Cernunnos
Journeyman Pro
Returned from a very enjoyable stay at the Celtic Manor resort last night.
Arrived Early on a misty morning at the Celtic Manor Resort, my Sat Nav bringing me into the 2010 entrance around the back, so I passed the Montgomerie course entrance & the road too me all the way down to the gated entrance of the 2010 clubhouse with its ample parking. Made my way down & was greated by the receptionist who sorted me out with coffee & organized me a breakfast whilst I waited for my colligues to arrive. The clubhouse was very warm & inviting, felt instantly relaxed.
The conciege there informed me that If I bring my car down to the entrance that they would take my clubs down to the first tee & park up my vehicle for me. When my playing partners arrived we were all shown down to the locker rooms, where we already had lockers allocated for us with nametags displayed. This was making us feel like we were as welcome as the pro's, which for most of us couldn't be further from the truth.
The Proshop was well stocked & we all took advantage of the 10th green challenge offer. Treated myself to a rather nice 2010 cap, though could have easily gon mad & bought up half the shop given the opertunity & a bottomless wallet.
As the mist lifted we were ferried down to the first tee in groups to practice on the grass range. We also took full advantage of the putting green & the chipping green & its practice bunker.
Each group was called up in tearn by the starter & led to the tee, given score card & a complimentary course guide. The welcomeso far could not be more welcome, we really felt well at ease the sun now streaming down & warm. Everything was well with the world. The starter did apologize for the fact that they were doing a lot of preperation work on the 2010 for both the Welsh Open & the Ryder cup, which we assured our guide that we fully understood. So we were off on our way around the home for the Ryder Cup 2010.
Of course there was a selection of different tee shots some better than others. I'd managed to plant my drive onto the top of the left bank past the first bunkers & my next shot was barely off the green & only missed as I'd pushed it a bit. The green was quite large & inviting & we all thought good start. Which it was. Will be interesting to see where the pro's tee it up & where they go on each hole & think we were there or we'd never make what the pro did, or that's what club we should have taken.
Either way the course was at the start at least fairly low lying & the rough at the moment is not harsh at all any balls were easy to find ifwe got off line, which settled us into a false sense of security, but as we got further & further into the course it started throwing different challenges our way, things getting more difficult as we went along. Until we reached the 10th where the challenge to hit the green & win a round of golf lay before us. Not overly long but it was a little breezy now & I pushed my tee shot. Perfect length but not a hope, as it was too far right to count. My next got me onto the green which had been scraped & dressed. We were getting more & more evidence of the preperations taking place. However, even with all this for mid March the quality of the course was excellent & you could not ask for much better. Had all these preperations not been going on you could have seen how it would have been playing. We had a great chat with the marshalls whilst we enjoyed the fayre at the halfway house & waited to tee off on the 11th. Water had started to come into play, but this next loop really put some exciting & exillerating tests before us... Water water everywhere & only a bottle of Red Rooster in the bag. Then before the 15th where the course character changed again we had another opertunity to sample the halfway house for a quick stop off before some rather tricky hillside holes that developed & we climbed up to a level, that undulated its way towads the finish with a selection of exciting holes, each one slightly different & a differnt distance & parr to deal with. Each perfect poit to drive to was defended by some marvelous bunkers & managed to get out of. Of course on the 18th Every instinct told me to lay up with a little bunt, but the course was also sloping downhill threatening a watery grave should the ball take any run. Cought the sweetest long iron shot you could imaging but with the headwind up above it was not quite enough & another ball donated to the golfing gods. Took a drop infront of this clubhouse & all my mates, hit a lovely shot onto the green which ran into the bunker, the suprized myself with a lovely bunker shot, the second of that hole & single putted from 1ft for a 7 that felt more like a parr. We felt like kings. We'd completed our round on the 2010.
Once changed we relaxed overlooking the 18th green & 1st tee enjoying a relaxing & well earned soft drink before our clubs were brought to us outside the front of reception & it was time to go & check in at the Resort Hotel Reception.
Again the same procedure. There is no carpark outside the hotel. You pull up outside the reception & your car is parked for you in the underground carpark. They will even take your bags for you, though I declined this service, as all I had was hand luggage. Reception delt with 20 tired golfers quickly & efficiently & we all made our way to our rooms, which were very comfortable & well stocked. The marble in the bathroom could have sunk a battleship.
Then it was back down to the foyer, where we all met up in the plush & well stocked bar for a drink before reception organized our Taxi's to go into town for a meal out.
I'msure the restaurants in the hotel were excelent, but it had been decidedby a majority of our group that we would be going out where we found an excellent restaurant to dine & a friendly pub to frequent before our taxi's arrived to take us all back to the hotel for a nightcap & bed in preperation for the day ahead.
