Cornwall Devon Coast

[Charles Lund]

I have been doing some research for a side trip next year when I go to Ireland.  

I generally stay now in the Donegal area due to access to a course where I have a membership and discounted golf at other links courses in the area.  I tend to enjoy less populated coastal areas, with a concentration of accessible and affordable courses, and less golf tourism pressures.  I like to stay in one location as a base for a few days and move on. 

The idea of a Donegal like area in a different place has some appeal.  I have been to Scotland and could go there again, but I am looking for something different.

I was looking into the Cornwall and Devon Coast.  I have looked at Confidential Guide, True Links, and Journey Through the Links.  The area seems to meet my criteria for a quality links golf experience.  There are flights to Exeter and Newquay from a number of locations, with train travel as an option from London.  I would rent a car once I am in the area.  It looks like Newquay and Barnstaple would be a couple of areas where I could stay.  These towns would seem suitable for multi-night stays with access to courses close by.  I can easily count a half dozen courses I would try to play, with multiple rounds at some courses.

If someone has knowledge and experience with this area, I would appreciate some help.  I am more interested in lodging and comments about what other experiences the area would provide to enhance golf.

Charles Lund

[Pete Lavallee]

Charles,

I would not recommend Newquay as a hub; it is the quintessential English tourist trap town. The best golf in the area is unquestionably St Enodoc and the town of Padstow just acroos ther estuary is much more traditional, although touristy non the less. Barnstable would give easy access to the two course at Saunton. Perranporth might be a good choice as it has a wild links course and would locate you in the heart of Cornwall.

[Thomas Dai]

Charles,

What time of year are you thinking of?

July/August gets very busy and the M5 motorway can get pretty clogged up at times. Off-season is much quieter and cheaper, the climate is still nice and mild, and as you'll no doubt be aware from your Irish experiences, links courses can be just as good, sometimes even better, in the off-season.

May I suggest you don't just concentrate on links/coastal courses - inland Yelverton (and maybe Tavistock) on the edge of Dartmoor not that far from Plymouth is terrific - a Herbert Fowler course, and HF's courses are always worth playing.

Sean has done a very fine photo-tour of it to which I had added some additional photos etc - see - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48487.msg1494280.html#msg1494280

Atb

[Charles Lund]

Pete and Thomas,

I am thinking late May/early June and then fly on to Ireland.   I won't leave North America until after May 20th.  I was thinking this would be early enough to beat the summer tourist season.

I am figuring three weeks where I go in Ireland and d

[Charles Lund]

Oops!

Pete and Thomas,

I am thinking late May/early June and then fly on to Ireland.   I won't leave North America until after May 20th.  I was thinking this would be early enough to beat the summer tourist season.

I am figuring three weeks where I go in Ireland and do some fight hopping on my way to and from.  This area has about four smaller airports, so there are lots of ways in and out.

Thanks for the other playing options.

Charles Lund

[Thomas Dai]

Charles,


One of the best ways to play a variety of courses in the UK is to play in club open competitions. Virtually every club has them, except maybe the super-exclusive ones.


There is a website called Golfempire which shows all the open comps categorised by club, by county, by date, etc - see - http://www.golfempire.co.uk - there are both midweek and weekend open comps. I believe others from the US posting on this site have followed the open comp approach with success.


By interrogating the site you ought to be able to put together an itinerary of clubs/courses to play. You can book many of the open comps online with links via the Golfempire site and you'll play with others who have also signed-up for the comp. Open comps are also normally cheaper than regular greenfees and you might even win a prize. On days with no open comps to play in you can always play greenfee golf if you desire or do Devon/Cornwall 'craic' kind of equivalent or touristy type things.


Devon/Cornwall being a long, thin peninsula travelling from one side to the other is possible but if you stay on one coast it can take quite a while to get to the other coast, obvious really, but by basing yourself more in the centre of the peninsula you can reach either coast quicker, if you get my drift.


As to timing, be aware that in the UK at the end May/early June the schools are on holiday for a week or so so accommadation, roads etc all get busier and a prices sometimes adjust accordingly. You should be able to find and thus avoid the school holiday dates with a bit of web-searching.


