Westward Ho's 11th Hole

[Brian_Ewen]

Having never played Westward Ho , I can only presume it isn't like this today ? .

Anyone ? .

[Paul_Turner]

Brian

It's exactly the same!

[Tommy Williamsen]

Brian,  it is indeed like that today.  Holes 10-12 weave their circuitous route through the great sea rushes.  Westward Ho!  Is the only place I have ever encountered them.  

[Brian_Ewen]

Really ? .

I just somehow thought with this modern obsession with fairness , that this would be considered too penal nowadays .

Anywhere else have anything similar ? .

I remember playing a TPW course in Thailand that tried to use Lemongrass as a hazard . It didnt last as there was a worry of golfers breaking wrists .

Best Regards
Brian

[Tommy Williamsen]

Westward Ho! is not concerned with "fair."  Except for lengthening the course (now at almost 7000 yards for special tourneys) it is virtually unchanged since Fowler did his magic there almost 100 years ago.
Number 10 is a dogleg left that is bordered by the sea rushes down the left.  The tee shot is blind over the sea rushes and begs the player to bite off as much as he dares.
Number 11 is dead straight with sea rushes both left and right.  It is about 400 yards long and is the most intimidating
you could ask for.

[John Shimp]

Anyone know how far Westward Ho! is from St Enodoc?

I'm trying to hit them both next summer but unsure of logistics.

[Tony_Muldoon]

John use the following site to get the address of any club you fancy (postcode will do)

http://www.uk-golfguide.com/

And then to plan journeys by road, use.

http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp

It will also tell you route, distance and approximate times.

[Tommy Williamsen]

John it is possible to play both Westward Ho! and St. Enodoc on the same day.  Don't forget about Saunton and Burnam and Berrow.  They re all excellent.

[Tom_Doak]

John:  If you are headed to St. Enodoc, Westward Ho! is pretty much right on the way there.  And DEFINITELY worth a stop, although I am sure some people are disappointed by how featureless it looks to the eye.  It's a real study in golf architecture.  The holes through the rushes ARE penal but on most of the rest you can hit it anywhere and still be in the hole.

Tommy W:  When did they add those back tees?  I was there a couple of years ago and did not notice them.  Scary to me to think of Westward Ho! succumbing to modern pressures, although they certainly have the room for more tees.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Tom, I was there for a few days in April.  They added the tees primarily for the West of England Championship (I think that is what it is called).  I sat with the super and heaad pro and I was asking about some new tees I saw.  They also back up the first tee some thirty yards back toward the parking lot.  I played some of the holes from the new tees and was impressed that it didn't change the hole drastically.  
I don't think any of the par threes were lengthened.

[John Shimp]

Thanks for the advice on RND.  I am planning to stay near St Enodoc next summer on a family vacation and need the golf to be tight together to get it in.

Read Tom D's description of St Enodoc last night and got very fired up about the whole thing.  Probably will play 1 or 2 others as well. Tommy W's recommendations are appreciated.  

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Westward Ho is definitly one of my favourites – it still has the sheep fences like Brora. The high sea rushes are one of the many special features there, however the wild undulations from the 2nd to the 8th  defy imitation, and in a strong Atlantic gale (more often than not) makes for an adventurous game of golf.

One encounters the sea rushes on the 9th as a benign hazard on the inside of a dogleg before being confronted with them on the 10th with a blind shot over a sea of them. Devon’s answer to scottish Gorse. If you lose your ball and go searching you can get lost in the maze.. Patric Dickinson in his entertaining book « A round of Golf Courses », published in 1950 describes the sea rushes - «They stand up to the shoulder thick and bushy like clumps of giant shaving brushes ; they are mildly poisoned-tipped, and you may have to question which is the  worse : to get into them, or to get them into you. » He goes on « Around and about among them weave a race of furtive men whose dogs, more efficient than any radioactive detector, may find your lost ball. »

When I was there I also saw «furtive men with dogs » retrieving golf balls from the sea rushes. A cultural practice being passed down through the centuries – maybe through selective breeding a « Golden Laborador Golfball Retriever » can be developed that can identify Titleist Pro Vx’s  and is garanteed not to leave bite marks and more importantly ignore golf balls currently in play.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

At the risk of being blackballed by Ran, I am not a big fan of Westward Ho either. I do really like the 11th though. St. Ednodoc is one of my favorites.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Sean I am with you on the clubhouse at RND. I enjoyed it as much or more than the course. i wanted to play Saunton and will next time to the area. Perranporth was played by maybe Paul Turner and Noel maybe and if memory serves me correctly, they seemed to think it was fun fun golf.

