Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
A group of 4 of us spent 3 days recently here, and all of us came away raving about the Nicklaus course and wanting to go back.
The hotel
A few years ago they spent a lot of money on the hotel, and it shows in parts.
The reception area, conference rooms and restaurants/bars are very nice, but the rooms are pretty much what you'd expect at a Travelodge. That isn't a minus for me as the only time I want to spend in there is sleeping and showering.
They had a gym which I was told was very good and the swimming pool looked great as well. None of us can vouch for the spa treatments!
They also have a room to store bags in which you have to get a member of staff to open for you to make it secure. While we were there this room wasn't full so we were able to leave our trolleys in there as well. Very convenient and far better than lugging gear to our rooms each day or packing it in the car overnight.
The Food
I was pleasantly surprised at the food. I wasn't expecting much but there was a good selection and the dishes I chose were cooked very nicely. For our inclusive meal we could choose any starter (from about 6), any main (from about 20 including the burgers menu) with the exception of the steak which had a £5 surcharge, and any desert (from about 8).
From the prices on the menu each night's food was about £25 - £30 worth.
At breakfast there was the usual full English buffet style plus cereals and a table laid out with continental breakfast things such as fruit, cold meats and cheeses.
Unlike some places I've been there was no restriction on the number of times you could fill your plate up.
The Staff
All of the staff we encountered - both in the hotel and the pro shop - were very courteous and helpful, with the exception of one. He wasn't unhelpful or rude, just a bit abrupt. Maybe just having a bad day!
The Golf
The Kernow Course
I'd not played the Kernow course before so was looking forward to seeing what the supposed 2nd course at St. Mellion had to offer.
I left with 2 impressions of it. The first is that it is by a mile the hilliest course I have ever played. That in itself isn't a bad thing, but a few holes had blind drives so playing it for the first time was difficult. 2 of the blind drive holes (par 4's) had a sign by the tee box saying "Please wait for the bell if you intend to go for the green". Go for the green? I didn't even know where the green was! A tall marker behind the green would've been nice, but as it was we just hit shorter clubs in the direction it looked like the fairway was going.
That brings me onto the 2nd impression. It is short. From memory I think there were 4 par 4's under 300yds. 3 of them had blind drives and the other should have been a par 3. 220yds, all downhill with a big lake in front of the green.
The round also starts with 2 par 5's of roughly 440 and 470 yards. In all honest they should be par 4's although it's nice to start with a confidence boosting birdie.
I think the total yardage was about 5,300yds and par 72.
Overall the course was in reasonable condition with the exception of some of the greens. To be fair to them they haven't had much growth inducing weather this year, and some of the greens are still settling in as only about half of the course remains from the original course after it was altered a few years ago.
Don't get me wrong, they weren't awful, just a little bobbly and not as quick as we'd have liked.
Apart from the downhill 'par 4' mentioned above, the most memorable hole for me was a downhill par 3 of about 145 yards. It has a wide green but is not very big front to back, and a large pond in front of it. The pond is as wide as the green and the almost vertical bank must be around 15' tall.
Having said all that, it says enough about the course that we all agreed that if we went back there we would want to play it again.
The Nicklaus Course
This was the reason the trip came about in the first place. I played it about 3 years ago and have raved about it to my mates ever since. Luckily I got a great price for the trip so they agreed the travelling would be worth it.
I was nervous before we played the Nicklaus. Not golf nervous, but the course seems to be a bit marmite. I've read reviews and heard opinions both raving about it and others can't see what all the fuss is about. I am the former, and after dragging them 250 miles for 3 rounds of golf hoped they would be too.
Standing on the first tee gives you no clue as to how you'll be spending your next few hours as it doesn't look that special. Once you've played your drive and walked to your ball though things start to change. The approach to the first around the dogleg is all downhill and you begin to see what the course will be like.
The second is a not overly long par 5, but if you want to go for the green in 2 you need to carve a driver left to right around the corner as a straight shot will go through the fairway. The hole continues downhill flanked by trees and a stream on the left and a steep slope covered in nasty rough on the right. Looking up to the right you see plush looking houses, one of which will be mine when my numbers come up!
From the second onwards you barely see another hole other than the one you are playing all the way round, with a couple of exceptions. We definitely didn't get the impression that it's as busy as it actually is.
I won't bore you with descriptions of all the holes, except to say that a lot of courses have one great hole or even a few of them, but in my mind this course has about 10 of them, and the others aren't too shabby either.
It is tough though. It seems like every shot has to be thought about and there is always one side that you don't want to miss. Not that you leave an easy shot if you miss on the other side. It's just the 'less bad' side.
From the yellow tees, the yardage of around 6,300 and an SSS of 71 against a par of 72 nowhere near tell the story. I thought I played ok but didn't get near my handicap, because the bad swings that normally cost a shot, cost me 2 or 3 instead.
