St. Enodoc Golf Club - England
St. Enodoc Golf Club is in north Cornwall, lying above the tiny village
of Rock and overlooking the estuary of the River
Camel, which is crossed by ferry from Padstow.
This quaint seaside course features some of the
most stupendous sandhills in all of golf with
lyrical views across Daymer Bay. The sixth hole,
named the
Himalayas, requires a second shot over the mountain
of dune with its cratered bunker that dwarfs even
the ''Alps'' at Prestwick and the "Maiden" at St.
George's. The 10th hole turns inland, hugging Brea
Hill, with a series of holes around the ancient St.
Enodoc Church. Sir John Betjeman, the poet laureate
who wrote much verse about playing at St.
Enodoc, lies buried in the little church. The club
was founded about 1891, although golf had been
played in the dunes even earlier, with the full
18-hole course laid out by James Braid in 1907.
Royal North Devon Golf Club (Westward Ho!) - England
Westward Ho! or
Royal North Devon Golf Club was founded in 1864,
making it the first links course in England,
with the existing design largely the work of
Herbert Fowler in 1908. This wild and entrancing
links, a kind of golf time capsule, was laid out
on the open land known as the Burrows just south
of the Torridge estuary in the town of Westward Ho! Cattle, horses, and sheep
freely graze over the course since it lies on
common land. The course runs along the pebble
ridge that protects the land from the waters of
Bideford Bay, although in recent years the ridge
has been breached by the sea. The middle holes
play
around giant sea rushes, up to six feet tall, with
bayonet-like tips that are mildly poisonous. The
highest point on the course is the sixth tee, which
provides a stirring view across the estuary to the
villages of Appledore and Northam up the hillside,
where Westward Hors most famous son, J.H. Taylor, the
five-time British Open champion, was born and lived
out his life. The club and the town both take their
name from the popular 19th-century novel by Charles
Kingsley.
St. Enodoc Golf Club and Royal
North Devon Golf Club, England