The bigger name courses like Saunton, Westward Ho!, St Enodoc etc etc speak for themselves. As to some slightly lessor lights definitely play clifftop/links at Perranporth, once played never forgotten, and as mentioned in my earlier post, moorland Yelverton.


Hope this helps.


Atb

[Garland Bayley]

I played up and down that coast in 2014. Don't know what kind of lodging you are looking for. I mostly stayed in the lowest cost/best ranked B&Bs I could find on Booking.com.


One day off from golf I toured Dartmoor Park and really enjoyed that.


In the Barnstaple area, I really enjoyed Royal North Devon and Bude and North Cornwall. Was greatly disappointed in Saunton East, and enjoyed West much more. Saunton East with its mostly somewhat level fairway terrain, ball gobbling rough in the more interesting terrain, made we wonder why it gets such recognition, and no one here has been able to explain why it does.


In the Newquay area I really enjoyed West Cornwall, Perranporth, Newquay, and St. Enodoc. I had planned to play Trevose, but skipped it to get some needed rest. Newquay has a bit of an oddity in the walking paths through the course providing what is essentially crossing hazards that you need to lay up to, or assure your carry, but the ground was firm and bouncy, the wind was up, and the Colt bunkers gathering. Perranporth was the wildest ride, with West Cornwall second, while St. Enodoc is pure quality. Didn't try the second course there, but understand it has some good holes.


There are threads on all of these courses except Newquay that I know of.

[Sam Krume]

Charles,
As Garland mentioned, a B&B is definitely the way forward. A lovely place is Tredore House is St Issey (half way between St Enedoc and Trevose). This location will give you easy driving access to most of the courses. Agree with what has been posted here but I would also look to Mullion http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60349.msg1428969.html#msg1428969
(UK's most southerly course).
As in inland course China Fleet is not too bad. Perranporth is the star for me though.
On a day off it is worth going to see Tintagel (King Arthurs haunt) & Boscastle.

[Tommy Williamsen]

For years I was a member at either Westward Ho! or Saunton. I would stay at the Brookfield B&B. It is wonderful. The owners are members at Saunton.


http://www.thebrookfield.co.uk


I would also hike a bit on the Southwest Coast Path. It stretches from Somerset through Devon and Cornwall. It is stunning. You can hike for an hour or all day.


I would go in September beacause late May and June can get pretty crowded. Don't forget to play Burnham and Berrow in Somerset. I would usually fly into Bristol. It is small and easy in and out. Saunton, WestWard Ho!, Saint Enodoc are must plays. Fir the others in as you can. It is a beautiful place and worry of a trip all by itself. I'd second Tintangel. It is an interesting town and the hike along the ocean is dramatic.

[Jeff Johnston]

Charles, I was on a Saunton / Westward Ho! trip 10 days ago and recommend the pair of clubs as a nice cluster. Haven't stayed in Barnstaple but Bideford -closer to RND - was v pleasant. The Mount was a v comfy B&B and had a copy of the Creating Classics tome on Colt for guests' perusal  


Agree v much re the recommendation on Burnham (and check out the snooker room), defer to others on options further south.

[Sean_A]

I have been doing some research for a side trip next year when I go to Ireland. 

I generally stay now in the Donegal area due to access to a course where I have a membership and discounted golf at other links courses in the area.  I tend to enjoy less populated coastal areas, with a concentration of accessible and affordable courses, and less golf tourism pressures.  I like to stay in one location as a base for a few days and move on.

The idea of a Donegal like area in a different place has some appeal.  I have been to Scotland and could go there again, but I am looking for something different.

I was looking into the Cornwall and Devon Coast.  I have looked at Confidential Guide, True Links, and Journey Through the Links.  The area seems to meet my criteria for a quality links golf experience.  There are flights to Exeter and Newquay from a number of locations, with train travel as an option from London.  I would rent a car once I am in the area.  It looks like Newquay and Barnstaple would be a couple of areas where I could stay.  These towns would seem suitable for multi-night stays with access to courses close by.  I can easily count a half dozen courses I would try to play, with multiple rounds at some courses.

