England & Wales Golf Trip Review

I meant to do this over Christmas break and never got around to it, but whether it's getting a bit late to help out 2016 golf trippers or not, hopefully someone will get something out of it at some point. So anyways...

I was over in the UK for two weeks in Sept '15 to visit friends spread around the island, drink warm beer, and maybe play some golf if the weather cooperated. The weather cooperated and I played 15.5 rounds in that two weeks, at as fine of golf courses as you could ever need. Unless you had a completely open schedule, I don't know I'd necessarily recommend this route, but there are definitely two groupings that put together would make for a great 1 week or longer trip and the others I mention, well you can read a map and see how you'd play them :)

Practical Stuff

I listed practicalities in this thread from a previous trip in '14 and all the general stuff still applies, but a few others particular to this trip:

I played as a single and only booked 3 of my rounds ahead of time, everything else was show up on the day - after checking first what their visitor times were online - pay my green fee and tee off within the hour, if not immediately. This 'strategy' worked everywhere but Notts and Formby, where societies/comps would have made it a slow round or a long wait.

Speaking of competitions, be on the lookout for a course's "Open Week", where non members can compete in various competitions, both a good way to enjoy camraderie, as well as reduced fees.

One other thing is, with the exception of Western Gailes, these courses are all off the Scotland, Open Rota, Wirral Peninsula, Greater London/Kent circuits and expectations around visitor services should be tempered accordingly. Everyone everywhere was nice or better than nice, and to be honest I preferred playing these courses with locals or other single or pairs of travelers, versus what you might find at Kingsbarns or St. Andrews; however, if you like to have caddies for all your rounds, large proshops, practice facilities, etc... these might not tick those ancillary boxes.

I've broken things up by region and the order in which I played the courses and put a number in brackets indicating the order in which I preferred them (1-14). They are all good or gooder courses and with James Finegan's and Tom Doak's books as reference, along with the internet, it's pretty hard to pick a bad one. Anyways, now onto the golf!

Southwest England

This is an easy enough drive from Heathrow, outside of rush hour near the M25/M4 interchange and down to about Reading, and can see you playing a lunchtime or afternoon round on your day of arrival. There are more than just these four courses worth playing and Devon/Cornwall can easily make up a full week golfing holiday, but for my trip I was down there for 3 nights, staying in Bideford, which provided easy access to the first 3 courses and a bit of a round trip on the day to the last one.

Royal North Devon (8) - From the 3rd hole on this is one hummocky piece of property. You climb up and over a few small ridges and dunes, with pretty much every step, slightly higher or lower than the last. A fun mix of short and long holes, with a few historic nods, that you may have seen replicated elsewhere, such as the cross bunker on 4. It really is a moonscape and something you simply couldn't replicate today. Then you play through the rushes which obscure your view of the lines, a guidebook is definitely worth the investment here. The views throughout are great. The routing and wind may give you an eagle chance or two and also make some bogies feel like a birdie. Very fun track, minus a few flat holes.

Saunton East (3) - For me, this was the most fun "grown-up" course I played on my trip. Starting with a 460yd par 4 sure doesn't ease you into the round, but it makes taking a bogey on the opening hole easier to swallow. Speaking of par 4s, there are a load of them on the front nine and that trend continues into the back. It's a relatively flat course, so it makes for an easy walk, but there are some dunes to play off of, over, and onto however. With maybe one or two exceptions, the green sitings are fantastic, either in a hollow, or on a ridge, or tucked behind a hazard. Got to play some fun knockdown wedges and some full blooded hybrids into the greens. The course was also in very good shape and had the quickest of the greens I played in the southwest. Hardly fast, but quicker than the other three. I would certainly play this course everytime I was down in this part of the country.

