Wrekin

Conveniently located just off the M54 outside Telford, the course at Wrekin Golf Club nestles in the Wrekin Forest, between the Ercall and Smalley Hill Nature Reserves. Founded in 1905, the club moved to its current location two years later, with Harry Vardon and George Duncan playing an exhibition match to mark the opening of the new layout on 14th October 1910.

Today, the course measures a modest 5,599 yards from the tips, playing to a par of 66, with holes laid out in an out-and-back fashion. There are no par fives and six one-shot holes; three on the outward half and three on the inward half. Two of the front nine holes are played as short par fours, at the 287-yard 6th (“Holly Bush”) and 264-yard 9th (“Ercall Side”).

Highlight holes include the first (and shortest) of the par threes at the 113-yard 2nd (“Old Dormie”), where four bunkers circle the green and a pond lurks to the right. The 196-yard 7th (“The Pulpit”) is another terrific short hole on the front nine, played to an elevated green that’s also surrounded by four menacing bunkers.

The 428-yard 11th (“Toper’s Last”) is one of the longer par fours on the card, rated stroke index 2, with the uphill approach shot having to avoid a couple of small bunkers guarding the front of the green. The 447-yard 15th (“Lane Side”) – originally the home hole before the arrival of the motorway – features out of bounds along the left before the fairway reaches a raised green.