The Missing Links: July 2016

Sunday, 3 July 2016

Panmure Golf Club, Barry, by Carnoustie, Scotland

www.panmuregolfclub.co.uk
White tees Par 70, SSS 71, 6360 yards
Red tees Par 74, SSS 74, 5684 yards

The clubhouse is modelled on Royal Calcutta Golf Club reflecting

the jute industry links between the two areas.

Panmure lies inland from the Carnoustie courses, north of the railway line but still in the links land at the mouth of the River Tay estuary. Initially nine holes laid out in 1845 and extended to 18 holes in 1880 it was moved to the present site in 1899. After suggestions by James Braid in 1922 it underwent a partial redesign and lengthening resulting in the current course. Before the Open at Carnousite in 1953 Ben Hogan made rigorous preparation by familiarising himself with the local conditions and even reputedly cutting the 17th green himself and cleaning the mower afterwards! He went on to win the tournament.

The approach to the 6th green with trouble all round. This was

Ben Hogan's favourite hole.

At first glance from the clubhouse the course looks easy but it is anything but. The first three holes are a gentle opening and then it hots up! The fourth leads to a tricky two tiered green where a two putt is not guaranteed. This is followed by a fine par 3 well guarded by bunkers at the front of the green. The par 4 sixth was Hogan's favourite hole and deservedly so. A draw is an advantage for the drive to a narrow fairway. Any slight imperfection in the approach shot means deep trouble either right or left forcing many players to lay up. Pressure remains on the player on the sloping green with many subtle borrows.

The prevailing wind at the par 3 9th is left to right

The par 3 9th and 11th are strong holes. At the 9th the prevailing wind blows left to right making an accurate line in crucial to avoid the bunkers on either side of the green. The 11th is usually downwind requiring a shot which will carry the front bunker but also hold the green. The par 4 12th green is guarded by the S shaped Buddon burn about 100 yards out, by deep rough to the right and by mounds on either side of the green. The weakest hole on the course is probably the rather featureless but long par 3 15th.

The Buddon burn winds in front of the 12th green

Panmure rewards the ability to plot your way around the course rather than long hitting. It is challenging for the best players which explains its use as an Open qualifying venue but is not impossibly difficult for the average player.

Worth playing? Yes as an excellent links course and a test of strategy.

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.