The Leicestershire

The original track was extended to 18 holes in 1899 and in 1910 improvements by James Braid included a number of new bunkers. In 1936 the course was lengthened by Major Charles Mackenzie and subsequently altered by C K Cotton.

Situated to the south of the city the 18 holes are predominantly tree-lined and I suspect when there are leaves on the trees (my round here was in February) it plays much tighter than I experienced.

What isn’t in doubt is that the greens are of excellent quality; built to USGA specification. They certainly putted nicely for this time of year and a playing partner noted they were the quickest he had putted on the previous summer.

At 6,200 yards it may not seem the longest but with a par of just 68 and no par fives (SSS is 71) the course challenges all standards of golfer. Six par fours over the 400-yard mark see to that.

Where The Leicestershire really excels is in its routing as it takes you across the gently sloping terrain in a well thought-out manner. A number of holes dog-leg just as the land begins to rise or fall and this creates a number of fine holes. The first, fifth, sixth, ninth, 11th and 15th are all good examples of this with many other holes using the contours of the land exceptionally well.

The short holes as a collection don’t quite match the two-shotters where there’s good variety not only in the length of the holes but the shots you are required to play into the greens. The green complexes are also engaging at many of the holes and hold a high level of interest.

All in all I enjoyed my round at The Leicestershire and although it’s not a course that fits my personal taste it’s one that impressed and somewhere I’d recommend a play.