St. Enodoc and golfing joy

[Darren_Kilfara]

Last Thursday, my wife gave me the morning off from our family holiday in Cornwall to go play St. Enodoc. I'm pretty sure it had been at least a decade since I went out of my way to play a new course I'd never played before solely for architectural reasons (including Tom Doak's write-up in the first section of his original Confidential Guide, which is again at my side as I type here); generally I've stopped doing that because I'm pretty blessed with the golf I get to play regularly here in East Lothian, and I've stopped coming here to GCA mainly because I want to remain content with what I have and not become jealous by seeing reports of all of the great courses I'll never get to play. But something moved me to make an exception and seek out St. Enodoc, and I'm very glad I did; it was one of the more memorable rounds I've played in a very long time.
I would share the photos I took of the course, but in truth the St. Enodoc club website is one of the very best I've ever see, and you can see great photos and a flyover video of every hole there which are much better than anything I produced myself. The course itself was, of course, fantastic; maybe I'm crazy, but I was getting New South Wales vibes in numerous places, which is very high praise from me indeed. Less so when I got to the stretch from the 12th to 14th holes, which for me is probably the course's weakest link, but the combination of rolling terrain, intricate green complexes and seaside adjacency totally rubbed me the right way. I played the course in a consistently stiff 20-25 mph wind, but there wasn't a single shot I played that felt unplayable, and as it happens I wound up posting my best score of the year so far, a 73 (+4) with birdies on #1, #4, #7 and #17. Before the 17th, the previous three driver tee shots I'd hit - all into the wind - each only travelled 170-180 yards or so, and facing an uphill hole of 200 yards directly into the wind, I was hoping to get within maybe 30 yards of the green and make no worse than bogey. So to strike my best drive of the day and actually reach the green, 25 feet from the hole, was thrilling in and of itself...and when I holed the putt thereafter, I started hopping around the green and punching the air like a complete idiot with a massive smile on my face. I haven't been that ecstatic on a golf course in quite a while.
Anyway, St. Enodoc is a very long way from most places in the UK, so if you want to play it, you really have to seek it out. But the trip is most definitely worth it. (We were staying in an apartment within walking distance of the Harry Colt course in Newquay, which looked pretty delightful in and of itself as we walked and drove past it repeatedly - set high above Fistral Beach on the coast - but I didn't push my luck to give it a go.) I don't know when I'll next seek out a course like St. Enodoc - not least because the two rounds I've sandwiched around it were/are in competitions at North Berwick and Gullane #1, and to reiterate, I really am content with my golfing lot in life. But man, that was *so* much fun.

[mike_malone]

The year of the Brexit vote a group of us played St.Enedoc. They had prepared the course for a tournament and then rain came in before the day we played. It was unfortunately like water hazards lining every fairway. Any ball missing a fairway was lost or completely unplayable.
 It ruined our experience.


Someday I need to return.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Nice to see you posting, Darren. I hadn’t seen St Enodoc until 2017 and I too loved the course (particularly the 12 hole loop of 1-9 & 16-18 although the other holes did a job of taking you to a new part of the property).


If one plays at courses such as North Berwick & Gullane, it’s a pretty good tactic to ignore websites about all the great courses in the world and be happy with your lot. Much more satisfying in the long run I suspect.

[Darren_Kilfara]

The year of the Brexit vote a group of us played St.Enedoc. They had prepared the course for a tournament and then rain came in before the day we played. It was unfortunately like water hazards lining every fairway. Any ball missing a fairway was lost or completely unplayable.
 It ruined our experience.

Someday I need to return.

Y'know...your post is actually a great reminder of the other reason I've mostly stopped seeking out great golf courses. It's really quite rare for all of the stars to line up for me to experience such joy in a one-off round: I have to be playing well, and the conditions have to be within certain tolerances. The latter are entirely beyond my control when I'm not able to make a tee time less than a week in advance and can see the weather forecast; this actually was the case last week, insofar as I was able to correctly pick the one day during the week when the winds were 20-25 mph (barely playable) and not 25-35 mph (unplayable). And the former is mostly beyond my control because I'm simply not that good or consistent of a golfer. I played The Old Course on the Thursday after the Open Championship last year, having gotten incredibly lucky in the ballot...and while getting to play the course with the grandstands mostly still up was indeed a great experience, I was well off my game, and the joy I had was minimized accordingly.

These facts probably say more about me than they do about golf, of course. I wish I could enjoy great architecture more on its own merits, independent of the golf I'm playing.

[John Emerson]

There are few courses I am excited to see as I am for St. Endoc. Pictures probably do not do that place justice.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Saint. Enodoc is one of those places that exceeded my expectations. It is a course for a lifetime.