Overall we had a great 3 days, and will be going back sooner rather than later.
The hotel
A few years ago they spent a lot of money on the hotel, and it shows in parts.
The reception area, conference rooms and restaurants/bars are very nice, but the rooms are pretty much what you'd expect at a Travelodge. That isn't a minus for me as the only time I want to spend in there is sleeping and showering.
They had a gym which I was told was very good and the swimming pool looked great as well. None of us can vouch for the spa treatments!
They also have a room to store bags in which you have to get a member of staff to open for you to make it secure. While we were there this room wasn't full so we were able to leave our trolleys in there as well. Very convenient and far better than lugging gear to our rooms each day or packing it in the car overnight.
The Food
I was pleasantly surprised at the food. I wasn't expecting much but there was a good selection and the dishes I chose were cooked very nicely. For our inclusive meal we could choose any starter (from about 6), any main (from about 20 including the burgers menu) with the exception of the steak which had a £5 surcharge, and any desert (from about 8).
From the prices on the menu each night's food was about £25 - £30 worth.
At breakfast there was the usual full English buffet style plus cereals and a table laid out with continental breakfast things such as fruit, cold meats and cheeses.
Unlike some places I've been there was no restriction on the number of times you could fill your plate up.
The Staff
All of the staff we encountered - both in the hotel and the pro shop - were very courteous and helpful, with the exception of one. He wasn't unhelpful or rude, just a bit abrupt. Maybe just having a bad day!
The Golf
The Kernow Course
I'd not played the Kernow course before so was looking forward to seeing what the supposed 2nd course at St. Mellion had to offer.
I left with 2 impressions of it. The first is that it is by a mile the hilliest course I have ever played. That in itself isn't a bad thing, but a few holes had blind drives so playing it for the first time was difficult. 2 of the blind drive holes (par 4's) had a sign by the tee box saying "Please wait for the bell if you intend to go for the green". Go for the green? I didn't even know where the green was! A tall marker behind the green would've been nice, but as it was we just hit shorter clubs in the direction it looked like the fairway was going.
That brings me onto the 2nd impression. It is short. From memory I think there were 4 par 4's under 300yds. 3 of them had blind drives and the other should have been a par 3. 220yds, all downhill with a big lake in front of the green.
The round also starts with 2 par 5's of roughly 440 and 470 yards. In all honest they should be par 4's although it's nice to start with a confidence boosting birdie.
I think the total yardage was about 5,300yds and par 72.
Overall the course was in reasonable condition with the exception of some of the greens. To be fair to them they haven't had much growth inducing weather this year, and some of the greens are still settling in as only about half of the course remains from the original course after it was altered a few years ago.
Don't get me wrong, they weren't awful, just a little bobbly and not as quick as we'd have liked.
Apart from the downhill 'par 4' mentioned above, the most memorable hole for me was a downhill par 3 of about 145 yards. It has a wide green but is not very big front to back, and a large pond in front of it. The pond is as wide as the green and the almost vertical bank must be around 15' tall.
Having said all that, it says enough about the course that we all agreed that if we went back there we would want to play it again.
The Nicklaus Course
This was the reason the trip came about in the first place. I played it about 3 years ago and have raved about it to my mates ever since. Luckily I got a great price for the trip so they agreed the travelling would be worth it.
I was nervous before we played the Nicklaus. Not golf nervous, but the course seems to be a bit marmite. I've read reviews and heard opinions both raving about it and others can't see what all the fuss is about. I am the former, and after dragging them 250 miles for 3 rounds of golf hoped they would be too.
Standing on the first tee gives you no clue as to how you'll be spending your next few hours as it doesn't look that special. Once you've played your drive and walked to your ball though things start to change. The approach to the first around the dogleg is all downhill and you begin to see what the course will be like.
The second is a not overly long par 5, but if you want to go for the green in 2 you need to carve a driver left to right around the corner as a straight shot will go through the fairway. The hole continues downhill flanked by trees and a stream on the left and a steep slope covered in nasty rough on the right. Looking up to the right you see plush looking houses, one of which will be mine when my numbers come up!
From the second onwards you barely see another hole other than the one you are playing all the way round, with a couple of exceptions. We definitely didn't get the impression that it's as busy as it actually is.
I won't bore you with descriptions of all the holes, except to say that a lot of courses have one great hole or even a few of them, but in my mind this course has about 10 of them, and the others aren't too shabby either.
It is tough though. It seems like every shot has to be thought about and there is always one side that you don't want to miss. Not that you leave an easy shot if you miss on the other side. It's just the 'less bad' side.
From the yellow tees, the yardage of around 6,300 and an SSS of 71 against a par of 72 nowhere near tell the story. I thought I played ok but didn't get near my handicap, because the bad swings that normally cost a shot, cost me 2 or 3 instead.
Overall we had a great 3 days, and will be going back sooner rather than later.
