Maesdu
This is because they have recently altered the sequence of the holes. You now cross the road after the first hole and return later on to play the 16th, 17th and 18th which are located on the same parcel of land as the par-three opener. The reason for the change was saftey reasons in that the crossing point is now in a 30mph zone as opposed to higher up the lane where it is 40mph.
The Club, also known as Llandudno Golf Club and dates back to 1915, also plan to introduce a pond on the 18th Fairway with a fountain in it in the near future.
The Club has a rich history and celebrated their centenary in 2015 which as you can work out means that it was formed during the First World War.
James Braid was initially engaged to lay out the course but because of the war the original 18 hole lay out was reduced to just nine when it opened. A couple of years later it was reduced to agricultural use but a new course – designed by Club Professional Tom Jones – rose from the ashes and opened for play in 1924.
The Club hold a popular Open Week each September which was designed to extend the holiday season in this area of North Wales.
Although Maesdu – home of the golfing Boulden family - is not a links course (the 5th along the railway line is the only hole that could make a half a case) it is close to the sea and on my visit in June 2023 it was baked dry and extremely fast running.
The sloping and tilted nature of the predominately parkland site meant that it played extremely tricky and missing the green on the wrong side was not to be advised!
The course is adjacent to North Wales Golf Club but because it is sited on slightly higher ground you get some wonderful mountain and sea views. You can also see Conwy Golf Club in the distance.
There are some good and challenging holes at Maesdu with a variety of interesting green complexes. The 2nd, 5th, 6th 7th and 14th were my personal favourites.
I am not a fan of internal out of bounds and spotted a couple of occasions where I’m not entirely sure it benefited the hole. Whilst I don’t get to play there on a regular basis (so am happy to be proved wrong) but it seemed a little unnecessary on the 4th and the one on the 15th would be better suited to a Penalty Area in my opinion.
One thing you will need to bring with you at Maesdu is your putting touch. The greens have plenty of slope on them and being on the high side will leave a fast putt.
As well as slippery putting surfaces you also have a few water hazards to avoid with ditches crossing a few of the fairways.
Par at Maesdu is 72 and the yardage from the Gold tees is 6,448.
