Pyle & Kenfig

[Keith Durrant]

9 Colt holes and 9 Mackenzie Ross. Anyone have knowledge or photos of this course to share?

[Keith Durrant]

Thanks Sean - I haven't played it. But a quick look at its history - the loss of some holes to the army during the war
 - led to the re-building and extention onto better land under McKenzie Ross.

Given its general lack of acclaim, one wonders whether the flat front nine is all original Colt. He certainly built great holes on flat ground elsewhere.

Are the McKenzie Ross 9 holes, his best work? How does it compare to Turnberry or Southerness? I've read that McKenzie Ross was
a trainee of Simpson. Should he rank up with the greats and did he have his own style? He remodelled quite a few courses
after the war (which needed restoration after the tanks etc.)

How far is it from Porthcawl - would a composite course be possible? Should it sit in the shadow of Porthcawl? The two
clubs co-hosted the Amateur Championship a while back.

I trawled a couple of pictures from the net:

[Keith Durrant]

Thanks Sean, regarding its adjacency to Porthcawl for some reason, I had in my mind it was 'next door', thanks for correcting !

[Mark_Rowlinson]

1. P and K is a very decent course but it doesn't have access to the dunes which could make it world class.  

2. Mackenzie Ross has one superb testament in Turnberry, but, as you say, much of what he did was to restore courses after the Second World War (Turnberry included).  One of his few solo efforts is Southerness, and that is a masterpiece.

3. I'm sorry if it seems that Royal Porthcawl's green fee puts places like P&K into the £45 league.  The awful fact is that there is a marketing movement in place to cash in on the 2010 Ryder Cup and its being held in Wales.  It will mean that all Welsh courses from P&K. Aberdovey, Bull Bay and Prestatyn to West Monmouthshire and St Deiniol will all see 50% increases in green fee.  And then we'll have to reject them because they aren't quite good enough.   How stupid!

[Matt_Ward]

Tom Doak's comments on the layout / re: "Confidential Guide" are spot on in my mind.

I did like the 2nd hole -- the long par-4 (434 yards) is a slight dogleg right but the terrain slies to the left so any tee shot that has the slightest amount of pace favoring that side will run into a bit of trouble.

The 9th is also a neat hole -- here the OB / entrance road pinches in from the right and the par-5 although short at 522 yards doesn't give away the store so quickly or easily.

The back nine is where the dunes comes into play and the stature of the holes rises accordingly -- especially the stretch from #11 thru #14th holes.

One last thing -- I also liked the blind landing area you face when playing the tips at #18.

Pyle & Kenfig is at minimum two nothches below Porthcawl. Too bad the land encountered on the back side could not have been part of the total experience.

Last item -- I wonder how the folks across the pond view the first four holes at Tenby -- in my mind, I can't fathon a more demanding quartet right at the outset for any course I have played in Wales -- and that includes Porthcawl.

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