One of the most distinctive, memorable and scenic courses in the Top 100, packed with endless variety and views
St Enodoc Golf Club Church Course Review
Top 100 Ranking 2021/22 – 36
Previous Rankings
2019/20 – 40
2017/18 – 36
2015/16 – 36
2013/14 – 41
2011/12 – 45
2009/10 – 48
Summer Green Fees
Round – £105wd, £110we, Day – £135wd
Visitors: welcome every day subject to availability
Medal Tee: Par 69 – 6,557 Yards
Changes since previous ranking
New tee complexes on the 12th and 18th
St Enodoc Golf Club Church Course Review
The rugged, rolling beauty of the Cornish coastline provides a stunning backdrop to this wonderfully varied James Braid design. Packed with memorable features such as the Himalayas bunker, it’s a thrilling ride all the way.
A view of the church at St Enodoc (Getty Images)
The Cornish coastline is famed for its rugged, rolling beauty, and this provides a superb setting for one of James Braid’s most interesting designs. The Church course is packed with memorable features and everchanging panoramas; it’s a thrilling ride all the way.
St Enodoc is on the estuary of the River Camel, a beautiful and wide river inlet that separates the towns of Padstow and Rock.
The par-3 fifth (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)
‘Lark song and sea sounds in the air, and splendour, splendour everywhere’ is how former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjemen ended his Seaside Golf poem. The full text is on the club’s website, which is wholly appropriate as Sir John is buried at the far end of the course in the churchyard beside the 10th green.
Not only is the setting idyllic, but there is great variety with the course constantly changing direction and elevation. The opening hole is a par 5 which heads towards the coast over a rumpled fairway between dunes, offering up your first view of the sea. You then turn inland at the first of two tough par 4s, before some relief at the drive and pitch 4th and short 5th.
The short eighth
Iconic Bunker
One of the course’s most memorable features, and certainly most photographed, is the incredible Himalaya bunker on the 6th. It really shouldn’t come into play, but the hole becomes far tougher at its prospect. By rights, your approach should sail over it to the punchbowl green waiting 90 yards beyond. If you don’t make the carry, then the best of luck on trying to escape!
The beautiful par-4 ninth
There is plenty of fun at the next three before you reach the toughest test, the fearsomely demanding 10th. This long par 4 plays through a valley with trouble hugging the left all the way. Even a perfect drive can leave a long approach that needs to get airborne quickly in order to clear the dune angling in from the right. The green sits round to the left below the church.
SI 18, the fifteenth is 168 yards
The next four holes work you back round to the lovely par-3 15 th, following which it’s a stirring finish. The long 16th follows the South West coastal path along the Camel estuary and is simply magnificent. The tough par-3 17th and then the strong par-4 18th mean that you cannot relax until safely back in the clubhouse.
The sixteenth is the longest hole on the course
Assessor Feedback
The quirky nature of some of the holes and the slight weaknesses in the back nine will probably divide opinion a little, despite the conditioning and location being first class. A member could never get bored at St Enodoc. Probably the best course in the West Country by some margin but, you have to be able to contend with the unusual.
GM Verdict
One of the most distinctive, memorable and scenic courses in the Top 100, packed with endless variety and views
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