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[Pete Lavallee]

Golf has been played at St Enodoc since 1888. The current course can be attributed to James Braid who laid it out in 1907. It plays 6243 yards from the medal tees, with a SSS of 70. The difficulty is increased by having only 2 par 5’s and 5 par 3’s. Tom Doak said it best:”St Enodoc is a roller coaster ride you’ll never forget!”. The front 9 is played through pure linksland and then like many great courses, you leave that environment for 6 holes which circle the old Norman Church. The sense of adventure in leaving the dunes for a completely different environment is no doubt a significant part of the course’s charm. The last three holes return to the dunes for a stunning finish. The Club did install fairway irrigation in 1998, luckily it’s used sparingly and only to keep the turf from what the members refer to as:” turning white”. Visitors are reminded that this Club is quite busy with over 800 members and is also popular with the many holiday makers who frequent the Cornish Coast.

The 1st is an ideal starting hole, a 518 yd par 5. It can be difficult to keep the drive out of the dunes in stiff crosswind, they are steep and a pitch out is the best one can hope for.

Here’s the view of the second shot.

The 2cnd plays through a dune valley to a nicely plateaued green, 438 yd par 4.

Here’s a feature sorely lacking in modern golf, the blind drive, it’s 180 to the barber pole.

The second shot on this 436 yd hole must cross this old stone wall and a road.

Here’s a closer look, the road leads to some houses at the other end of the course.

The 4th is an all world short par 4 at 292 yds. The L-shaped fairway presents out of bounds to the right and a marsh to the left. Players who can drive over the cow pasteur and get to the right side will have a pitch and run from level ground to the green. Miss left and you have a difficult pitch from below over bunkers. The visibility of the danger is what gives this hole that terrifying edge.


The 5th plays 161 yds over the marshy area.


Just when you think it can’t get any better you reach the 378 yd 6th. A shot of about 230 yards off the tee will leave you short of the largest bunker in England and about 150 yards to the green.


However you will now have this blind shot over the Himalaya Bunker!


The tee shot on the 394 yd 7th is partially blind over these rugged dunes.

The well bunkered par 3 8th, 155 yds.

The drive must be kept short of the big mound which can easily be reached 296 yards off the tee on this downhill hole 393 yards.

One of the finest natural holes that I have played the 10th is great at 457 yards whether one calls it a par 4 or 5 (it’s a 4 on the card these days). In order to have an iron into the hole you must challenge the steep hill on the right and stream to the left. The landing  area pinches to about 10 yards wide.


The next shot must avoid the stream valley to the left of the green.

Here’s another view from on high.


The 11th plays 205 yds, again with the stream valley to left over the hedge.

After teeing off with the beach directly behind you, this is the second to the par 4 12th, 386 yds.


The 13th climbs steeply uphill, 360 yards, with moguls guarding the right of the green.


The view of St Enodoc Church, with its' wonky steeple, the 11th green, 12th tee and Daymer Bay from the 14th teeing ground


The 14th also plays uphill, at 355 yds.


The green has a sheer fall of to the right, shored up by a stone wall. My second shot rolled to the back right, only 6 inches from the edge. The only shot I had was a left handed putt with the back of a 3 iron; the most gratifying up and down of the trip! Notice the ramp to access the green from the right side.


The drop shot par 3 15th is 156 yds long.


Back to the linksland for a birdie chance on the 495 yard par 5 16th. This is from 200 yards from the green.


The 17th is a strong par 3, 206 yards uphill.


The 446 yard par4 18th makes for a great finish, through the dunes back to the clubhouse.

[ian]

Pete,

Thank-you, that was a fun trip through the golf course. That just hit my must play some time list.

Is the 2nd shot on 10 semi-blind?

How close to the ocean do you get on 11 through 13?

The terrain is quite a mix, does it add a lot, or did you miss the dunes when you were out of them?

Ian

[Joe Hancock]

Pete,

You don't know how cool it was to just get caught by my wife with me saying,"COOL!...COOL!...COOL!"

Then, to show her the pictures and tell her it was a person I just had the pleasure of meeting and golfing with. No wonder this site is so....COOL!

Joe

[Pete Lavallee]

Ian;

The 12th tee is right by the beach, seperated by a hedge. If you look closely at the shot from the 14th tee you'll see a parasailer to the right of the steeple; the beach there is noted for that. The area around the Church is very interesting and a pleasent change of pace from the linksland. People actually have to walk over 100 yards, through the golf course to get to the Church. The second shot is blind on 10 if you are short of the neck, and you have to draw it around the corner as you can only see the area to the right of the green from there.

