Gary Wilde

A magnificent golf course played in excellent weather conditions yesterday. Southerness is now firmly entrenched amongst my favourite courses. Playing from the white tees, the par threes are brutal and seven of the par fours are over 400 yards. A tough test amongst the abundant heather albeit with generous fairways and there are only two par fives to offer a little respite, one of which is the 18th. The ‘signature’ 12th hole is a dogleg played out to the brink of the Irish Sea and is one of the best holes which I have played. I would happily recommend this course as a ‘must play’ to anyone.

I played at Powfoot on Saturday and it is a golf course which provoked no strong feelings except perhaps disappointment. There was nothing memorable in any respect apart from an absurd 258 yard par 3 which played into the wind and walking off with a 3 I felt cheated out of a birdie. The 7th and 12th (both par threes) are decent examples of what par 3 holes should be about.

I thoroughly enjoyed my game here last week. None of the holes appeared out of character with others which may be testament to the rains of 2012. The course is a collection of lots of good holes and my personal favourites were the 9th with bunkering all the way down the left of the hole and the 14th which is a par 5 with two sections of slightly offset fairway which has a run out at 290 yards from the white tees and a perfectly placed bunker on the right hand side of the fairway 50 yards short of the green.The only weak hole is a disappointing finish on 18 with an approach to a green well above the level of the fairway which makes the approach more difficult than the yardage suggests. As is the case with many courses, a little TLC to raise the condition of the course would be welcome but with many clubs/courses struggling financially this is unsurprising.I have never seen a fleet of members buggies (there must be 50+) such as that at Ashburnham on what is a largely flat course. Having climbed to the 16th tee and 18th green I understand why the fleet exists.

<p>Hesketh today was bathed in sunshine with barely a breath of wind. Given the recent rain it was remarkably dry and the greens were very good for the time of year. It is a course which has seen much improvement gradually within the last ten years. New greens have been constructed, former marshland drained creating ponds and bunkers moved/changed. The holes around the clubhouse are completely different in character to those on the other side of the road and the pick are 14 & 15 which are played when you cross the road back to the clubhouse side to play the final 5. Holes 3 to 14 are played on the much flatter seaward side and it shouldn’t be forgotten that the raised public footpath which runs to the left of holes 6 & 7 is the former sea wall. The pick of these holes are 3 & 9 which both require good drives to set up the approach shot to the green. Hesketh is the ugly duckling of the four Southport courses (including <a href="/golf-course/southport-and-ainsdale">S&A</a>, <a href="/golf-course/hillside">Hillside</a> and <a href="/golf-course/royal-birkdale" target="_self">Royal Birkdale</a>) and I do think £60 is a little steep to play there with £40 is nearer the ‘value for money’ marker, we played on a 50% green fee deal and undoubtedly this was good value.</p>

When I played Tenby last week, she could have stolen my heart but at the end of the round I was hearbroken. What a course of contradictions, for 14 holes it is magnificent and then holes 15,16 and 17 are completely out of character with the previous natural links land then 18 is a very ordinary par 4 to finish. The views across the bay from the far end of the course back to the town are magnificent.If Tenby had continued in the same vain as the first 14 holes it would have been an easy 5 baller but due to the finish it is a 4 baller. Overall, it is very much a course worth playing if in the area.

I have played in the 4 Day Open this week which has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience in glorious weather. The people involved with the organisation of the event were delightful and it will be a pleasure to return in future years. My favourite spot on the course was standing on the fifth tee on the towering dune looking at the fairway below. 

I played Hillside yesterday in their Gents Open in magnificent weather and thoroughly enjoyed the course. I visited the course for a viewing when the Amateur Championship was held here recently, however, I only fully appreciated the back nine holes when I played them having heard so much about them previously. Hillside may just have become my favourite course played ahead of the likes of <A href="/golf-course/carnoustie-championship" target=_self>Carnoustie</A>, <A href="/golf-course/trump-turnberry-ailsa" target=_self>Turnberry</A>, <A href="/golf-course/saunton-east" target=_self>Saunton East</A>, <A href="/golf-course/royal-st-davids" target=_self>Royal St David's</A> to name a few. 

Thoroughly enjoyed my round at Bull Bay today despite the severe wind. Very reminiscent of the course where I learned the game, <A href="/golf-course/bamburgh-castle" target=_self>Bamburgh Castle</A> in Northumberland with rocky outcrops, gorse, beside the sea but not really links. The nature of the land is more farmland cultivated into a golf course which is laid out in the only way possible on the land (Bamburgh Castle is identical). Way superior to the vastly overrated <A href="/golf-course/nefyn-amp-district-old" target=_self>Nefyn</A>. 