The Missing Links: Perranporth

Sunday 28 September 2014

Perranporth

SSS white tees 71
red tees 72

www.perranporthgolfclub.co.uk

Situated high on the sand dunes to the north-west of the town of Perranporth, Perranporth golf course was designed by James Braid in 1927 and it is clear that very little structural work was done in building the course. It follows the natural contours of the dunes and consequently there are a lot of blind shots so local knowledge is very helpful. The greens are excellent but the fairways were worn after a dry summer. The views over Perran Bay and the beach are spectacular but inland from the course the caravan park spoils the ambience. We played it on a sunny day with light breezes and found it extremely challenging and tiring - it must be almost impossible when the wind blows. The holes are named in the Cornish language with helpful English translations such as Whym Wham (This way and that), Cowan Nuggies (Gremlins) and Uthek (Formidable). It will be memorable for us as we watched the European team win the Ryder Cup in the clubhouse after our round.

Worth playing? Perhaps this course improves with familiarity but the number of blind shots precludes it from greatness. It is certainly not for the faint-hearted!

The view to the town of Perranporth

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The Links Project

There are 246 true links golf courses in the world and this blog is a record of our attempt to play all of them. My husband Ron and I are keen golfers and I came up with the idea of this project after he gave me the book by George Peper and Malcolm Campbell 'True Links' which lists them all.

The commonest question we are asked about our project is 'How do you define a true links course?' This will be debated by aficionados for long after we have (hopefully) completed our quest and there will never be a correct answer. The strict definition is from the British Golf Museum:

1. The course must be beside a river estuary

2. It must offer partial or occasional views of the sea

3. It must have few trees

4. It must have numerous bunkers

5. It must have nines that run out and back, the front heading to a far point and the back returning to the clubhouse

Peper and Campbell defined their list as follows:

Terrain - how close is the course to the sea? Do the fairways run fast and hard? Do the greens favour a run-on approach? How open is the site? How natural? Is there a freedom from trees? Is the invasion of gorse and brush controlled? How light is the environmental footprint on the land?

Turf - is there a sand base? What grasses are dominant on the fairways and greens? Is the rough managed ( creating biodiversity for flora and fauna)? How well does the course drain?

Weather - how exposed is the site to the elements? What are the typical wind conditions? Does the course play hard and fast all year round? Must temporary greens and tees be used in winter? Is the course susceptible to winter closure?

Peper and Campbell included courses which supplied the correct answers to most of these questions. But however defined, to me the poem by Sir John Betjeman encapsulates the feeling of links golf.