Saunton West (13) - This provides a nice companion piece to the East and makes for a fun 36 hole day with a break for lunch in the middle, with a great view over the links and of the East's 18th from the clubhouse. Shorter and trickier than the East course. It has some good holes on it, but it also has a couple that I didn't get on with, particularly the 7th "Ditch" hole. The 3-5-3 finish is certainly different. Mostly good fun, but not one I come specifically to play.

St. Enodoc (2) - Like Pennard in Wales, if you like courses such as Prestwick and North Berwick you should absolutely beat a path to the door of St. Enodoc. There may be a couple OK-ish holes out in the corner of the property, but otherwise this is a thrill ride of up, down, and all around. The location also provides gorgeous views, but the golf still outshines the view. The stretch from 3 to 6 is just really cool and unlike any other stretch I can think of. Some might find it cranks up the quirk a bit much, but for me the downhill par 4, with a green protected by a stone fence, followed by an awesome risk/reward par 4, then a mid range 3 across a small valley, and topped off with a par 4 with about the largest bunker you are likely to see, and hopefully not play out of, is what fun seaside golf is about.

South Wales

Similar to Devon/Cornwall, you could add a few other courses and make a full week of it or stretch further west and north to see some of the other highly regarded courses in Wales. For these courses I spent a couple nights in a pub outside Swansea after not finding great availability in The Mumbles, which was my first choice. For non-golfers you can easily send them up into the Brecon Beacons hiking, it's beautiful up there, if they don't fancy mulling around the beaches or going into Cardiff.

Royal Porthcawl (5) - How do you follow an opening three holes that play right beside the beach? You don't in fairness, but this is still a solid course, as you wind your way around a hill for the next 14 holes, before returning to the beach in front of the clubhouse on 18. With the lack of dunes, maybe less 'linksy' than some others, eventhough the firm turf and black dirt were on hand. Was in very good shape and the greens were some of the quicker I played on the trip and it must have one of the best views from the men's locker room of any club I've been to. Like a lot of links courses I really enjoyed the par 3s, having ready-made greensites for excellent par 3s is a real plus most of these good links courses do take advantage of.

Southerndown (9) - Not links. Not heathland. But a downland course, with some gorse framed fairways, some deep bunkers, and firm conditions. The first hole takes you straight up the hill, the 18th brings you back down, and in between you run all over the hills in all manner of direction. Really good par 3s here and one of my favorite finishing holes from the trip. Joined up with a member on the back nine and had a pint and chat afterwards for a rundown of the club and a bit of footy chat.

Pennard (1) - Awesome course. Awesome course. If you like Prestwick, North Berwick, Lahinch, than run don't walk to Pennard. I played 9 holes one day and 18 the next and got to see it in different wind conditions and like any links course, it's fun to see how the holes play differently. Don't think there is an indifferent hole out there. Might have a quirky one or two, but nothing without interest, and pretty much none that aren't fun to play. Lots of elevation changes, you'll play all sorts of shots from all sorts of lies to all sorts of greens. Fantastic views throughout and for kicks - well hopefully not literally - there are cows and horses, and wires protecting the greens from them, all to be avoided. Played with members one day and then in an open comp the next and it was a real treat. It will be tough to not want to go play there anytime I touch down at Heathrow.

Tenby (12) - The 'lesser' of the other courses I played in Wales. Still fun to play, and you should if you are in the area, but I wouldn't make it the anchor course of a trip. Has a couple of those only on an old links course holes, a couple driveable par 4s - including one I eagled - a neat capelike hole along the beach, and does a good job of mixing up the orientation of the holes. More polite staff in the proshop and another afternoon round where the course was largely empty.

