Made my first trip to Wales over the July 4th week and played Southerndown, Porthcawl, and Pennard. I also played three courses in Surrey coming and going but will post on them separately.
My observations below. I will also mention up front that this was a trip that was heavily influenced by both the Confidential Guide and the 147 Custodians list.
My impressions:
Southerndown: What a wonderful varied layout on three distinct tracts of land. The first 6 holes play across very strongly contoured rumpled land. The second fairway was as bumpy and wild as anything I have seen. The middle holes play across the relatively flat plateau at the top of a large hill and the closing stretch tacks across a hillside strewn with gorse. Played in a very heavy wind and really enjoyed how the course presented so many different looks and varied greensites. I also really appreciated the lack of irrigation except for the greens. The bunkering was both spartan and super interesting.
(5th hole)
Royal Porthcawl: Pretty much exactly what I expected. A very good course in a great location that was both fun and challenging and interesting in an architectural sense. The first three seaside holes give way to a really great walk across an outstanding landscape with golf holes that feel as if they have continually been improved over time. This course really exemplifies the combination of grooming and ruggedness without contradiction. The only thing I didn’t appreciate was that the primary rough was much too high for my taste and being more than a few yards wide of a 30 yard fairway meant a pitch forward about 80 percent of the time. I also love it when the holes meander in some many different directions that you lose track of the wind direction just enough. I keeping with my habit I played it twice.
(15th hole)
Pennard: Wow. Definitely a mind blowing links. It was bone dry and just amazing. Also played it twice. If Porthcawl hits your intellect, this course touches your soul. Also exactly what I was expecting and hoping for. As much fun to discover as any place I have been in golf. Several of the greens were pretty much unfair (#6 and #11) and yet still very fun and inviting. #10 is maybe the ballsiest par five I have seen. 16 and 17 are a really great closing stretch. If 17 doesn’t evoke some kind of strong reaction then you are not alive. I hit two awesome drives down to like 220 and 200 from the green and layed up the first time and mustered the courage to go for it the second time and both playings were totally stirring. I did not like the last hole when really firm. There was no way to hit the fairway unless you laid way back and the left rough was overly penal. I would move the fairway 10-20 yards to the right.
(10th hole)
