Brora V Pennard

[Sean_A]

I once read a quote from Rich Goodale which more or less stated that Pennard wasn't a Brora.  I took this to mean that Rich felt Brora was superior to Pennard.  These two courses are similar and different in many ways.  I find both fascinating and highly undervalued.

SIMILARITIES

1.Both are aften viewed as second tier courses.  Each being down the road from a much more famous neighbour. 

2.Both have had design input from Braid.

3.Both offer fantasic views.

4.Both are fairly rustic and primitive.

5.Both are on wild land that is also highly suseptible to wind.

6.Both are short and can flatter any handicap if the getting is good.

7.Both offer conditions that are as f&f as you will find anywhere and accomodate the ground game.

DIFFERENCES

1.Brora has a par of 69 with only one par 5.  Pennard has a par of 71 with five par 3s and four par 5s. 

2.While both are on wild land, Pennard is much more extreme in that the course is humpty bumpty and hilly.  Holding fairways can be difficult in windy conditions.  Brora, while far from flat, is more of the St. Andrews type of links,  Humpty bumpty and seemingly confined. 

3.Because of Pennard's more extreme nature, approaches to greens are often more obscured.  Using the ground game at Brora is more straight forward.  There is far less worry of humps kicking balls off line.

4.Brora uses strategic bunkering more than Pennard.

5.The greens at Pennard are more varied than Brora's.  Pennard ranges from the bizarre at #7 to the sedate at #2.  Brora's greens are much tamer overall and less interesting.

I put both of these courses as my top 25 links in the UK & Ireland.  I would be interested hear thought of others.  Especially if interesting compare/contrast points can be put forth.

Ciao

[Tom_Doak]

Sean:  I love both courses and look forward to visiting both again.  Yet I am not sure I would place either in a list of my top 25 links courses.  They are too wild for a lot of people.

If I had to pick one telling difference between the two, my impression (from walking Brora, I was not able to play) was that Brora restricted long driving on a lot of holes, with interrupted fairways at 230-260 yards off the tees, whereas at Pennard the long hitter can pretty much always hit away.  I know those outward holes at Brora were into a strong prevailing wind when I saw them and I would not have been hitting irons off the tee that day, but it could be a problem in some conditions, and if so then Pennard would likely get a higher ranking from the majority of low markers.

[ForkaB]

I once read a quote from Rich Goodale which more or less stated that Pennard wasn't a Brora.  I took this to mean that Rich felt Brora was superior to Pennard.  

Sean, Sean, Sean!

I've never been within 50 miles of Pennard, so why would I have ever said such a thing?  Please stop casting asparagus on my reputation.

I'll play Pennard some day and then let you know what I feel.

[ForkaB]

Tom and Sean

I can think of only two holes at Brora where you might have to hit iron off the, the 5th and 11th.  There are a number of others (e.g. the 1st) where the cautious strong player might do so, but that is their choice and not an imperative of the architecture.

I played there with an enormously long and extremely good player two years ago, and he never hit anything but driver off the tee (except for a few 300-350 yard downwind holes where he hit irons to near the greens), and shot 60-something.

[Gary Daughters]

I could've wished for driver restriction at the par 3 "Witch," but there was head-on gale that nearly blew me off the tee box.  

[ForkaB]

Sean

I can't find that quote in the crack GCA search engine, but it is possible that I was taking the brown acid that night.....If you have a reference, give it to me and I'll see if I can remember the context.

Rich

PS--had some baby asparagus last night with my slow roasted pork belly and caramelised baby corn.  Yum, Yum!

[ForkaB]

Thanks, Sean

Reading the post I was replying to a ? from Paul Turner, and both the question and my answer related to whether or not Pennard was similar to Brora.  I said not, based on the pictures, and we all know that the Naccarato-Macwood Conjecture allows for comments based on photographic evidence alone.  I made no value judgements regarding the quality of the two venues, although our Most Beloved Leader (who HAS played both courses) did so in the post immediately below me.

BTW--how in hell did you find that post?  Surely not by scrolling through the previous 703 pages......

[David_Tepper]

Sean -

I have played Brora 5-6 times and have never played Pennard. I have not played St. Andrews either, but based on pictures and watching it on TV, I don't think you could describe Brora as being of the "St. Andrews type of links" at all.

I don't think of Brora as being confining. The land has far more movement than what I think is at St. Andrews and you can see the ocean from every hole, which I believe is not the case at TOC. While there are a few blind shots at Brora, I imagine the number is far less than at TOC. Probably far fewer fairway bunkers as well.    

At the moment, I can't think of another links course similar to Brora, but I would not put TOC that list.

DT  

[Joe Andriole]

I think that the terrain is more intersting and varied at Pennard but the cows and particularly their heads are more formidable at Brora.

[David_Tepper]

Sean -

Sorry to be disagreeable, but I would not describe Brora as being in the least bit "cramped."  Maybe the fact that I have never played the course when it is full of golfers has given me that feeling. The vistas looking out over the sea and inland to the hills certainly give me a feeling of great expanse.

In my mind, the course seems pretty wide open. There is a ton of room between the front nine and the sea. The interior boundary of the course is only relevant on a few shots on the back nine. The tees are a comfortable distance from the greens. I don't think I can ever recall having to worry about hitting into (or being hit by) golfers on an adjacent fairway, which does become a concern on a few holes at Golspie (mostly #4 & #18).

Which only goes to show how subjective all this is!

DT