[Craig Disher]

It's very much unchanged since Braid's work in the 1930s - except for an alteration to the 13th 15 years ago. But it's also just a great club with a friendly, cheerful membership that is very welcoming to visitors. For those who've not been there, this webcam perched above the clubhouse deck shows the activity on the opening and finishing holes. Not many better views in golf.

https://www.st-enodoc.co.uk/webcam-one/

[Adam Lawrence]

The fifteenth has a new green, built in the middle 2000s. Not sure if that’s what you meant, Craig.

[David_Tepper]

And, if the course is not too busy, don't forget to take a few minutes to step inside the church tucked into the back-9.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Enodoc%27s_Church,_Trebetherick

[Ally Mcintosh]

The fifteenth has a new green, built in the middle 2000s. Not sure if that’s what you meant, Craig.

The 13th was completely rejigged back in the 2000’s…. A pretty poor hole (or bland anyway). 11th also a little bland. 10th poor. Everything else top-notch and seeing as that 10-15 stretch takes you round in to a new bay and past the church, the slightly inferior golf can easily be forgiven.

[Ben Stephens]

Ally,


I think the holes 10-15 potentially is better in reverse.


There were plans of the course where there were a few holes that are now on the present Holywell course and I remember thinking it was a Braid layout which was better than the current course - there are images of the different progressions of the course layout hanging up in the clubhouse.


Cheers
Ben

[Craig Disher]

Ally,


I think the holes 10-15 potentially is better in reverse.


There were plans of the course where there were a few holes that are now on the present Holywell course and I remember thinking it was a Braid layout which was better than the current course - there are images of the different progressions of the course layout hanging up in the clubhouse.


Cheers
Ben

Correct. The 15th on the Holywell along with the 17th on the old course are by far the best par 3s on the property.  The 14th/Holywell is a pretty good hole too. I'm also partial to the original 13th which was slightly shorter but the green was better defended. The complaint was that the green was tilted too much. Un-tilting it a bit would have been a better solution. The hole is now an uphill slog to a large green with a strange bunker in the rear.

[Brian Finn]

St. Enodoc (Church) is one of the courses I most often find myself thinking about.  It was my favorite course on a trip we did last Spring to Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, and the Cotswolds.  Many very good courses along the coast there, but St. Enodoc is unique.  I can't think of another course quite like it. 

After 36 on the Church course, I did not have the energy to run around the Holywell that evening.  Some of my friends did, while I had a few pints with guys from a visiting society. 

It is interesting to see Ally considers the 10th a poor hole.  Is this a fairly common view?  I found it extremely difficult, but could not make my mind up on whether it was a bad hole, or just one for which I lacked adequate skill. 

[Tommy Williamsen]

Brian, it's the tee shot that is problematic. There is nowhere to hit it. I have played it as a three-shot hole. You must be a very accurate driver.

[Brian Finn]

Brian, it's the tee shot that is problematic. There is nowhere to hit it. I have played it as a three-shot hole. You must be a very accurate driver.

I understand.  Even not being very long, I believe I was unable to hit driver off the tee.  First time around, I tried a hero shot into the green, and was harshly penalized.  Second time, from a very similar position, I purposely played just right/short of the green, and scored slightly better. 

In thinking about it some more, most of the conversations I have had about the course focused on the holes that I / we loved (1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 16, 18), but that is generally my M.O. when it comes to talking about golf courses.

[Thomas Dai]

The main Church course is a wonderfully scenic and photogenic course for sure.
Holes 1-9 and 16-18 are terrific. 11 and 12 are fine, 13 isn’t imo the sort of hole one would write home positively about, 14 has a wonderfully quirky greensite, 15 is essentially the same as 5 and 10, is well, um, well 10 without the footpath and wondering ‘lost’ walkers would be rather fine, maybe better than that. With them though?? Just imo however, each to their own.
By the way wasn’t the 16th green on the Church course modified by Peter McEvoy maybe 15/20 years ago and the 18th tee position adjusted by Tom/Clyde more recently?
The first few and last few holes on the Clubs other course, the Holywell course, are also well worth playing. The 15th being a particularly fine par-3.
Atb

[Sean_A]

The fifteenth has a new green, built in the middle 2000s. Not sure if that’s what you meant, Craig.

16 has a completely different greensite. 15 green was modified and 13 green area was modified as well.

I can't agree with Ally re the 10th. I grew to admire the hole over time. It's an easy hole to dislike because it's awkward, but I don't think it's a bad hole.

Ciao

[Ally Mcintosh]

Ally,


I think the holes 10-15 potentially is better in reverse.


There were plans of the course where there were a few holes that are now on the present Holywell course and I remember thinking it was a Braid layout which was better than the current course - there are images of the different progressions of the course layout hanging up in the clubhouse.


Cheers
Ben

Ben, I could definitely see 10-15 in reverse (with the exception of the new 10th which would become a little too severe for an uphill 3).

[Ben Stephens]

Ally,


I think the holes 10-15 potentially is better in reverse.


There were plans of the course where there were a few holes that are now on the present Holywell course and I remember thinking it was a Braid layout which was better than the current course - there are images of the different progressions of the course layout hanging up in the clubhouse.


