48. Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Sweden May 16-28, 2016 (Part II)

Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Sweden May 16-28, 2016 (Part II)

            

The Belfry—The Brabazon Course, May 21, 2016:  I arrived at my hotel about 15 miles from The Belfry just past midnight on Saturday May 21, but was not scheduled to play until 1:20PM so could sleep in a little.  However, the weather forecast for Saturday was looking very wet, so needed some luck (again!).

Saturday morning it was heavily overcast but not raining (yet).  Figured I should get over to The Belfry…perhaps they would have some weather cancellations (even though these Englishmen go swimming when the temperature hits 55) and I could get off early.  Well, I got lucky.  Got over there and there was an opening at 11:10am, so I grabbed it…and later was very glad that I did. 

Most of you will remember the Belfry as the site of the 1985, 1989, 1993, and 2002 Ryder Cup Matches.  It was at the 1985 Match that the USA lost for the first time since 1957 (and only the 2^nd time since 1933 and the third time overall)…and then of course the floodgates opened!  By the way, since Brexit vote last night, I haven’t heard one word about whether the Euro’s will allow the Brits to play on their team.

Frankly I was not expecting a great golf course, and while I would not describe The Brabazon as great, I was actually pleasantly surprised…i.e., not as bad as expected.  The famous 10^th hole is very very interesting and a fabulous match play hole.  You will recall that it is a short downhill drivable par 4 with a narrow green with water front and left.  It was much more downhill than I remembered (TV always “flattens” the landscape)---see picture below.  

#10 at Belfry...tee shot should be further left

Other good holes are #6 and #15.  From the back plays to 7255 yards (par 72) and never made (or in my opinion deserved to make) a World 100 list.  But when all is said and done, when compared to the extensive collection of fabulous links and heathland courses throughout the British Isles, the influence of $$ in site selection becomes clear.  For sure, it was The Belfry that started this trend.  Prior to 1985, and certainly since 1960, The Ryder Cup was always played on great courses in GB.  Quite frankly, starting in 1985, there have been 16 matches played or announced (at 13 venues) in Europe…and only one of these venues (and as of today I have played them all), Valderrama in Spain, has ever been considered a World Top 100 candidate.  On the other hand…the European Tour (which owns/controls the European Ryder Cup matches) needs the cash it generates to support their regular tour events.  The European Tour might well collapse without the Ryder Cup.  Of course, the Europeans always criticize the US for being “too commercial”!!!

Anyhow, four slow foursomes waved me through on the front nine and I finished the round in about 3:15 (was held up on the back nine).  Good thing.  By the time I said thanks to the staff and loaded my car, it had started to pour.  Had a 41-44 = 85. 

One other thought…it definitely feels like a “golf factory”, but it is a well run factory!

Had a 104 mile drive to Celtic Manor (speaking of not great Ryder Cup courses) which took almost 2 hours in heavy rain.  Had been lucky today, but scheduled for 36 Sunday with another ugly forecast.

Celtic Manor—2010 Course, May 22, 2016:  Celtic Manor is a large luxurious resort located in Wales, about 10-15 miles east of Cardiff.  Of course, the great course in Wales is Royal Porthcawl (Pat and I were rained out their in June 2015).  I played it once back in 1981 and would love to play it again…but right now I am still a prisoner of my Bucket Lists…my freedom may be just over the horizon.

Celtic Manor has two hotels, the luxurious (and expensive) Celtic-Manor, and the cheapo (relatively) Coldra Court.  I of course stayed in the latter.  This was an important stop on the trip, as it was the only hotel where I was to stay two nights, so it was time to get the laundry done!

Site of the 2010 Ryder Cup (won by Europe), 2010 stretches to 7493 yards cut through very hilly countryside.  The words that come to mind when describing 2010 are big, long, tough and overdone. 

My tee time was late in the morning (10:50) and then I had to go over and play St. Pierre-Old at 5pm (sunset was to be at around 10pm).  I played with an American from Minnesota and his son.  Was an enjoyable round but the tough slog.  As a result of the rains over the prior 2-3 days, the course was very wet and carts were restricted to cartpaths…was a long tough walk. 

In summary, good to have this in the rear view mirror!!

St. Pierre Golf Club—Old Course, May 22, 2016:  The Old Course at St. Pierre is now associated with the Marriott Hotel located in the old castle.  This is the second Marriott hotel facility I have played within three weeks, having played Dalmahoy near Edinburgh, Scotland on May 1.  Dalmahoy had hosted the 1992 Solheim Cup and St. Pierre hosted both the 1980 Curtis Cup and the 1996 Solheim Cup (your hard working writer has checked and believes no one played as an amateur in the Curtis cup and then as a pro in the Solheim Cup for either side…although marriage related name change could have affected my research). 

This is a good if somewhat tight (needs some tree pruning) parkland course.  From the back plays 7028 yards and offers a good variety of holes.  After firing a smooth 90 at Celtic Manor, it was giood to hit the ball well again here and have a 39-41 = 80 here.  I was zipping around the course (lots of weather cancellations) when a downpour hit when I was near the 13the green…followed by a sharp crack of thunder.  I quickly got back to the clubhouse, and waited out the 10-15 minute long downpour.  In all my time in British Isles (my guess is 150+ days at least) this was only the second thunderstorm I have ever witnessed (the first being at the 1981 Open Championship at Royal St George’s).  When I got back out on the course, I was able to play the last 5 holes very quickly…which proved fortuitous as it started raining hard again about 5 minutes after I was in my car.

           

Certainly not a great course but a good parkland track.  To my mind, much more enjoyable than Celtic Manor but obviously not close to the same league as Royal Porthcawl.

Back to my hotel for dinner.  Have a busy but exciting week ahead…playing three very highly regarded old traditional courses in England and looking forward to that!!