August 2017 Golf World 147MY FAVOURITE HOLES IN WALES
By writer (and proud Welshman) John Hopkins.
There are so
many
wonderful
holes in Wales,
so this is extremely tough.
IplayedPennardthe
otherdayandtherewere
alotofgoodholesand
Iwanttosayonethere.
But were there any great
ones? My friends will ask
me why I didn’t choose
one,butIcan’tpinpoint
one, as much as I enjoyed
the whole course. Their 18
holes are more level than
most. There’s not one that
jumps out at me; equally,
thereisn’taweakone.I’m
going to allow myself two
from Porthcawl, because
although I am a member
and therefore biased,
I thinkitiswonderful.
Anyway,myfive
favourites...Iwillgetinto
tremendous trouble for
leaving somewhere out,
but here we go...Aberdovey, 16th
Ashortpar4thatis
driveable for many and is
a highlight of the terrific
endtothatcourse.Itis
tremendous ‘risk and
reward’ because although
less than 300 yards and
with no bunkers, the land
does the job of protecting
thegreen.Eventhose
with a very short shot for
theirsecondhaveajobto
make a success of it.Nefyn, 4th (Old)
Thisis where we used to
spend our summer
holidays.It’sontheold
back nine and it is a par 4
with a do-or-die drive
over the cliff edge and
then the approach to a
green tucked beautifully
next to the lighthouse.Royal Porthcawl, 7th
If it were at Pebble Beach
itwouldbeasgoodasthe
7th down the hill there. It’s
116 yards and you think
it’s a pushover. It’s not.Royal Porthcawl, 9th
The9thisashortpar4to
a sloping green. I think it
isamagnificentexample
ofapar4thatdoesn’t
have to be 440 yards and
havewaterallthewayup
thelefttobetesting.Pyle&Kenfig,11th
I’m going to say this
instead of one at Pennard.
This par 5 takes you into
the dunes and the reason
I like it is because it is
cheese to front nine’s
chalk. It hits you suddenly;
you’ve had a gentle front
nine, and the 10th and
then you move through all
these swaying ferns and
think “this is fantastic!” It’s
like a piece of music that
has been gentle and then
suddenly everyone is
going at full blast.John was golf correspondent for The Times 1993-2010
andnowwritesforGlobalGolfPost.HelivesnearCardiff
and has written books on the courses of Wales.Aberdovey’s 16th.