Looking back down the 2nd hole
I love links golf and that smell when you first get out of your car and breath in that salty sea air. It’s day two of my tour and this morning its Royal Porthcawl, a course I’ve waited so long to play and heard so much about. It certainly lives up to it reputation.
It’s another gloriously sunny day and I’m thanking the golfing gods that there’s no wind. I normally love playing in a good breeze but today I want to enjoy the course with the sun shining down on this beautiful stretch of coastline. There are five teeing options here from 7,065 yards off the blacks to 5,840 yards off the reds. The SSS off the blacks is 76. I opt for the white tees which have a SSS 73 and play the par-3s off the blacks.
The first is a gentle opener at 353 yards, but you need to aim at the right side of the fairway as the ball rolls down its slope – and don’t go too long as the bunkers will catch you. If there is a hidden hazard here it’s the sheer beauty of the view as you look out to the links and listen to the waves crashing on the sandy beach a wedge shot away to your left. Golf is a game where you need to concentrate on so many things, but if I were you I’d forget all that.
Deep pot bunkers at the 14th