[David_Tepper]

Pete-

Thanks very, very much for the photos. You brought back some nice memories for me.

I played St. Endoc in June, 2002. I teed off about 7:30 on a weekday morning and had the whole place to myself. What a great morning it was!

St. Endoc is the total package - tough holes, some easy holes, some VERY quirkly holes over a nice mixture of terrain that has some of the largest sand hills in the UK . The views out over the Camel River estuary and Padstow Bay are also spectacular.

I believe Tom Watson prepped for the 2002 British Open with a few rounds at St. Endoc, as the Club Secretary there is actually an American friend of his from Kansas City.

[Andrew Summerell]

Great shots Pete.

I love seeing photos from playing positions. It gives me a great aspect of what the course would be like if I were to play it.

Andrew

[Pete Lavallee]

Andrew;  

We teed off at 3:30 pm, behind a society fo 20 golfers, all in 4 balls. Needless to say the wife and I had plenty of time for photos!

[John Krystynak]

I just started laughing with joy looking at these!

Of all the rankings in the world, the list that has never
failed me is "The Gourmet's Choice".  

Thanks for reminding me that St Enodoc's is on that list, and showing us why!  I'll be there sometime before Painswick if anyone is interested in playing together.

[Marc Haring]

Great pictures Pete.

I played St Enodoc many moons ago in a shotgun start pro-am. My first tee shot was the 10th. Just what you need at 8.00am loaded up with triple strength caffeine to try and offset the liver abuse of the night before, a monster par 4 with ten yards of fairway to hit and a stream left and a mountain right. Anyway, great course well worth the trip to the furthest reaches of our fair isles.

That terrific church has a story apart from the fact that the poet laureate John Betjamin was buried there in a typical Cornish gale. I don’t know if it is apocryphal but apparently some guy was playing that hole, pushed it right and had a shot off the dune. He took a sizable divot and a hit a stone. He dug around the stone trying to get it out and kept digging and basically they ended up unearthing that church.

I await Mark Rowlinson or Paul Turner to confirm or otherwise.

[Steve Wilson]

Thanks Pete for a great set of photographs.  It's almost pornography for golfers.  The par 3s look particularly appetizing.  And the fallaway green on the 14th.  The second photo reminds me at least of the road hole at TOC.  If ever I return to Cornwall, St. Enodoc is definitely on my play list.  

[Gene Greco]

Fabulous.

Much thanks for the cyber round of golf.

The Thirty One Flavors always seem to be the tastiest.

[NAF]

In Neil Crafter's Australian Golf Architecture Volume 7, Russell Talley and I contribute a piece dedicated to St. Enodoc.  It includes the poetry of Sir John Betjeman who lauded the course in several of his poems, a course review and
current and old pictures of the course.  While I have not seen the finished product, I would recommend if you like what you see in these pictures, you have a look at the article.

For those who believe golf can lead to a certain spirituality, from my travels I believe St. Enodoc is the holy grail.  While it does not have the remoteness of a Dornoch or Sand Hills or even a place like Barnbougle Dunes, there is a sense of
"place" at St. Enodoc that is hard to encapsulate in words.  One must go there and feel the turf underneath his feet and see the magic of the landscape and ancient church to understand how one can be moved by the game and the course.

[Paul_Turner]

Pete

Awesome! Thanks, I love photos.

NAF is right.  St Enodoc is the most romantic course in the world.  Does any course have a greater variety of, and more beautiful, backdrops than this course?  I doubt it.

Where would you rather be?  Fighting the tour buses at Lahinch or taking a quiet stroll around this links?

The Himalaya bunker has been tarted up a bit, but it's still amazing and I think they have to do that periodically otherwise it would just erode too much.

I heard that the church was buried in sand at one time, but I don't know how completely.

They don't make stone walls like that anymore!

(Have the 15th green contours been flattened?)

[RJ_Daley]

Wow, talk about catching lightening in a bottle.  How fortunate for you Pete, that you tee'd off in later afternoon and had such enchanting light to play upon the rumbling turf.  Noel uses some very fine words to describe it.  I looked up the word 'idyllic' in the dictionary and found a reference back to your photo journey around St Enodoc.

[NAF]

Paul, the 15th hole is the blandest green on the course.  A back to front pitched affair. The bunkering is not the best and by far it is the most prosaic hole on the course.  But after the drop shot, you've got 3 of the best holes around in links golf.

