It’s time golf embraced short courses. And by short courses, I’m not just talking about your standard par 3 or nine-hole layouts.
What I mean are full-length courses, but in miniature form.
The ones where you look at the scorecard and say, ‘That’s a proper course’. Venues that offer the same quality, architecture, enjoyment and no lapse in strategic challenge.
St Enodoc’s Holywell Course is a great example.
When we visited the famed Cornish links venue as part of our 48 Hours In series, we started on the Holywell before playing the James Braid-designed Church Course. It’s a combination that has worked for a long time.
You get two very different, but very enjoyable experiences located on quite an astonishing piece of land. What struck me was just how good the standard of golf was despite its shorter length.
The terrain is every bit as good as the Church. It doesn’t feel like a knock-off, a shorter alternative that courses of this size can be labelled as. It’s a proper links test.
You still have to hit all the shots. There are opportunities to use driver, fairway woods and irons into tight greens. It tests your game in the same way as a full-length course, but does so over a shorter distance.
And that is the genius of the place, and places like it.
A shorter course isn’t necessarily a simpler one
I think there is a collective way of thinking in golf that a course measuring 4,000 or 5,000 yards is somehow a lesser experience than one stretching beyond 7,000. The Holywell is just over 4,000.
Why? What’s the logic behind that?
Perhaps it’s the core belief that it won’t offer the same strategic challenge. A well-struck driver will get you near most greens, perhaps. One-dimensional, maybe.
But, that’s flawed thinking. They still require you to think your way around, hit different types of shots and make decisions that have jeopardy.
Advertisement
The Holywell does that better than most. It comes with its own challenges and has a distinct character of its own. Surely, that makes it as attractive to play as the big-boy courses.
Not every club will have the space to build something like the Holywell. I accept that. But I do think there is an opportunity for more clubs to consider shorter alternatives without compromising quality.
Because a golf course shouldn’t have to measure 7,000 yards to be considered a proper test. And it certainly shouldn’t have to be long to be fun.
WATCH OUR YOUTUBE VIDEO
NOW HAVE YOUR SAY
Do you enjoy playing shorter golf courses? Should there be more of these types of venues introduced in British golf? Which is the best short course you have played? Let us know in the comments or by getting in touch with us on X!