[Philip Gawith]

Tiger, I can see I am going to have sit you and Sean down for a good talking to when we congregate at Hoylake for the main event. your views on RND are sacrilege!

For all round memorability I would take RND over Saunton any day. And Perranporth should not be spoken of in the same breath - quirky yes, memorable no.

[Stuart Hallett]

John Shimp,

I don't know where you are flying into, but as a south west native, let me suggest the following :

If you arrive in Bristol, then start with Burnham & Berrow. Pick up the A39 in Bridgwater and take the coastal road at Porlock (magnificent views, wild Exmoor ponies, and a national park that golf archies dream about). Stay at Lynton & Lynmouth, typical of west country charm (The Cottage Inn is very nice).
The next morning you are in striking distance of Saunton and RND. If you skip either of these you'll certainly regret it.
RND's clubhouse is steeped in history, but I just wish they'd get rid of that noisy gambling machine and spend a little money on furniture. Apart from that, the golf at RND is great fun and actually more strategic than some might suggest.

As you already know, St Enodoc is an absolute must play. Padstow may seem the obvious base point, but I find it overpriced and trendy. Port Isaac is a genuine fishing village, and has just enough chic to make your stay more than comfortable.
Try to at least look at Trevose & Perranporth, if you have the time.

Just a few ideas and this St Enodoc avant goût.

[Philip Gawith]

Sean - after that you will be paying for dinner on Wednesday.

I file RND alongside Brora as one of those courses where the experience is much more than the sum of the parts. You are not going to get to its essence by forensically dissecting each hole. The fact is that all the while you are going round the course it is like being part of a Constable painting - cattle roaming, horses galloping etc. How do you calibrate that?

 I don't particularly care that the course is flat  - so is TOC, and Hoylake for that matter.

I suppose it boils down to being about atmosphere rather than architecture, if you are allowed to say that on GCA.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I dearly love RND and played 8 roundds there this spring.  The first two holes and the last hole are played on less than ideal land but 1 and 18 are very good holes.
I can, however, understand that it is not everyones cup of tea.  It defies categorization.  Indeed it is pretty unique.  When i play it I find that I can't judge it just enjoy the the  examination it presents.

My friend Sean, I remember your dislike of the sea rushes.  Let me suggest that if you hit the tee shot straighter it might be more fun.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Phillip, I look forward to several pints discussion on the subject. I did almost clock a horse with a well played shot. I wasn't too concerned about hurting him given I was playing a balata. lol He was strolling in front on the green as I hit a low shot under the wind. I am with Sean. I will stop by there on the way to St. Enodoc for the clubhouse not the course. There are at least 4 other courses in the area I want to play more than RND.

[RT]

In terms of a GCA 'greenspotters' green, no. 9 a must.

[Paul_Turner]

RT

The 9th is a beauty.  In fact 4,6,7,9,16 are all world holes.  The course has some superb bunker placement with the one in front of the 9th being the best.

The course does have 2 or 3 bland holes.  But then so do St Enodoc, Saunton(E) and B&B.

[Pete Lavallee]

Any tips on how to read the greens here? They were without doubt the most difficult surfaces I've ever encountered. The greens seemed to have settled in different areas; there is no overall break that is consistent across the whole putting surface. It also appears they do not top dress, which certainly tends to homogenize the way a green breaks. Is this trait comendable? It must give the RND squad a tremendous home court advantage.

[John Shimp]

Stuart Hallett,
Thank you for your helpful post.  I've not been to the SW before so that is all good stuff.  If you don't mind I may email you at some point when I get closer to the trip.

I find the difference of opinions on RND really interesting on this thread.  Not that many courses that generate as many gradients of opinion as this one seems to.

[Ed Tilley]

John,

Perranporth is much more fun than RND, it's also closer to St.Enodoc - see the attached link

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=13285;start=0

Ed

[Garland Bayley]

John,

Perranporth is much more fun than RND, it's also closer to St.Enodoc - see the attached link

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=13285;start=0

Ed

The above link is gone, but you can find Perranporth at http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51587.0.html