Why Didn't They Do This at Royal St David's?

[Mark_F]

The last course I played in Wales was Royal St David's.  It is certainly one that raises expectations as you approach along the A496 high above the town, and see below you a narrow, yet one would have thought, ample, strip of dunesland.

In actuality,you only play amongst the dunes the last couple of holes, and stand in the middle of the 15th fairway casting a lingering glance at the dunes beyond.

Surely there was enough land there to utilise them - I got the impression from a member that the club owned the land, for in the end, I thought it was a bit of a let down.

In fact, it reminded me a little of Southerndown - not necessarily a bad thing, of course - being principally composed of a set of long and rigorous par fours surrounded by gorse and worse, a solitary par five, and five par threes.

It's quite a stern test, but little else, I thought.  And given the Welsh weather...

 

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Mark,  

That weather is not unique to Wales - this summer has been dreadful throughout the UK.

The answer to your question about the layout is that it was first laid out by a boomerang-throwing Australian and a man who knew nothing about golf.  The story goes that a Mr W.H. More was looking out from his balcony when he observed a man doing something very strange down in the dunes.  He went to investigate and found one Harold Finch-Hatton, an Austrlaian visitor who was throwing a boomerang.  'Capital place for a golf links; come on, let's lay one out!' exclaimed F-H.  And that is what they did, in 1890.  After the First World War one C.W. Limouzin (who?) was commissioned to draw up plans for course improvement but these were not implemented beyond 'essential cosmetic amendments to tighten the links.'  Colt was engaged to make changes in 1924, the most significant of which was the addition of a cross-bunker to the 17th.  Charles Lawrie revised the bunkering in 1973 and I don't think anything has been done since.  

I agree that the front nine are flat (no easier for that) and that the dunes are not fully explored but you may find that it is too late to do that.  Very probably the conservationists would put up too powerful arguments.  I don't suppose the club is rich enough to consider substantial change.  I suspect the members are pretty happy with what they've got.  Given recent serious breaches of the sea wall at Towyn and other spots on the Welsh coast and fears of sea-level changes through global warming and there is probably a very careful watch being kept on those dunes.