And the rest... these are fairly spread out and don't work as any part of a sane itinerary; however, at least a couple of them can be tacked onto a Scottish trip and three of them really should be played if you are anywhere near them, with golf clubs in tow. I should also mention I did get one other round in on my last day, when a fine WRXer invited me out for an early morning round before my flight. Further proof that WRXers are not just user accounts on the interweb, but proper stand-up people in the real world too :-)

North/North West

Aldwoodley (7)- Played this after Notts was busy with a comp and this was hardly a consolation prize. You'd be greedy to want more from a golf course than what Aldwoodley has to offer. Playing on a Sunday afternoon, the course was pretty much empty and I figure from the 12th hole onwards I was the only one on the course. With the setting sun, crisp fairways and greens, and the long grasses it looked beautiful and was a joy to play. I could have played the stretch from 5-9 a few times over, but really except for 2 and maybe 12, there wasn't a hole that was anything less than good.

Ganton (6) - Best golfing experience of the trip here :-) Joining three members for a match, winning 3&2, and enjoying a few post round pints afterwards with some fantastic stories by some proper country gentlemen. This course really is out of the way from most any routes, but I am very happy I played it. Fun match aside, this is an awesome big boys course. Strong par 4 after strong par 4. Plays very linksy and after playing it I can see how it and Woodhall Spa are naturally compared against one another. For an inconsistent bunker player I lucked out and had a good day, as there really are a load of them here, with steep faces, even the fairway bunkers. Had one double-fairway bunker sandy on a par 5 and a greenside sandy to clinch the match on 16.

Silloth-on-Solway (4) - Proper seaside links. There are only a couple holes on the water and the dunes may shield you from those holiday views, but boy oh boy is this a golf course. Whatever components are required to deliver a full links golf experience, this place has it. From postage stamp par 3, to hybrid/long iron 3s, sturdy par 4s where the 4 is aspirational, to a short 4s that give you a chance to get one back, and a great angled par 5 along the beach and another with a table top green on top a dune where a 75yd wedge is challenge enough. If you are in Ayr to play the rota courses, you really owe it to yourself to make a day trip down here.

Seascale (11) - Fun seaside links, with gorgeous sea views pretty much the whole way around. Some really cool par 4s, both short and long, that have simply been laid down on top of the terrain. On a calm day, bombers may dismiss some of the holes as pitch and putts, but I really enjoyed it. The kind of out of the way course you could see yourself being a member at and playing in their weekly comps and enjoying the banter afterwards. Played with a former member and her nephew and had a great time. Stayed at an excellent inn in the Lakes District, while playing here, would definitely return with the missus.

Scotland

Western Gailes (10) - Relative to all the other courses I played, you could really tell you were on the tourist circuit when you show up here. Small coach/vans in the car park, players with caddies, and well-stocked-branded-stuff in the shop. That said this is a quality track, that has that traditional half the holes one way, half the other layout, with a very fun stretch late on the front nine. The staff could not have been nicer, the green fee includes a lunch, but when I said I'd just ate and was OK without it, they gave me a bag with a drink, packet of crisps, Mars bar, and tees in it to take with me. Relative to other courses you might be in the neighbourhood to play, I prefer Prestwick, North Berwick, Carnoustie, TOC, and would put WG in that next tier with Kingsbarns and Gullane.

Midlands

Beau Desert (14) - Played this on my drive back south after Formby was a nonstarter. When I showed up on a Sat afternoon, they were quite surprised someone would just show up to play, they actually had to get the book out to confirm what the visitor rate was :-) There are some cool holes on this course and it was another lovely afternoon, but now that I have played it, I'd want to play a lot of others before returning. More parklandy, than other heathland courses I've played.

Now to throw in a few pics :-)

20150909_182828 by dkb123, 6 at Westward Ho! (Royal North Devon)

20150908_174530 by dkb123, 16 on Saunton West, with the East course and the clubhouse in the background

20150909_121018 by dkb123, 6 at St. Enodoc

20150909_162323 by dkb123, Cornwall beer garden

20150910_174438 by dkb123, 1 at Porthcawl

20150911_095136 by dkb123, 2 at Southerndown

20150912_164809 by dkb123, 10 at Tenby

20150915_143441 by dkb123, 9 at Silloth

20150916_101848 by dkb123, Lakes District inn

20150913_185725 by dkb123, 13 at Aldwoodley

Super write up duffer. Thanks for the time and energy spent putting this together. I am reminded with your picture how much Bandon captures the links experience in feel and look.

