Played by NCG: The Leicestershire
Reason for a The Leicestershire Golf Club review
I joined the team of Arch Creative that was playing in part of a charity golf day to raise funds for the wonderful Alex’s Wish, a campaign bidding to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Where is The Leicestershire?
Well, the clue is in the name. Just a few miles south east of Leicester city centre, The Leicestershire is situated near Stoneygate, which I was reliably informed is “the nice part of town”.
What to expect
I’m always a bit sceptical of golf courses that begin with “The” and end in “shire”, but I need not have worried here. From the moment you drive into the car park (don’t ask why they’ve recently had a barrier installed) and see the wonderful, UFO-shaped clubhouse you know you’re going to be in for a good day.
The Leicestershire’s facilities are nothing short of first class and the course isn’t far off. It’s short, picturesque and challenging, which is an ideal combination in my mind.
Favourite hole
There are a couple of really nice stretches on this course, particularly holes 5 to 9 and 12 to 15, with a couple of drivable par 4s – but more on that in a moment.
My favourite hole was the par-4 5th. A dramatic tee shot to a sweeping left-to-right fairway that dips down over a stream then back up to a raised green. A hole that is easy on the eye from start to finish.
My best bit
The par-4 7th is just 290 yards, so naturally I had to have a go at it. My ball hop, skip and jumped up to the front of the green, from where I two-putted for my first birdie of the day.
My attempt to drive the 260-yard par-4 13th didn’t quite go as well…
Take my medicine out to the right, or try and squeeze through that gap to the green? #WhatWouldSeveDo #WWSD pic.twitter.com/w10Dsc5BS3
— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) May 26, 2017
Since you’re asking, I went for it, clipped a tree, got lucky, made the up-and-down for par.
What to look for
Don’t bother pulling the driver out your bag too much here. This golf course demands more brain than brawn, with trees lining every hole. A lot of the holes move from left to right, so if that suits your eye, you’ll score well here.
When I go back…
I will take my own advice above and keep the big stick in the bag as much as possible. I will definitely still try to drive the 7th and 13th greens, though.
For more information, visit The Leicestershire’s website.
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Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
