Pennard

[Sean_A]

Where does this course fit in the big scheme of golf?  I played my 50th game there today and I still have not tired of the place.  In fact, it seems about every 5-6 goes I think of Pennard as that much better than the previous 5-6 goes.  I am at the point now where I am closer to Jim Finegan's appraisal of Pennard than to T.  Doak's appraisal.  Which famous guy is more accurate and why?

Ciao

Sean

[THuckaby2]

Sean - what did each famous person say about it, in a nutshell?

[THuckaby2]

I must admit that "Tom" thing surprised me.

 

Anyway, thanks.  I haven't played Pennard but I have read the Finegan books and Confidential Guide and I couldn't recall what either said!  Interesting they'd disagree....

My take from afar is I've heard far more people praise the course than disparagae it.  But Top 20 in the world is a very tall statement.  Hopefully those who've played it will chime in.  I believe Matt Ward has....

TH

[Tom_Doak]

I love Pennard, and so do most of the people who make the trek to see it ... which is a self-selecting sample.  But it's only in the top 20 for people who have Carne and Cruden Bay in there, too.

If we could just rate the back nine I might put it in my top 100, but the front has only a couple of really good holes.  That said, I've gone out of my way to get there three times and I would love to go again.

[Larry_Keltto]

On my "most fun to play" list, it's easily top 10 and probably top 5. It's the kind of place that makes you feel like a little kid.

[Matt_Ward]

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.

[Darren_Kilfara]

I think if I were restricted to golfing at Pennard and Porthcawl for the rest of my life, I could just about live with that! I could certainly do without the 17th at Pennard - the drive isn't fun at all, no matter how good the green complex is - but I think you have to take the rough with the smooth on a course like Pennard. (Cruden Bay has its duff holes as well...)

Cheers,
Darren

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Sean you have me yearning for a life of wandering around the world playing golf at places like Penard. there is nothing more thrilling athan playing a course like that with the ocean as your backdrop and watching your ball ride the wind toward the green.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I played Pennard only once, August of 2004.  It may have been one of the most enjoyable days I ever spent on a golf course not my own.  I arrived  on a day when the men were having a "competition." They immediately signed me up asked my handicap and never even asked for my card.  The course was unlike anything I had ever seen.  I doubled 17 after trying to go for the green in two.  

But I think the most fun was being with the membership.  We played in under four hours but I was there eight hours.  When they handed out the prizes, Four punds here, two pounds there, they mentioned that I would have won, "except he did not play well enough."  I'd go back in a New York minute, for the golf and the comeraderie.

[Bill_McBride]

I just brought forward the report of my trip to Pennard in July, see the "Perils of Pennard!" thread.  Pennard one day, Painswick the next.  You might call me the Quirkmeister!