gwynedd 2008

For year three, we ventured to north wales and the short’s caravan near abersoch, a beautiful spot where the sun always shines. the weather didn’t disappoint and we had three days of glorious sunshine.

pwellheli is unique. a parkland front nine was established in 1900 by tom morris and james braid added the links back nine in 1909. it is not a long course with no par 5s but accuracy is key. there are wonderful views of snowdonia and over cardigan bay to the cambian mountains.

the match was a cracking one; neil and nic were 3-up on the 15th tee and then dormie-2. however, phil fought back with pars on 17 and 18 to seal a half.

match score: neil & nic 4½ -1½ phil & al

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neyfn is a clifftop masterpiece. this is wales’ equivalent of ireland’s old head.

the club formed in 1907 as a 9-hole and was extended to 18 in 1912 with a further 9 holes in 1933 from j. h. taylor and james braid. in 2008 the layout included 26 holes, 10 outward holes and 2 separate sets of 8 inward holes. now there are 3 loops of 9. the holes along the peninsula provide spectacular views.

the match was a classic, before lunch phil and al dovetailed perfectly to win 1 up. after a great lunch and a few beers the afternoon round was another close affair. 7 pars from al guaranteed another 1-up victory.

the 5^th hole will always be remembered… after a poor tee shot phil had a moment of madness and threw his club away in disgust… however his 9-iron bounced over the cliff and onto the rocks below! thankfully al didn’t climb down to retrieve it.

a trip down to the ty coch inn after the old 6th is a must. a footpath leads down to the pub on the beach at porthdinllaen where a pint sets you up nicely for the last 3 holes.

match score: neil & nic 4½ -3½ phil & al

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royal st davids is a proper links. the course is guarded by enormous sand dunes and the power of the landscape really hits home on the back 9 where it feels like the golf course came before anything else.

neil and nic were playing for pride and with some fighting spirit they eeked out a 2&1 victory despite some errant shots.

then came the KOP; phil found the back of the green in 2 and made a solid 4. this left neil needing a sandy from the right hand bunker. he spashed out and rolled in a 12 footer for par to reduce the arrears.

match score: neil & nic 5½ -3½ phil & al

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