I wrote this after I finished my round at St. Enodoc--it is in the piece in Golf Architecture.  Again, I suggest one buys the magazine.

“Beside the Cornish village of Rock
Lie the ancient, crumpled links of St. Enodoc
Here where Braid and Betjeman spun their skills
We get to play and hide in the sandhills

Rising to the top of the hill on the roiling long first
The cobalt Camel estuary view quenches our thirst
The siren's call of the fourth, the attempt to putt for eagle
Hearing the lark's song of joy, the drone of a seagull

The Himalayas rising contemptuously, regal and sublime
Beckon us to pause, breath, and take some time
Round the spire of the old church, we play through the parish
The rivulet sands of Trebetherick with a panorama to cherish

Back to the sixteenth with the tide rolling in to Padstow
A riveting, boring drive on the short seventeenth is apropos
Hummocks and hills lead us on the home hole
There a sojourn awaits, a return to innocence and our soul

Why is it that a moment on this turf sings?
Is it the inexplicable factor in wonderful things?
If ever solemn and sullen times arrive and time tick tocks
Let me play my last round at St. Enodoc”

Noel Freeman (2003)

[Mark_Rowlinson]

What pictures!  They capture so vividly the feel of St Enodoc.  Certainly the church was pretty well buried in sand blown from the shore by Atlantic gales but I haven't been able to verify (or not) the story of its being found by an errant golfer.  Of the 10th Bernard Darwin in his guide to the course writes:

The church plays its part at the hole because the correct line for the drive [he actually says 'second' but it must be an error], as given by our caddie, will be on the porch.  Lots of things may have happened, however, for not only do we carry a wall and a stream (less alarming than they sound) but - and this is really alarming - we may slice into grassy hills where we shall have to climb like chamois; or hook into trees and marshes.  That marsh, called the Brea Lake, will have us with the second, too, if we aim at the steeple instead of the porch....'

For anyone making the journey to Cornwall I commend also West Cornwall further south at Lelant for having some similarly mountainous dune holes, and also an attendant church and graveyard.  I found less to interest me at Trevose (Colt) which is just on the other side of the estuary from St Enodoc, but that may just be my personal feeling.

[plabatt]

This is such a great post that it should be moved to COURSES BY COUNTRY where it would be permanent fixture.

[Lynn_Shackelford]

If only Ran could photograph this well!

[Matt_Ward]

Pete:

Great photos! Next time I'm across the pond I'll be sure to schedule a visit.

Couple of quick questions to you or anyone else who can answer ...

1). Can a tee shot get a turbo boost on the drop-ff of the fairway at the 2nd?

2). What's the carry over the fronting mound on the short 4th? Can you swing a draw shot around it?

3). What's the carry on the gigantic fairway bunker at the 6th? Is there any fairway cut beyond it?

4). How set back are the trio of bunkers from the green at the par-3 8th? Is the prevailing wind generally into the player on that hole?

5). How wide is the fairway at #10 -- especially in the 260-300 zone?

6). How wide is the 18th fairway and is the tee shot played from a head-on position or is it slightly angled?

Many thanks ...

[Pete Lavallee]

Matt;

My recollection is that the ground will assist a draw on #2.
On number 4 I hit a decent drive (I'm definetly in the short hitter class) and had a 10 yard chip for birdie. So driving the green is definetly a possibility. Sorry my Stroke Saver is at home.
Probably 270-280 to carry the huge bunker, don't know if that's doable.
The bunkers on #8 are only a few yards short of the green and it's very hard to hold it because it played downwind the 2 days I was there.
I was told by the members that the youngsters regularly drive over the hill to 7 iron range. I would estimate it's less than 20 yards wide at that point; still a great hole played that way.
The 18th is a fairly narrow fairway, maybe 25 yards wide. The ladies tee lines up with the direction of the hole. The back tee is on the property line as far back and right as they could put it; it makes for a very oblique angle.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

The story of a golfer hitting a stone and discovering the church is not fact.  The church was restored in the 1860s, before there was a golf course here.  http://www.rockinfo.co.uk/daymer/stenochc.html

[ForkaB]

Great stuff, Pete.  Almost as good as your home brew!

I had to punt on a trip to Cornwall last year, but I've got the same gig available this year and your pictures are inspiring me to take it.

Thanks.

[RJ_Daley]

Warning  - Maintenance meld question ahead...