If someone has knowledge and experience with this area, I would appreciate some help.  I am more interested in lodging and comments about what other experiences the area would provide to enhance golf.

Charles Lund

Charles

It depends on what you are looking for.  I always liked the Port Gaverne Hotel, but its a small place and some trouble to get to some courses. 

Padstow is a nice place, a bit twee and touristy, but that also offers a good selection for accomodation and restaurants. 

St Ives is a bit nicer, but more isolated for getting to courses. 

I generally tend to stay in Padstow because there is a good choice of restaurants, good access to the courses I care about and decent shopping for cooking.  But...Padstow is expensive.  Hard to go wrong with Rick Stein properties, but they are expensive. There are absolutely tons of B&Bs to choose from in the Padstow area....you first need to decide on your location of in town, edge of town or country. 

Staying at Trevose isn't bad either, especially if only for a few days. 

Ciao

[John Mayhugh]

A few years ago, I stayed at a great self catering place in Westward Ho!  They had a variety of cottages of different sizes available and prices were reasonable.  Great views and you feel isolated though maybe just a mile walk along the coastal path to town, a bit longer to drive.  Really good gastropub 5-10 minutes walk from there.

http://www.westwardliving.co.uk

[Charles Lund]

Thanks for the feedback.

I am thinking 10 to 12+ days might work well.  I could have bases near St. Enodoc for five to seven days, maybe four or five days near Westward Ho!, and a couple of days near Burnham and Berrow and Weston Super Mare. I would probably want to get in multiple rounds at St. Enodoc and Saunton.

I have studied air routes in and out of the area. If my trip goes through London, I might take a train out from Paddington.  

Flybe is a decent regional airline with flights from Belfast or Dublin or Glasgow and they can handle sports equipment.  One way car rentals are available so it looks like it would be possible to drive point to point.  Exeter has nonstop flights in from cities outside of England I could be in.

I am thinking I could bite the bullet as far as tourism and work in a late May arrival with departure in June on to Ireland.   Alternatively, I could work the trip in during the second half of September after a stay in Ireland.

I am assuming two trips to Ireland next year which is the norm for the past couple of years. I have now done nine trips to Ireland, none of which were exact duplicates of others, with side trips elsewhere on the way or back or with stopovers in different gateway cities.

I think what I might do is pick a B&B or two in the areas I will stay and email them to ask how the school vacation experience would impact being in the area.  I wrote a couple of the courses and with a longer time window, I can work around days when there is a multi-day tournament at one.

I got interested in the area after reading about St. Enodoc in the Confidential Guide and discovering Saunton was also in the area.

I recognize there are a lot of courses in England people might think about, but accessibility and cost seem like barriers. I tried on two trips with stopovers in London to work out playing at Walton Heath but had no luck.  Emails to Royal St. George's went unanswered.  I did take a train down to play The Princes and played The Grove which I traveled to by train and taxi.

Charles Lund

[Tony_Muldoon]

I generally tend to stay in Padstow because there is a good choice of restaurants, good access to the courses I care about and decent shopping for cooking.  But...Padstow is expensive.  Hard to go wrong with Rick Stein properties, but they are expensive.  There are absolutely tons of B&Bs to choose from in the Padstow area....you first need to decide on your location of in town, edge of town or country. 


Staying at Trevose isn't bad either, especially if only for a few days. 


Ciao

Has anyone stayed in Padstow and taken the Ferry to play St Enedoc?  Or played the second course there.

Charles I love Cornwall, just be aware that  the quietest week of the year there, is busier than the busiest week in Donegal.

Side trips 

Minac Theatre (on my bucket list)
Eden Project or Lost Gardens of Heligon.   
Try surfing, the water is a lot warmer than Donegal.

[Thomas Dai]

Has anyone stayed in Padstow and taken the Ferry to play St Enedoc?  Or played the second course there.

Although I haven't done the short ferry ride I have played some of the second 18-hole course at St Enodoc, the Holywell course.


There are several excellent holes, the par-3 15th is outstanding, but so are several of the other holes on the cut-off loop of holes 1-3 and then 13-18. Worth playing.


