Sean:
I had the pleasure in playing 36 holes at Pennard on my one single visit to the course and enjoyed it.
I do agree with Tom D (a first!!!
) that the course is more about the back side than the front -- although the par-4 7th is a peach of a hole. The green site is simply grand stuff for such a short hole.
The back side is fun but I am a bit confused with the nature of the par-5 uphill 17th. The fairway cuts-off on the right side and I always thought the hole would play better as a demanding par-4. Nonetheless, Pennard is a fun course to play.
While I have the most profound respect for Jim Finegan's course assessments -- there's little chance Pennard is among my top 20 in the world.
However, if someone told me the choices were between Celtic Manor (host of the 2010 Ryder Cup) and Pennard the latter would be my unreserved recommendation.