I can make out only a couple of possible irrigation heads and I think I see two irrigation control boxes.  Is the course irrigated or do they rely on quick couplers and Mother Nature for water?  The definition lines between fairway and rough are so vague that I wonder if the greener areas of fairway are simple achieved with fertility, and the roughs infrequently or never fertilized?  Does anyone know what species of turf one would find dominant in fairways, greens, tees, and roughs.  Is it a polystand of ancient native cultivars, or fescue/rye.  About what height do the cut fairways and with what - a tractor pulled gang mower.  No scalping apparent over the multitude of humps rolls and mogels.  So I figure it must be cut at 3/4 or so... Also, if anyone knows at what height they normally cut these greens...

[George Pazin]

Phenomenal photos and thread - St Enodoc just moved to the top of my wish list.

Best quality photos of a course I've seen in a long long time, Pete - did you use a digital camera (if so, which) or are these scans?

[NAF]

To me there are many virtuous shots at St. Enodoc.  The first hole may be the finest opening par 5 I've played--especially on a links course.  It takes 2 semi blind or blind shots to leave a pitch to a green located on a sand ridge seemingly undefended until you see its slopes, bumps and hollows.

The 4th is a conundrum--you want to stand on the tee and bomb away but after playing it you realize it probably isnt best to try and drive the green.. It is the size of a pie plate and protected by a bunker in the front and the wall which pinches in the green.  I don't think a draw while the hole winds that way is the correct shot to hold the green.. You'd have to hit a power towering fade especially in the summer where a draw would run right through. Laying up isnt an easy option either as your 60 degree wedge play will be tested. You really need to run it up.

The 5th hole is a Tom Simpson creation with a great green.. Why did Fowler and Simpson make so many good par 3s?

The 7th hole is widely known and has been discussed here by me and many others in the past.  The old photos of the hole with the exposed/eroded sand bunker are a joy to look at.. It was man vs. nature at its best.

The 9th hole green site is spectacular flanked behind by an arbeol forest and the half moon shaped Bray Hill.

The 12th tee box with the sands of Trebetherick (I love that name) behind it was Sir John Betjeman's favorite place on the course.  With rolling Atlantic waves crashing behind you, the player can see why.

For my money though, the stretch from 16-18 is what really gets my blood moving.

The 16th along with the 1st is just a ton of fun to play.  It is bunkerless but the real greatness of it is the terrain.  There is a wonderful diagonal slope for the long hitter to catch with his tee shot.  A strong power fade can get a huge kick fwd if placed correctly making the second shot one to go for the green.. A fade that goes too far, won't be found.

The 17th is a hole Braid found when he was called in to reconfigure the course due to the clubhouse being relocated and what a gem he discovered.  It sits there daring you to hit the green which sits in a saddle between the dunes.  It takes a strong and high draw with a 3-5 iron (its about 215 yds) to get home.   The green looks like a tiny target though from the tee.

The 18th has been talked about already.  What hasn't been mentioned is the cross bunker that used to guard the landing zone.  Again, the terrain is the star here and one must be very accurate as the landing zone for a drive is tiny!

[Mike_Erdmann]

Pete, thanks for posting these pictures of a fantastic course.  Definitely moved up my "must-play" list!  One thing that stands out to me from these photos is the bunkering on the par 3 15th.  Is it just the photo, or is the bunkering on 15 completely out of character with the rest of the course?  To me, the bunkering looks very flashed up and more in character with a modern American course.  Any idea if these bunkers are original or have been redone recently?

[Pete Lavallee]

I must agree with the Naffer that St Enodoc is truely a magical place. My wife was born in Lytham St Annes, but her family moved to Cornwall when she was 12. You can imagine how dissapointed I was when I finally got my Confidential Guide and found out that one of England's finest links was only a 30 minute drive away; and I was going to places like St Mellions! My thanks go out to Tom Doak for this greatest of all travel guides for golfers. His description had long signaled what a special place this is and NAF's posts earlier last year only increased my hunger. While popping into the clubhouse for some refreshment after that round I mentioned to one of the members what an architectural masterpiece they had there. He said that stuff was way over his head but sent over a fellow who would be more in tune to dissecting the virtues of the course. He was an avid club and ball collector (he found several valuable specimens in the creek short of the 5th green when its course changed in the winter) and we had a nice chat. He later informed me that he was the father of former British Amateur Champion Scott Godfrey. We had no accomadation for the night and he led us into the boondocks for dinner and a room in the hamlet of St. Minver. These type of magical things happen all too often when traveling the English countryside looking for golf, refreshment and conversation. I would encourage all GCAer's to think of England as a golf destination: uncrowded courses, with great architecture, at very reasonable rates.