I did a thread about it -http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,62905.msg1497794.html#msg1497794


Atb

[Sean_A]

I generally tend to stay in Padstow because there is a good choice of restaurants, good access to the courses I care about and decent shopping for cooking.  But...Padstow is expensive.  Hard to go wrong with Rick Stein properties, but they are expensive.  There are absolutely tons of B&Bs to choose from in the Padstow area....you first need to decide on your location of in town, edge of town or country. 


Staying at Trevose isn't bad either, especially if only for a few days. 


Ciao

Has anyone stayed in Padstow and taken the Ferry to play St Enedoc?  Or played the second course there.

Side trips 

Minac Theatre (on my bucket list)
Eden Project or Lost Gardens of Heligon.   
Try surfing, the water is a lot warmer than Donegal.

Yes, I have taken the ferry and walked up the hill with sticks on back.  It isn't pleasant especially as there is plenty of climbing on the course, but it is doable...only if you are staying near the harbour.  My choice of place to stay is the fantastic Skye Cottage about a 5 minute walk from the harbour on High St in a quiet area....will be there next July.  A 2bed house with one parking space and a back garden.  The prices are not that much more than at a good B&B  if you avoid high season (which you should!)...of course no breakfast.  http://www.skye-cottage.org.uk/

Lost Gardens of Heligon is superb...Eden Project less so, but worth seeing once.  Minac Theatre is very fine if you get the right play and weather.

Ciao

[John Mayhugh]

I recognize there are a lot of courses in England people might think about, but accessibility and cost seem like barriers. I tried on two trips with stopovers in London to work out playing at Walton Heath but had no luck.  Emails to Royal St. George's went unanswered.

Can you elaborate on this a bit?  I don't understand the accessibility comment at all.  If I had no trouble playing Walton Heath, you shouldn't have either.

What's your cost target per day?  Playing a big name like Sandwich isn't going to be cheap, but you can play great golf courses in England without spending a lot of money.  The second and third tier courses are still really good compared with the rest of the world, and you can have a very fun trip without playing an expensive course.  This listing covers more than just England, but you can get an idea of some really good value courses. 
http://golfclubatlas.com/best-of-golf/sean-arbles-united-kingdom-course-tours-2/

Happy to help with advice as England is my favorite country for golf, but I need to better understand what you are looking for.

[Charles Lund]

John,

My intent was to target more specifically The Cornwall/Devon Coast. 

Think I will work out a time other than late May/early June, so I can avoid the larger crowds.

Charles Lund

[Adam Lawrence]

Lost Gardens of Heligon is superb...Eden Project less so, but worth seeing once.  Minac Theatre is very if you get the right play and weather.

I agree that Heligan is wonderful, but my favourite Cornish garden is Trebah, near the village of Mawnan Smith, close to Falmouth,

[mike_malone]

Royal North Devon is golf as it is supposed to be.

[Thomas Dai]

Lost Gardens of Heligon is superb...Eden Project less so, but worth seeing once.  Minac Theatre is very if you get the right play and weather.

I agree that Heligan is wonderful, but my favourite Cornish garden is Trebah, near the village of Mawnan Smith, close to Falmouth,

If you have the time fly from Newquay to the Isles of Scilly, a 25 min flight right along the north coast of the Cornish peninsula. Wonderful views. Then take the short boat ride across to Tresco and visit the gardens. The Scilly's are soooo nice it's a hard place to leave. Chilled to,say the least. And there's a 9-hole golf course which once upon a time, but no longer, doubled as the airport runway!


Atb

[Ed Tilley]

Lost Gardens of Heligon is superb...Eden Project less so, but worth seeing once.  Minac Theatre is very if you get the right play and weather.

I agree that Heligan is wonderful, but my favourite Cornish garden is Trebah, near the village of Mawnan Smith, close to Falmouth,

We had an annual family holiday every Easter to the Helford river, which Trebah gardens descends down to. I absolutely love this part of the world but people rarely make it down this far.

