Ludlow

Founded in 1889, Ludlow is the oldest club affiliated to the Shropshire & Herefordshire Union of Golf Clubs. The following edited extract is from James Braid and his Four Hundred Golf Courses by John F. Moreton and Iain Cumming:

“Laid out inside the racecourse, Ludlow is flat, has sandy soil, bracken, gorse, two reservoirs and is set in attractive countryside. Nine holes at first, it had become eighteen before Braid arrived in the autumn of 1927 to ‘improve’ the course.

The minutes of the club reveal the details: forty-two new bunkers, eleven new tees which means a considerable lengthening of the course, and the re-laying of parts of two greens. This was all done over the winter of 1927-28 and was ready for the next season.”

Today, the layout extends to 6,277 yards, with the front nine routed around the perimeter of the property, enclosing the back nine. Feature holes include the short par four 5th, the tough, left doglegging 8th, and back-to-back par threes at the 13th and 14th.