Dick, the irrigation system was installed in 1998, the members were sick of the course "turning white". There is a large detention pond on the dune to the right of the first hole; thankfully the water is used to keep the grass alive not green. They experienced a major drought last summer and the courses with no irrigation were litterally white, not a problem for the purists on this site, but stressful to the turf. I think this was the Clubs prime motivation, keeping the turf healthy.

George, I used a digital Cannon S-30 3.2 Mega pixel. It's compact, fits nicely in golf bag or pocket, has a rechargable nicad battery, but the drawback is that the viewfinder doesn't show how the picture is actually framed and in daylight the LCD display is hard to see.

[Matt_Ward]

Pete:

Given the places you have played in England how would you stack St. Enodoc up against them? If you can rank order them it would be much obliged.

Thanks ...

P.S. Do you have total yardage for the course from max back and the CR if available. Appreciate it!

[Peter Pittock]

I had the pleasure to enjoy a round there in September 1997, very few people on the course. Had to take cover behind the stone wall beyond the church as lightning jarred my fillings and shorted out camcorder circuitry for a few days. Four is definitely driveable, but there is a severe penalty OB right, lost left) for off line shots. The bunker on 6 may be driveable, but I have some photos of someone on belay trying to get to his ball, which was declared unplayable. You may not be able to play the medal tees.

For the foolhardy, St Edenoc (due west of Exeter at Rock) is probably a mere 3.5 hour and 180 mile drive from Painswick.

[Tom_Doak]

Pete,

Thanks for those great photos.

I still have not been back to St. Enodoc since December, 1982.  It's the single course I would most like to play again.  But I'm too busy!

[Pete Lavallee]

Matt;

The Medal tee yardage is 6243, with a Standard Scratch Score (SSS) of 70 verse par 69. We were not allowed to play the Medal tees. I mentioned this to a member afterward and he agreed that it seemed a bit rude , but the club wants to keep the holiday makers and societies from tearing them up. Most Clubs let us play the tips; The Addington also strickly relegated us to the yellows. According to my Stroke saver it is 268 to reach the barber pole over the Himilaya bunker on #6, however to carry the sandhill and not be stuck on the downslope it looks like 313 yards.  Here's how I'd rate the trip:

St Enodoc-It's links golf and has that magical quality, the only one we played twice
West Sussex-sublime heathlands golf, difficult to score on
Royal Ashdown Forest-unique bunkerless golf in the heather
Woking-love what Doak said: you need the soul of an architect to appreciate it
Saunton East-Fowler really brings out the ground game
The Addington-canyon golf in the suberbs of London
Royal North Devon-like stepping into a time machine, very difficult greens to read
Isle of Purbeck-Some outstanding Colt holes with awesome views
Saunton West-like the Cashen you ask yourself: why aren't I on the old course, would get more respect elsewhere
Shanklin & Sandown-handful of good holes, greens lack interest

Hope this helps.
 

[David_Tepper]

Matt Ward-

Pete Lavallee was able to dig up his St. Endoc course guide before I found mine.

I know course ratings and yardage interest you, but that is not what St. Endoc is all about. Other English links I have played include Birkdale, Hoylake, Lytham St. Anne's & Hillside. They are all far sterner tests of golf and are suitable championship venues. I think St. Endoc hosted the English Ladies Amateur a summer or two ago, stronger players than that would overpower the course.

None of those others courses has the charm of St. Endoc and none was a much fun for me (a 14-handicap golfer) to play.
I also played nearby Trevose and was not trerribly impressed.

DT    

[Ed Tilley]

bump

[John Mayhugh]

Ed,
Thanks for resurrecting this.  Pete's pictures and description are awesome.  This is one place I've got to play.

I've enjoyed seeing some of these old threads brought back up.  Many of us haven't been around all that long relatively speaking.

[Stuart Hallett]

Pete,

Oh the west country ! Thanks for the pics.
I originate from Somerset & have spent many weekends on the cornish coast. St Enodoc is magical ! The course winds through a strip of rugged dunes... and then a sudden break in the landscape... golf stops and agriculture takes over. The transition is perfect & very natural, thus contributing to "the sense of place" as NAF said.

I recommend a trip across to Padstow for fresh fish & chips & some great views of the estuary. The cornish coast is often spectacular but also very busy. I've heard from friends that St Ives is the new London-on-Sea.

Pics from 2005.