Get the ferry from Helford passage over to the beautiful village of Helford - walk across to Daphne du Maurier's Frenchman's creek. I love the seal sanctuary at Gweek - almost as much as I love the name "Gweek" itself. Drive down to Lizard point, which is the southern tip of mainland Britain, and make sure you visit Kynance Cove which is only a mile or so away. Mullion golf club is only 3 or 4 miles from Lizard point and is one of my absolute favourites. Beware the roads on the Lizard which can be "challenging". The road from Helford Passage to Gweek is interestingly narrow.

You are within striking distance of far west Cornwall from there. Whilst I wouldn't actually go to Lands End as you actually have to pay, the Minack theatre is close by and wonderful. Also St. Michael's Mount is fantastic although you need to consult tide times to ensure you can get across the causeway. St.Ives is close by and very nice, albeit crowded. The links of West Cornwall are at Lelant, just outside St.Ives.

[Charles Lund]

I just returned to the Seattle area from a trip to the Devon and Cornwall Coast.
I got feedback from people about golf around the Devon/Cornwall Coast on this thread some time ago.  I opted to use the train system to get out of London and started and ended the car rental in Exeter.  I had a base in Wadebridge for six nights and then moved to Braunton for six  nights. 
This was my 34th overseas trip since the end of 2007, 31 of which have involved some golf.  All but five of the trips have been solo trips.  Cumulatively, I have been gone from the U.S. over two years.  I have played over 160 different courses outside of North America.
Up to this time, I had traveled through England and spent time in London on stopovers on several occasions, but played only two rounds while staying in London.
This trip worked well for me.  I had two golf bases and was able to play ten rounds of golf, including the following:
1.  Five rounds at St. Enodoc, with a five day ticket.
2.  A late afternoon round at Royal North Devon for 32 pounds.
3.  Two rounds at Saunton East and one at Saunton West.
4.  One round at Burnham and Berrow, with two prolific GCA contributors, who were as knowledgeable and enjoyable to play golf with as they seemed from their GCA personas.
I opted for a compromise between breadth and depth.  I owe thanks to the Confidential Guide.  I would probably not have known about St. Enodoc if it weren't for the coverage there.  The others were on my radar from a combination of sources.  The five day ticket offered the convenience of getting a lot of days covered for golf during what is a busy golf time.
The courses are fairly well known.  They are older golf clubs by American standards, with a lot of tradition, and they offer very good links golf experiences.  Doing a trip with high quality courses not ranked as elite provided me with a trip with a lot of value. 
The trip also provided me with the incentive to look into other areas and courses in England and Wales.  These would include the Southport area minus the Royals unless I were to be invited to play there.  Ganton and Silloth on Solway have some appeal and I would like to see some heathland courses.
So I feel a bit rejuvenated as far as new opportunities for golf travel.
Charles Lund
 

[Ryan Coles]

How did you rate the courses at Saunton, Charles?

[Charles Lund]

I enjoyed both courses at Saunton and would probably play two rounds on the East course for each round on the West again on a return trip.  Because the East seems the more challenging of the two and the difficulties of a few of the par fours, I would like to play it more to have experiences playing those holes from optimal positions or laying up to good spots, given that some of the par fours are actually three shotters for me if I play the course from the 6400 plus yard tees.


I liked St. Enodoc the best of the five courses I played.  After my first round there, I was able to reconstruct from memory the sequence of all 18 holes.  The more common experience of playing courses I like a lot is that I can remember several holes and many of the rest seem like a blur.  I was probably predisposed to like it a lot, given the writeup  in the Confidential Guide.  I am thinking I might try something like this again on another trip and pick a lesser known but highly ranked course and focus on playing it quite a bit.


I liked East at Saunton and Burnham and Berrow about the same but the company at Burnham and Berrow contributed to elevating the memorability of the experience.


Was very glad I didn't skip Royal North Devon.  I'd read information about the club on the website and had seen some youtube videos of people playing there. It was  special place.  I liked the flatness of the course and with a combination of the yardage guides and directional indicators, it wasn't an exercise in tolerating ambiguity.


I was interested in trying something different as a destination in hopes it would work out.  Like I said in my follow-up, playing a few courses in a good destination like this motivates me to try new areas in England in particular.


Charles Lund