Perranporth (The Craziest Links in the World) Tour + borrowed pics

[Pete_Pittock]

Sean
Bothak means humpback.

http://perranporthgolfclub.co.uk/yardage.asp

[Thomas Dai]

Ah Perranporth, all brown and beige and burnt-up and with a bright blue clear sky, just wonderful. I like the reference to a certain green circa half-way round the front-9 at Beau Desert, very apt. Braid and Fowler, hero worship time.

Looking forward to the rest of the recent photos.

Perranporth, a course definitely worth travelling to play.

All the best

[Sean_A]

delete

[Thomas Dai]

Terrific course and excellent updated photo tour. Many thanks for posting.
All the best.

[Paul_Turner]

Seeing my old pics of Perranporth brings up some mixed feelings.   It was a good ego trip to be the first to post a photo tour of such a cool course on GCA, but don't threads like these spoil the mystery.   

Trying to find anything about Perranporth 10 or so years ago online was next to impossible, just a few grainy pics and word of mouth.  So Noel and I went there without expecting much; I was thinking along the lines of "it can't be much good... I bet it's only about 6 holes pure "links" and then goes of onto farmland".  So it was such a blast when it turned out to be much more exciting than that.

Are there many hidden gems left?

[Tom_Doak]

Seeing my old pics of Perranporth brings up some mixed feelings.   It was a good ego trip to be the first to post a photo tour of such a cool course on GCA, but don't threads like these spoil the mystery.   

Trying to find anything about Perranporth 10 or so years ago online was next to impossible, just a few grainy pics and word of mouth.  So Noel and I went there without expecting much; I was thinking along the lines of "it can't be much good... I bet it's only about 6 holes pure "links" and then goes of onto farmland".  So it was such a blast when it turned out to be much more exciting than that.

Are there many hidden gems left?

Paul:

You've revealed quite a few of them yourself, but I think there are a few still out there.

I know exactly what you're talking about, though; I was saying the same thing just the other day.  Maybe we should go up to see Glens Falls together, before someone posts a thread on it.

[Noel Freeman]

Seeing my old pics of Perranporth brings up some mixed feelings.   It was a good ego trip to be the first to post a photo tour of such a cool course on GCA, but don't threads like these spoil the mystery.  

Trying to find anything about Perranporth 10 or so years ago online was next to impossible, just a few grainy pics and word of mouth.  So Noel and I went there without expecting much; I was thinking along the lines of "it can't be much good... I bet it's only about 6 holes pure "links" and then goes of onto farmland".  So it was such a blast when it turned out to be much more exciting than that.

Are there many hidden gems left?

Again, one of those moments and trips where mystery reigned and surprise ruled the day. Technology and these golf websites create a ton of interest but take the romance out of it all--something technology is doing to my everyday life.. Wouldn't you prefer to be Tom Doak in the early 80s driving and getting lost throughout GB and I with nothing but whispers and opinions of where to play and interaction with the locals?  Rather than research things to death on this website, look thru a photo tour and read a zillion bits of prose on holes by people you don't know, don't have your eye nor your golf game.

Paul, I miss our times together.  Some of the best of my adult life..

You don't know who You are do you? You can't really get at yourself, just as the fingertip can't touch itself and the teeth can't bite themselves. And that's because You really want a surprise- Alan Watts.

[Dan Herrmann]

^^^^
Damn, that's well written!

[Mark Hissey]

Love that place. One of the nicest golfing surprises I've ever had. I played it the day after I played St Enodoc.

[Sean_A]

Seeing my old pics of Perranporth brings up some mixed feelings.   It was a good ego trip to be the first to post a photo tour of such a cool course on GCA, but don't threads like these spoil the mystery.   

Trying to find anything about Perranporth 10 or so years ago online was next to impossible, just a few grainy pics and word of mouth.  So Noel and I went there without expecting much; I was thinking along the lines of "it can't be much good... I bet it's only about 6 holes pure "links" and then goes of onto farmland".  So it was such a blast when it turned out to be much more exciting than that.

