Dear GCA,
Last week I went on a flying visit to ‘P and K’ (local name) without my camera! to investigate Harry Colt’s work there. I had never played the course before luckily I played with a member which really helped my way round the course.
The course is divided into 2 nines by a minor road. The front nine is the less dramatic of the two nines but it had the more dramatic greens and bunkering. Overall the course was so much fun to play and it was a lot better than I had expected.
I hope to visit the course again in the near future armed with a camera. I recently bought a book on Harry Colt’s golf courses and looked up at P and K. The book says that the front nine is all Colt’s work and the current back nine is by Philip Mackenzie Ross (of Turnberry fame). This helped to clarify everything that I had suspected.
The back nine loops around massive dunes with 5 or 6 practice holes/holes used in the winter. I felt this was a waste of pure golfing land!! There was one of the best positioned skyline green I have seen on a golf course and it was a practice hole!
I have drawn a layout sketch of the proposed Dunes course if they had utilised the land better. The Colt front nine would be preserved as a protected 9 hole golf course like a 'Picasso painting' on land.
Also I have utilised all the greens on the practice course as well as relocating the 18th green further away from the road and closer to the clubhouse. 13 existing greens are used and 5 new greens built to reduce construction costs for the club.
Here is a description of the Dunes course:
Hole 1 – 430 yards par 4 - existing hole 10 with new tees further left to accommodate new 18th green.
Hole 2 – 165 yards par 3 - existing practice par 3 hole by existing 10th green.
Hole 3 – 495 yards par 5 - existing practice hole to skyline green (existing 11th hole removed)
Hole 4 – 405 yards par 4 – new hole built inside existing hole 12/13/14 loop.
Hole 5 – 455 yards par 4 - new hole built inside existing hole 12/13/14 loop using the current 11th green but coming in from the opposite direction.
Hole 6 – 201 yards par 3 – existing 12th hole.
Hole 7 – 390 yards par 4 – existing 13th hole. Tees moved to left side of existing Hole 12 green.
Hole 8 – 412 yards par 4 – existing 14th hole.
Hole 9 – 540 yards par 5 – existing practice par 5 hole with downhill tee shot and undulating fairway.
Outward nine – 3493 yards par 36
Hole 10 – 185 yards par 3 – existing practice par 3 hole by existing 17th fairway.
Hole 11 – 320 yards par 4 – existing practice par 4 hole.
Hole 12 – 375 yards par 4 – new hole in extreme rolling dunes.
Hole 13 – 219 yards par 3 – existing 15th hole.
Hole 14 – 585 yards par 5 – new hole parallel to existing 15th hole.
Hole 15 – 470 yards par 4 – new hole alongside hole 13 with green located close to large dune.
Hole 16 – 520 yards par 5 – existing 16th hole converted into a dogleg left par 5.
Hole 17 – 440 yards par 4 – existing 17th hole.
Hole 18 – 430 yards par 4 – new dunes built on left side of fairway to prevent wayward shots veering onto the road. New green is constructed closer to clubhouse. The current 18th hole has been ruined by the club moving the fairway further right and adding 3 new out of character bunkers and the alignment of the green does not flow with the realigned fairway.
Inward nine – 3544 yards par 36
Total – 7037 yards par 72 (SSS – 75 or 76)
This would be a wonderful looking course and has a massive potential eclipsing its more well known next door neighbour – Royal Porthcawl as the best course in Wales. Also I believe this is a better layout than I had previously proposed P and K as a 2020 Open venue.
Thread link -
http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,38915.msg813249/Look forward to your comments.
Cheers
Ben