There are even shops in the hotel which of course you absolutely have to have a lookaround. Considering the stature of the place the prices were not exhobitant at all. Infact quite reasonable considering the brands stocked.
The breakfast buffet was well layed out, well stocked & even tastier.
Cars were brought arround the front for us & directions given to get us all up to the Montomerie golf reception & Lodge, where everything was taken care for us again, we were able to go down to the accademy proshop & warm up on a standard driving range. If there is suprise suprise yet another well stocked proshop, must have been the fourth I'd been in so far on the site & we hadn't even visited the Roman Road, which is one course I'd love toplay. But now it was the Turn of the Montgomerie. We all made our way down to the first tee, the starter gave us all a breifing & bid us a good game.
The montgomerie is no add on course, this is a monster in its own right & you can see as the course develops the influence Monty has had on the new layout. The course gives you plenty of challenge, the rough is thicker & the bunkers get progressively deeper. One tip if there is a big bank between you & the green when in a bunker. Accept the punishment & take the shot out bacwards or sidewards, or you could well be on for a double diget score. A quadrouple bogey can be as likel;y as a par on this course. The scenery is dramatic as it rolls its way around this heathland parkland course in amoungst this welsh hillside. My score was a complete mare even though parts of my game were good & my putting was the best its been in months. Only one three putt & all the rest were a mixture of singles & two putts. This is down to the excelent management of the greens & my ball choice for the week. But mainly the greens.
Did I tell you about Monty's bunkers...?
He's evil with them & his sand choice makes it doubly dngerous to get into them. And I visited my fair share on the Mongomerie monster. I'd avoided all bar two on the 2010, but found plenty on the Monty as it rolled its way around. But before we knew it we were on the final straight playing 16, 17 & finally coming up the last. We all shook hands with big grins & high scores that day & it was only sad & with a slightly weary & heavy heart, that the day had to come to an end shortly & the 2 & a 1/4 hour drive home to home.
The accademy bar is an excellent place to stop off & relax waiting for the scores to come together in anticipation for the results.
As it turned out I'd done slightly better than I'd imagined.
We've all vowed to return & enjoy the other benefits & course of the Celtic Manor resort hopefully later in the year. When It'll hopefully be payback on the Montgomerie & our chance to sample the Roman Road course.
Would we like to play the 2010 course again too. You bet, but I doubt such a good deal could be had again after the Ryder Cup & the course will be closed later this year.
Sample this whilst you can, there wont be as good a chance again to play the 2010 here for mere mortals soon.
Arrived Early on a misty morning at the Celtic Manor Resort, my Sat Nav bringing me into the 2010 entrance around the back, so I passed the Montgomerie course entrance & the road too me all the way down to the gated entrance of the 2010 clubhouse with its ample parking. Made my way down & was greated by the receptionist who sorted me out with coffee & organized me a breakfast whilst I waited for my colligues to arrive. The clubhouse was very warm & inviting, felt instantly relaxed.
The conciege there informed me that If I bring my car down to the entrance that they would take my clubs down to the first tee & park up my vehicle for me. When my playing partners arrived we were all shown down to the locker rooms, where we already had lockers allocated for us with nametags displayed. This was making us feel like we were as welcome as the pro's, which for most of us couldn't be further from the truth.
The Proshop was well stocked & we all took advantage of the 10th green challenge offer. Treated myself to a rather nice 2010 cap, though could have easily gon mad & bought up half the shop given the opertunity & a bottomless wallet.
As the mist lifted we were ferried down to the first tee in groups to practice on the grass range. We also took full advantage of the putting green & the chipping green & its practice bunker.
Each group was called up in tearn by the starter & led to the tee, given score card & a complimentary course guide. The welcomeso far could not be more welcome, we really felt well at ease the sun now streaming down & warm. Everything was well with the world. The starter did apologize for the fact that they were doing a lot of preperation work on the 2010 for both the Welsh Open & the Ryder cup, which we assured our guide that we fully understood. So we were off on our way around the home for the Ryder Cup 2010.
Of course there was a selection of different tee shots some better than others. I'd managed to plant my drive onto the top of the left bank past the first bunkers & my next shot was barely off the green & only missed as I'd pushed it a bit. The green was quite large & inviting & we all thought good start. Which it was. Will be interesting to see where the pro's tee it up & where they go on each hole & think we were there or we'd never make what the pro did, or that's what club we should have taken.