Cheers
Ben

Ben, I could definitely see 10-15 in reverse (with the exception of the new 10th which would become a little too severe for an uphill 3).

Ally,




Maybe we can PM and share our versions of the reverse holes 10-15


I have played the course many times and have walked around the big hill which provided a different perspective.


Have always used the steepest part to go downhill or across but never uphill when designing a course as its one of my pet peeves.




Cheers
Ben


 

[Ally Mcintosh]

I haven’t got a version, Ben! Plus I don’t know the course well enough…. But just as you mentioned it, I can picture playing the current 10-14 as a reverse skeleton routing (12 green by beach, next par-3 with a green by the church etc…). I just can’t recall how to get from current 9 green up towards 14 green without going quite steeply uphill. That is about the limit of my thoughts on the matter.

[Brett Meyer]

Brian, it's the tee shot that is problematic. There is nowhere to hit it. I have played it as a three-shot hole. You must be a very accurate driver.

I understand.  Even not being very long, I believe I was unable to hit driver off the tee.  First time around, I tried a hero shot into the green, and was harshly penalized.  Second time, from a very similar position, I purposely played just right/short of the green, and scored slightly better. 

I agree that there's nowhere to hit it...if you hit driver. But I thought that the drive was brilliant because you can use the slope of the ground to feed your ball into that little neck of fairway on the left side. Admittedly, it takes a very good shot to do this. And it might have been a bit easier than usual the day I was there because the hole was downwind. But if you pull it off, you can have a short iron to the green. And if you don't, you'll just be stuck on the right side of the fairway and will have to lay up.

My bigger issue with the hole was that even if you pulled off the drive, you still only had a partial view of the green because of all the junk on the left. I heard a few years back that they cleared some of this out and that would have been the biggest improvement they could have made. But while quirky, I thought the hole was still great.

I can't say that my two rounds at St. Enodoc were my greatest source of golfing joy. But then again, no course would be in a sustained 25 mph wind.

[Craig Disher]

16 has a completely different greensite. 15 green was modified and 13 green area was modified as well.

I can't agree with Ally re the 10th. I grew to admire the hole over time. It's an easy hole to dislike because it's awkward, but I don't think it's a bad hole.

Ciao

Sean,Do you recall the old 15th green? If it was altered it must still be in the same location. There's nowhere else to put it. I also suspect that the back tee on the 5th might have been added to make the hole significantly different from 15. They are very similar from the regular tees.
10 is just a difficult hole. The landing area is larger than it appears from the tee and a good drive into that area will funnel towards the narrow part of the fairway near the public path. I'm one of the shortest players on this site and I have put the ball on the green with two stokes although I'm very content playing to the abundant area short of the green and making a good pitch. The area on the left has been substantially cut back and the flag is now visible after a decent drive.
The idea of playing 10-15 in reverse is intriguing. A short 10th playing up the hill towards the 15th tee would work if the green could be benched in behind the 14th green. In Brakd's time I don't think the club owned that property. Playing the 11th would be a visual delight as would the 13th, both with the church in the background. OTOH, the uphill walk to the 10th green would be severe although the long slog up 13 and 14 would be gone.

[Sean_A]

16 has a completely different greensite. 15 green was modified and 13 green area was modified as well.

I can't agree with Ally re the 10th. I grew to admire the hole over time. It's an easy hole to dislike because it's awkward, but I don't think it's a bad hole.

Ciao

Sean,Do you recall the old 15th green? If it was altered it must still be in the same location. There's nowhere else to put it. I also suspect that the back tee on the 5th might have been added to make the hole significantly different from 15. They are very similar from the regular tees.
10 is just a difficult hole. The landing area is larger than it appears from the tee and a good drive into that area will funnel towards the narrow part of the fairway near the public path. I'm one of the shortest players on this site and I have put the ball on the green with two stokes although I'm very content playing to the abundant area short of the green and making a good pitch. The area on the left has been substantially cut back and the flag is now visible after a decent drive.
The idea of playing 10-15 in reverse is intriguing. A short 10th playing up the hill towards the 15th tee would work if the green could be benched in behind the 14th green. In Brakd's time I don't think the club owned that property. Playing the 11th would be a visual delight as would the 13th, both with the church in the background. OTOH, the uphill walk to the 10th green would be severe although the long slog up 13 and 14 would be gone.

Same site for the 15th green, just reshaped a bit...don't know why. Some bunker work as well.

I seem to recall a different angle tee for 5 being built many years ago. 5 & 15 are very similar in the land they cover and distance, but the greens are different. I alway preferred 5 because 15 has visual dissonance due to the path shy of the green breaking up the flow. It just doesn't look right.

Ciao

[ward peyronnin]

There is a reason the sixth hole is on the cover of Mr. Doak's Confidential Guide.
Great rooftaop bar overlooking the out and return in too!