Kington has no sand bunkers and uses sharp, bench-cut greens carved into a hill.
1. The Cookie Jar Golf Podcast episode “353 - Kington Course Diaries” focuses on Kington in Herefordshire and the hosts’ round there.
2. Tom and the host lead the discussion, while Sam, Bledge, Ryan Nodes, Jack, Peter, and Luke are named as the day’s wider Cookie Jar and Golf Badgers group.
3. The episode asks what Kington is like as a hilltop golf course, why its history matters, and whether its quirk matches its quality.
4. The hosts say Kington sits at 1,284 feet above sea level and may be the highest course in England, with the clubhouse standing on very steep ground.
5. They compare Kington with Knighton, a previous stop that came from getting fogged off near Luke’s birthday plans.
6. They describe Kington’s route as a mountain-top layout in Herefordshire rather than a Cotswold course, even though it shares the same hilltop character.
7. The hosts note that Kington has no sand bunkers and instead relies on sharp, bench-cut greens and aggressive contours.
8. They say the land drains well, which matters because water runs away from a course at that elevation.
9. Tom explains that his new Titleist clubs — T100s, T250s, and a 505 2-iron — got their first run at Kington.
10. The hosts mention that Kington opened for play in 1926 after the land was founded in the 1920s.
11. They connect the course to major Cecil Hutchinson, who also worked at West Sussex, Woodhall Spa, Ashridge, and with Braid.
12. They also mention Andrew Duff Gordon and Cosmo Duff Gordon while discussing the club’s historical lineage.
13. The hosts talk about Cosmo Duff Gordon’s Titanic connection and the disputed story about his lifeboat escape.
14. They describe the first hole as a steep, intimidating tee shot with a green benched into ferns and a cliff on the left.
15. They say the second hole is a blind 90-degree dogleg right with bracken, heather, and gorse guarding the line.
16. They call the 12th a long par three with a necklace of grass bunkers around the target.
17. Their tone is conversational, golf-nerdy, and full of side references to history, architecture, and weather.
18. The format moves between course description, clubhouse detail, and historical digressions without a formal interview structure.
19. Golf architecture fans who like hilltop layouts and history.
20. Listeners wanting a short, linear lesson without architectural digressions.