I am curious, if you are comfortable revealing, as to what a trip might cost?

Superb travel log! I would love to get over there and play those out of the way tracks.

Super write up duffer. Thanks for the time and energy spent putting this together. I am reminded with your picture how much Bandon captures the links experience in feel and look.

 

 

I am curious, if you are comfortable revealing, as to what a trip might cost?

Thanks Pearl :) It beat starting work this morning and there's not a lot on these courses on the forum, so I thought why not.

• Flights will be flights; however, flying Virgin Atlantic if you can gets your travel bag and golf bag included in the price of the flight, so no extra charges there.
  
• Car hire (Ford Forcus) out of Heathrow for 2 weeks cost me 140GBP. Obviously petrol is more there than here.
  
• I'd say the golf averaged about 75GBP/round, which is fantastic value when compared to a lot of the more popular areas. Only Porthcawl and Western Gailes topped 100. Day tickets can also bring that average down some. Playing Rota course areas and that average can/will easily double. An extreme example, but just a single 36 hole day at Kingsbarns must have run 400+ between the two rounds, caddies, and lunch. 36 at Saunton and lunch, maybe 130?
  
• Accommodation around 55GBP/night, staying at decent to excellent b&b's, inns, and hotels. That average can be brought down with larger groups or conversely you can go in style and really drive that up. My stay in Bideford and the Lakes District I pre-booked a good month ahead, whereas a lot of the others I just used booking.com and free wifi at motorway service areas to sort out.
  
• Food and drink? Another one that can go where you want it. Fish and chips here, a curry there, can keep it down, but a few nice meals should be on order. And well I like my pints, but after my typical first night in town knees up with friends, I kept each night to 5 pints or fewer, oh being in my 40s.
  

Superb travel log! I would love to get over there and play those out of the way tracks.

Thanks Spud :) Indeed and at least the first 8 are worth me crossing an ocean to play. It's always cool to see the original holes that a number of Old Mac holes were based on. And while they may lack Rota pedigree, they are largely fantastic courses in their own right. I'd take this group again versus the group we played in '14.

One plus for me, is having lived there for 6.5 years I know my way around and had been to those spots with GFs in the past for hiking getaway weekends. So I knew drive times, best routes, and roughly where I wanted to stay. I really lucked out with the weather too, had I reversed the trip I reckon it would have cut my rounds played in half, but I managed to follow the clear skies.

Excellent write up. And great crisp pics. Sauton East looks like quite the course. And the Cornwall Beer Garden are sleeping bags allowed?

Excellent write up. And great crisp pics. Sauton East looks like quite the course. And the Cornwall Beer Garden are sleeping bags allowed?

Thanks. More an impromptu beer garden, the otherside of a low stone wall from the actual outdoor seating :) In fairness there is a campground two miles up the road or you could just try the field the otherside of the pub.

You can see the pub on the hill on the left https://goo.gl/maps/ZdxodknnXzn it's just that rocky outcropping in front of it.

Thanks again.

Excellent write up. And great crisp pics. Sauton East looks like quite the course. And the Cornwall Beer Garden are sleeping bags allowed?

 

Thanks. More an impromptu beer garden, the otherside of a low stone wall from the actual outdoor seating :) In fairness there is a campground two miles up the road or you could just try the field the otherside of the pub.

You can see the pub on the hill on the left https://goo.gl/maps/ZdxodknnXzn it's just that rocky outcropping in front of it.

What a treat! Excellent write up and a kick up my arse to play some of these, I've played none of them, some of their neighbours though.

What a treat! Excellent write up and a kick up my arse to play some of these, I've played none of them, some of their neighbours though.

Ha, thanks. Funnily enough when I lived in England, was through a stretch when I didn't play, so I hadn't played any of those before last year :-S