Played by NCG: Panmure
Reason for a Panmure Golf Club review
We were guests of the Carnoustie Links Trust, on a two-day excursion playing Panmure Golf Club and the championship course at Carnoustie for the Media Cup 2016.
Where is it?
Panmure, founded in 1845, is about two miles outside of Carnoustie. Also close to Monifieth, it is found in Barry.
What to expect?
If you could draw a picture of what links golf is you wouldn’t be far away with a sketch of Panmure.
Swirling and gusting winds protect and surround rolling dunes. Blind tee shots abound and lead to undulating greens that are hard to hold and even harder on which to putt.
Firm surfaces means the ball travels a long way but this brings its own dangers with the kind of rough that likes to wrap around club heads and send balls off at funny angles lurking just off the fairway.
My best bit?
Having been sheltered around Yorkshire courses for most of my golfing career, I’m somewhat embarrassed to say this was my links debut.
Maybe I was inspired but the surroundings but I produced arguably my best golf of the season so far, splitting fairways and finding greens in regulation.
Not too many times have I enjoyed a better feeling than seeing the ball soaring high into such a wonderful backdrop.
What to look out for
The 6th is the signature hole. Hogan, named after the legendary American champion Ben, was said to be his favourite in Scotland. The Wee Ice Mon practised for two weeks at Panmure ahead of his successful tilt at the Open in 1953 – the only time he played in the championship.
He was very taken with the course as he learned to play off the tight lies and suggested adding a bunker on the right hand side of the green. It has enthralled ever since.
The clubhouse is a replica of the Calcutta Golf Club building – a result of the association between Panmure and the Calcutta Jute Trade. It remains as it looked a century ago, with only the entrance area having been altered.
When I go back
I could quite happily play this course for the rest of my days.
[course view=”list” id=26205]
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