Are there many hidden gems left?

Paul

Yes, my first visit to Perranporth was maybe 15 years ago (not long before I moved to England) - a word of mouth visit from a mate who played it on a whim while on holiday.  He described Perranporth as a clifftop course.  Of course, Steel's book even missed Perranporth!  Rather oddly, so did Pennink's.  Anyway, I was stunned at how much I didn't remember.  There were really only about half a dozen instances that I really knew the score.  Its a tough course to remember details of, but that certainly isn't the case for its spirit.  I could play Perranporth tomorrow and have a wonderful sense of adventure - its that magical.

There are hidden gems left only because people are doubtful of reports like you were concerning Perranporth.  Unless a big wig proclaims something to be the case than that sense of doubt is more heightened.

Ciao   

[Charlie Gallagher]

GJ,
   Your tour exposes a completely radical course that I have never heard mentioned prior to your posting. The only thing I have played that even approaches it's look is Carne, the great Hackett gem in Belmulett, Ireland. The back nine there has several holes with pretty crazy elevation and radical angle changes shot to shot, but it only gets in the ball park. This Perranporth is a breed apart. Thank's for putting this tour together. It's a truly stunning revelation.

[Garland Bayley]

Charlie,

Apparently you don't know Cullen either.
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51605.0.html

[Garland Bayley]

Bumping this as I have restored the pictures that Photobucket was refusing to serve up, by transferring them to flickr. I also supplemented the thread by adding pictures from Sean's thread. Unfortunately Ulrich's pictures are no longer available.

[Thomas Dai]

An epic thread, epic course. Well done Garland for the photo restoration (or is it renovation? ) work?
atb

[Garland Bayley]

Has to be renovation as I put more there than was before.

[Tom Bacsanyi]

Looks awesome.  I've never seen block mowed (out and back if you will) greens.  Now THAT's linksy!

[jeffwarne]

Has to be renovation as I put more there than was before.

Incredible pictures.
One of my favorites that I had forgotten how good it really was.
Losing the direct flight to Bristol from Newark a few years ago didn't help this itinerary though.

[Thomas Dai]

Another epic, although somewhat marmite like, course and thread. Well done for the recovery work Garland.
Atb

[Garland Bayley]

After Kalen posted a link to a youtube video about North Berwick that I watched, youtube began suggesting links course videos to me again. Fortunately, they suggested a video about Perranporth, which turned out to be part of a 6 part series. The videos can perhaps better give the feel of the course than our still pictures can, and I enjoyed my revisit to Perranporth through these videos. Hopefully, others will find these enjoyable too.

My apologies for the length of the totality of the 6 videos.

And, my apologies for the sight of a buggy on a beloved links! If a retirement age, 300 pound hacker can walk and play 36 in a day at Perranporth, I don't see why someone needs a buggy to play 3 holes a day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRcbaF7bvoQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Glais3RnCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99lMGLQfIWc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_btMNfjdTUw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orgQDGoSG8Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hsWSvhL_BY

[Matt MacIver]

Thanks Garland missed this thread the first two times, looks wonderful grounds for golf.

[Garland Bayley]

Perhaps I should have mentioned in the previous post that one of the players in the videos is former European Tour player Chris Gill who is the pro at Newquay Golf Club, which is a short distance from Perranporth, and knows the course very well.

One of his primary points is that you don't have to be long to be challenging. They played two man scrambles, and the only bogey was on the shortest hole on the course. Knowing the course, Chris was the only one able to get his tee shot with a wedge on the green on that hole.

[Anthony Gray]

 Wow. Lots of elevation changes.


 Great photo thread. This is how it’s done.

[Garland Bayley]

Thanks Anthony.

No one wants to talk to me so I have to quote what people write elsewhere to get a conversation going. 

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Although I have not played the course, this photo tour gave me enough of an idea of how unique this course is. I hope they keep to their word:
https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/perranporth-appoints-lobb-partners-for-course-review

[David_Tepper]

Easier to read:

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/perranporth-appoints-lobb-partners-for-course-review