along the hill with the ground sloping to the right. The green also slopes wickedly to the right and putting on this one is a real art.

The tenth is a difficult and demanding par 3 which needs a solid drive, being almost 200 yards in length.

I liked the par 4 eleventh, a hole where the lie of the land will inevitably pull you to the right. Aim left of the marker post if you want to finish up in the centre of the fairway.

The twelfth is a great little par 3. You drive off the top of the hill with the green sitting below you in the valley. Large tracts of water wait left and right and there's also a ditch running in front of the green. Hit the putting surface or die on this one!

The thirteenth runs parallel with the sixth, along the floor of the valley. It's a simple enough drive but I'd suggest a 3 wood for accuracy rather than a driver. The fairway dog legs about 80 yards before the green and the entrance is so narrow as to be almost unbelievable. Woods wait on the left and a huge bank lies on the right. This one will really test your mid to short iron play.

Hole number fourteen takes you back onto the old Kings Course. Measuring just 140 yards, there's water on both sides of the green and behind. Not a hole for the fainthearted.

You drive over water and up a steep hill for the fifteenth. The fairway doglegs wickedly to the left and the green is narrow.

The last three holes are not that difficult - although the seventeenth (at 206 yards) needs a pretty good shot to get you onto the putting surface, particularly as you are playing into the prevailing wind.

I liked the way they've amalgamated the Kings and Queens on this new course. No doubt about it, the Usk course will certainly test your golf. It's different from the old Kings layout but then, it was meant to be. An excellent course.

Monnow Course

Phil Carradice tries his luck on the second new Alice Springs course

The Monnow course starts alongside the clubhouse at Alice Springs, a short par 3 of just over a hundred yards. It's guarded by bunkers and mounds but, provided you're straight, it shouldn't cause too many problems.

The second is all about accuracy. Only 268 yards (off yellows) you drive from an elevated tee between hills on the left and tall trees on the right. The third is just 101 yards long but lots of rolling mounds and hillocks in front of the putting surface give this hole a lovely feel and look.

For the fourth you drive out of trees, across a valley, onto a slight slope. It's all about the drive really. Go short and you won't be able to see the green - which you really do need to do! It's cut into the side of the hill and is guarded by a bunker.

Hole number five is all uphill and you can't see the green until you're well over halfway towards it. The putting surface is cut into a backdrop of trees and is a very attractive feature.

A long walk (or buggy drive) through woods takes you to the next hole. It's the old fourteenth of the Queens and is a hole which has a blind drive and a green which you can't see until you're virtually on top of it. The par 3 seventh (the old fifteenth of the Queens) is a lot longer than it seems. Supposedly only 168 yards, it always plays nearer to 190, I think. You go over a deep depression in the ground and need to be careful of the waiting bunkers.

Holes eight and nine both need good, long drives. Beware the slope of the ground on the eighth as you will, almost certainly, be playing your second shot from a downhill lie.

The tenth is the old 18th of the Queens course and is probably one of the prettiest holes on the course. It's all downhill, a par 3 of just 112 yards, but with sand and water behind to catch you out.

The eleventh is a difficult par 5 which pulls steadily uphill all the way. You drive across a pond with out of bounds down the right hand side of a fairway which dog legs to the right after about 200 yards.

Holes twelve and thirteen are simple enough. Provided you get good drives away they shouldn't present undue problems. The fourteenth is a long par 3 of 217 yards and this is a hole which really deserves it's stroke index of five. Another par 3 waits for you on the fifteenth but it's a lot shorter than the previous hole and you should, really, be aiming for a birdie here.

Then it's back through he woods to one of the best holes on the Monnow course. The sixteenth used to be the sixth of the Kings course and it involves you driving down a narrow avenue of trees. You can't afford to leak your ball off line here - a five iron down the centre would be the sensible shot. Trees sit in front of the green (unless you're well left) and there's a steep drop over the back, so don't over hit.

The seventeenth is a par 5 of 475 yards. You drive down a valley to the corner, then dog leg right up the hill towards the green. The putting surface is three tiered and you need to ensure that your ball finishes up on the right level- otherwise you could be looking at three or even four putts.

The eighteenth (which used to be the old eighth on the Kings) is almost driveable off the front tees. You come out of thick woods and the green is not visible from the tee, being situated around the right hand corner of the dog leg. It's not a difficult hole but it's a good way to finish your round.

The Monnow is a really interesting course. They've managed the conversion very well indeed and there are no bad holes here. The par 3s are some of the best short holes I've come across in a long time.

Like its compatriot, the Usk, the Monnow course at Alice Springs is highly recommended for anybody who takes their golf at all seriously.