Newquay Golf Club

Information

Course Name: Newquay Golf Club

Location: Tower Road, Newquay, Cornwall, TR7 1LT, United Kingdom

Date Played: July 2022

Course Type: Links

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Introduction

You certainly can’t argue with the views you get from the links at Newquay Golf Club. Stunning views over Fistral Beach and out to sea.

Looking at the club’s history it would appear the club is lucky to exist as the land which it occupies was originally intended for housing development. The golf club was founded in 1890 following the headland riots of 1887 which put a stop to the planned housing.

It is a Harry Colt design. Harry Shapland Colt is one of the most famous and respected architects who was involved in many top courses such as Pine Valley and Wentworth (before its recent butchering).

The clubhouse is also rather unique. A castellated tower originally built for the Molesworth family in 1835 houses the bar, restaurant, locker room and pro shop.

The Layout

The course occupies a near rectangular piece of land sandwiched between houses on three sides and the beach along the other. It is quite an undulating piece of land for a links course and you’ll find yourself playing a number of uphill approaches into greens.

Presumably, the prevailing wind comes in from the sea making many of the holes play in a crosswind making them even more tricky.

Certainly not long by modern standards at just 6141 yards the course will test out every aspect of your game.

You’ll also have to flight your shots into many greens. They are set up above the surrounding fairways, some with banks so steep that you will struggle to run the ball on.

It did feel a little cramped at times and it would be interesting to see how people fared on a busy Saturday or Sunday morning when every hole was full and balls were flying everywhere!

My favorite holes were the 9th and 12th. The final hole on the front-9 was a short and sweet par-3 played slightly uphill with apartments as a backdrop. Fail to reach the green and you’ll have an awkward chip or bunker shot to get on the green.

The 12th had a string of bunkers diagonally across the fairway. Fortunately for slicers, you could aim at the middle bunker and probably end up nicely on the fairway. If you have the firepower you might want to try and carry the bunkers but either way, you are left with an awkward shot played to a green set up above you and running at a slight angle.

Unlike nearby Bude & North Cornwall, there is only one public path through the course and that doesn’t affect play all that much. This is because it runs below the level of the fairways and there’s also some metal mesh to protect pedestrians if your ball doesn’t clear the path.

I suppose it does detract a little from the look of the course but I think that is better than having to wait all the time for the inevitable flood of foot traffic down to Fistral Beach.

Condition

Clearly, the course only has irrigation on the greens as the recent dry spell had burnt up the fairways and tees.

Greens

Even allowing for the fact I was playing a links, I found the speed of the greens to be a little lacking and struggled to get the ball to the hole on a number of occasions.

There didn’t appear to be too many signs of damage or disease although I did get a couple of putts to jump quite severely off-line from what appeared to be old pitch marks.

Bunkers

Unsurprisingly quite nice sand in the bunkers and I managed to find several! A few too many players decided not to bother raking their footprints though.

Fairways

Although starved of water due to the recent weather, the fairways still played quite nicely and there was still plenty of grass there even if it was pretty brown. It appeared that divoting was taken quite seriously with a high percentage of divots filled with sand and seed mix.

Tees

The most disappointing area. The lack of water to the tees meant they were almost like concrete and it was quite difficult to actually get your tee in the ground.

Challenge

Like all links, your ball striking will be tested by the firm, tight fairways and you’ll also need a sharp chipping game when you miss the green as many times you’ll be looking at chipping up a steep bank.

You will rarely have a flat lie so your approach play will need to be up to muster.

The majority of the fairway bunkers would force most players just to escape rather than attempt to play for the green as they might on a parkland course. Which is just as it should be.

I didn’t think the long rough would come into play all that often. Most of the fairways were separated by fairly short stuff that shouldn’t cause too many problems finding or playing your ball.

Off The Course

There is the requisite bar and restaurant along with a friendly pro in the pro shop. In terms of practice facilities, there are a couple of putting greens and there’s also a practice fairway where you can work on your long game.

Newquay Golf Club: Summary

If you’re looking for a taste of golf how it was a hundred years ago then Newquay Golf Club almost certainly fits the bill. The view alone is probably worth the green fee.

Check out my other reviews of Cornish golf courses.

Membership is ridiculously cheap at less than £12 per week! Green fees start from £45.

Check out the Newquay Golf Clubs Webcam.

To find out more about golf in Cornwall visit the Cornish County Golf Union website.