Ben,
Many thanks for your thoughts and thank you for taking the time to express them in such detail. Much appreciated.
I do agree that the 2010 is a long slog, physically tiring, but I liked most of the individual holes irrespective of their origin. Jeez it plays long, really long, even though there is roll available on the fairways. Not many, if any, drive-n-flick holes. Big boys golf here and with many tricky run-off areas around the greens. It's modern design and construction yes, and was obviously put together for a specific purpose, but what the hell, once in a while it's interesting to play something different, and it's always nice to be in a position on a course, especially around the greens, that you later on see the tour-pro's in and see how the experts execute, or sometimes fail to execute, certain shots. To watch a tour-pro live, or indeed on TV, play a shot from a tricky hollow, a hollow that you've been in yourself, or have studied, is most interesting. My ego was massively inflated after I watched Phil Mickelson, of all people, fluff a lob from a hollow where I played one out stiff to the pin. Apologies for this moment of vanity posting!
One aspect I particularly like is the fairway bunkering. So many courses are built with fairway bunkers that are no longer hazards, no longer places to be avoided - see recent separate thread for more on this. The 2010 course at Celtic Manor has IMO excellent fairway bunkering. Best avoided off the tee certainly, but what I liked was that if well thoughtout and played correctly you can advance the ball forward but without being able to reach the green. The classic 'lost' half shot for a oversight from the tee.
The course conditioning is outstanding, although it would be unreasonable to expect anything else. Course dryness is good, some serious drain work, but off the fairways it's less so.
The hole I dislike the most the the 15th, the short uphill par-4 ex RTJ II. Evil contoured green, but that's okay. I'd cut all the tall trees down along the ditch line though. Open the hole up and have fairway length grass on both sides of the ditch leading up to the green. This IMO would allow for more variety and interest in how to play the hole. I'd remove the fountain in the pond on the 18th too, ghastly feature.
Bill,
It certainly is a long slog to get around, but those others I know who've play it come away with positive comments about the holes themselves and the overall test-of-golf quality. And yes I very much agree with you in that there is lots of quality golf available along the South Wales coast. There's also the cracking Rolls of Monmouth, about a 20-minute drive north of Newport/Celtic Manor, an inlander which I reckon GCAer's might appreciate. But you're spot on about Royal Porthcawl. Just delightful.
Pauls G & D,
2010 a better test of golf maybe than those other 'modern classics' you mention!!!!!
Ally,
Thanks for the tip about the Monte course. They do some 'deals' there so I'll have to look into that. Buggy time I imagine, although I hope they can be taken on the fairways unlike at the 2010.
I shall return to play the 2010 sometime in the next couple of years, when the price has dropped, although I don't suspect I'll see any other GCAers' there! It's nice to play a different sort of course every so often, although not too often......beef, beef, beef, beef, beef with occasional lamb, chicken, fish etc.............I find that I appreciate other courses, the sorts we normally write about on GCA, more this way, plus the 2010 is a really mean test of golf, no easy scoring, and I kinda like that. However, in the meantime I shall attempt to avail myself of the delights of lovely Royal Porthcawl (nice winter deal combining golf and their dormy accommodation) and all the other cracking courses that lie along the southern coast of Wales.
All the best.