Either way the course was at the start at least fairly low lying & the rough at the moment is not harsh at all any balls were easy to find ifwe got off line, which settled us into a false sense of security, but as we got further & further into the course it started throwing different challenges our way, things getting more difficult as we went along. Until we reached the 10th where the challenge to hit the green & win a round of golf lay before us. Not overly long but it was a little breezy now & I pushed my tee shot. Perfect length but not a hope, as it was too far right to count. My next got me onto the green which had been scraped & dressed. We were getting more & more evidence of the preperations taking place. However, even with all this for mid March the quality of the course was excellent & you could not ask for much better. Had all these preperations not been going on you could have seen how it would have been playing. We had a great chat with the marshalls whilst we enjoyed the fayre at the halfway house & waited to tee off on the 11th. Water had started to come into play, but this next loop really put some exciting & exillerating tests before us... Water water everywhere & only a bottle of Red Rooster in the bag. Then before the 15th where the course character changed again we had another opertunity to sample the halfway house for a quick stop off before some rather tricky hillside holes that developed & we climbed up to a level, that undulated its way towads the finish with a selection of exciting holes, each one slightly different & a differnt distance & parr to deal with. Each perfect poit to drive to was defended by some marvelous bunkers & managed to get out of. Of course on the 18th Every instinct told me to lay up with a little bunt, but the course was also sloping downhill threatening a watery grave should the ball take any run. Cought the sweetest long iron shot you could imaging but with the headwind up above it was not quite enough & another ball donated to the golfing gods. Took a drop infront of this clubhouse & all my mates, hit a lovely shot onto the green which ran into the bunker, the suprized myself with a lovely bunker shot, the second of that hole & single putted from 1ft for a 7 that felt more like a parr. We felt like kings. We'd completed our round on the 2010.
Once changed we relaxed overlooking the 18th green & 1st tee enjoying a relaxing & well earned soft drink before our clubs were brought to us outside the front of reception & it was time to go & check in at the Resort Hotel Reception.
Again the same procedure. There is no carpark outside the hotel. You pull up outside the reception & your car is parked for you in the underground carpark. They will even take your bags for you, though I declined this service, as all I had was hand luggage. Reception delt with 20 tired golfers quickly & efficiently & we all made our way to our rooms, which were very comfortable & well stocked. The marble in the bathroom could have sunk a battleship.
Then it was back down to the foyer, where we all met up in the plush & well stocked bar for a drink before reception organized our Taxi's to go into town for a meal out.
I'msure the restaurants in the hotel were excelent, but it had been decidedby a majority of our group that we would be going out where we found an excellent restaurant to dine & a friendly pub to frequent before our taxi's arrived to take us all back to the hotel for a nightcap & bed in preperation for the day ahead.
There are even shops in the hotel which of course you absolutely have to have a lookaround. Considering the stature of the place the prices were not exhobitant at all. Infact quite reasonable considering the brands stocked.
The breakfast buffet was well layed out, well stocked & even tastier.
Cars were brought arround the front for us & directions given to get us all up to the Montomerie golf reception & Lodge, where everything was taken care for us again, we were able to go down to the accademy proshop & warm up on a standard driving range. If there is suprise suprise yet another well stocked proshop, must have been the fourth I'd been in so far on the site & we hadn't even visited the Roman Road, which is one course I'd love toplay. But now it was the Turn of the Montgomerie. We all made our way down to the first tee, the starter gave us all a breifing & bid us a good game.
The montgomerie is no add on course, this is a monster in its own right & you can see as the course develops the influence Monty has had on the new layout. The course gives you plenty of challenge, the rough is thicker & the bunkers get progressively deeper. One tip if there is a big bank between you & the green when in a bunker. Accept the punishment & take the shot out bacwards or sidewards, or you could well be on for a double diget score. A quadrouple bogey can be as likel;y as a par on this course. The scenery is dramatic as it rolls its way around this heathland parkland course in amoungst this welsh hillside. My score was a complete mare even though parts of my game were good & my putting was the best its been in months. Only one three putt & all the rest were a mixture of singles & two putts. This is down to the excelent management of the greens & my ball choice for the week. But mainly the greens.
Did I tell you about Monty's bunkers...?
He's evil with them & his sand choice makes it doubly dngerous to get into them. And I visited my fair share on the Mongomerie monster. I'd avoided all bar two on the 2010, but found plenty on the Monty as it rolled its way around. But before we knew it we were on the final straight playing 16, 17 & finally coming up the last. We all shook hands with big grins & high scores that day & it was only sad & with a slightly weary & heavy heart, that the day had to come to an end shortly & the 2 & a 1/4 hour drive home to home.
The accademy bar is an excellent place to stop off & relax waiting for the scores to come together in anticipation for the results.
As it turned out I'd done slightly better than I'd imagined.
We've all vowed to return & enjoy the other benefits & course of the Celtic Manor resort hopefully later in the year. When It'll hopefully be payback on the Montgomerie & our chance to sample the Roman Road course.
Would we like to play the 2010 course again too. You bet, but I doubt such a good deal could be had again after the Ryder Cup & the course will be closed later this year.
Sample this whilst you can, there wont be as good a chance again to play the 2010 here for mere mortals soon.
