195 - Celtic Manor Resort (Twenty Ten)

Location: Newport, Wales

Rating: 8.1

The last of the 3 courses that Celtic Manor had to offer and got to save the 2010 Ryder Cup course till last, aptly named the Twenty Ten course.

The nerves started to build as you walk down towards the clubhouse and see the Ryder Cup signage and then even further more when you go into the locker room and see the names of some of the world’s finest golfers and the lockers they’d used during that week.

A quick breakfast and then down onto the range, it’s too far to walk so you get a little transit down there. Unfortunately some of the organization seemed to be lacking and whilst we were supposed to be given half an hour down by the practice facilities our driver was late and we had to settle for a quick hit before the starter ushered us onto the first tee.

I must confess I don’t recall much of the 2010 Ryder Cup so the course was pretty much new to me. The first hole is a gentle dogleg to the left with a bit of risk reward on the drive being able to cut the corner. The second is another relatively uncomplicated hole but a 500 meter par 4 at that requiring a few good strikes to get to the green. The third shouldn’t be too tricky, a 150 meter par 3 but with water short and left that is of course where I put my ball. The course continues to weave through this flatter part of land with a splash of water here and there and a smattering of bunkers providing the headache but the course really starts to come into it’s own around the start of the back 9.

The 10th is a very short par 3 around wedge distance and they were running a promotion on the day for a hole-in-one offering a 10 year membership, my friend lipped out! 11 shouldn’t be a tricky par 5 but is protected by water down the left and 12, 13 & 14 follow suit weaving through water hazards. The 15th is a crazy par 4, a more than a right angle dog leg to the right apparently with a gap through the trees to drive the green but for the more sensible golfer it is an iron and a wedge but you have to be incredibly precise where to place your shot to leave yourself with the best possible approach to a green that has a steep bank to the front running down to a stream.

If you’re walking the course this is where you can really start to tire. It gets very hilly very quickly! 18 is an awesome finishing hole, a 475 meter par 5 with a fairly blind drive to a dropping fairway and then a raised green with the impressive clubhouse in the background. Definitely reachable in two with a good drive but anything less and it is a lay up with a tricky approach, you don’t want to leave it short.

The course was very quiet, we managed to get around very quickly and the warm up area was great, unlimited use of balls on the range and two large putting/chipping greens behind. Overall a really pleasant round of golf but we felt the service was lacking a little compared to the other part of the resort and with this being their flagship 18 holes you’d have thought it would have been a little better. If you get to go to Celtic Manor I’d definitely combine this course with at the very least the Montgomerie Course.