St Enodoc, Perranporth and Trevose: the golf trip most people miss

Mention Cornwall and most people picture buckets and spades, a crowded beach and a week away with the kids. Golf clubs rarely make the packing list.

Two presenters have just spent 48 hours trying to change that.

Three courses in two days

Tom Irwin and Mike Robertson host NCG Top 100s‘ 48 Hours In series, which takes viewers inside some of the best golf destinations in the UK, Ireland and beyond, playing multiple courses across two days.

For the latest instalment they headed to Cornwall, taking on St Enodoc, Perranporth and Trevose. The series looks at each destination through its courses, its people and the experiences that make it special.

What they found was a trio of Cornish courses that held their own against the coastal views. Perranporth offered something unique, Trevose a more traditional test, and the sea air did the rest.

“It’s not hit and giggle”

Tom thinks Cornwall’s reputation as a family holiday spot works against it in golfing circles, and means it tends to be overlooked.

“Funny thing, golf and Cornwall, because to my mind, Cornwall is somewhere that you come on a family holiday,” he said. “It’s not necessarily the first place you think of for a golf trip, but it’s not holiday golf.

“It’s not kind of hit and giggle. It is proper golf, where you have to hit all the shots and it tests your game.

“I really think that you couldn’t fail to have a good time here, just because of all of the sea air and amazing views. But then the golf’s proper as well.”

Dunes, surfers and half seven in the morning

Perranporth is a James Braid design, known for its natural dune landscape and panoramic views over Perran Bay.

“If world-class views in this direction aren’t good enough for you, then you can just glance down there, where there’s a packed-out beach and about five bazillion surfers,” Tom said.

Mike was just as taken with it. “Well, I just can’t really stop staring at things,” he said. “That beach just looks incredible. There are people out surfing and it’s what, half seven in the morning. I don’t know what I’d rather be doing.

“As a place, I don’t think you can take your golf too seriously round here. We keep getting ricochets off big dunes and balls bouncing everywhere and it just seems like a place to have fun.”

A hidden gem, but only for golfers

Quality golf with a relaxed feel was a theme that kept coming up throughout the trip. Even so, Tom reckons Cornwall’s appeal to golfers still isn’t as widely recognised as it should be.

“It’s not like it’s a hidden gem, is it, Cornwall? If you said to someone, ‘Have you ever been to Cornwall?’ they’d be like, ‘oh yeah’. But I think that for golfers, it is a bit of a hidden gem,” he said.

Mike summed up the trip as “a great combination of golf courses that have ticked a lot of boxes.”

And Tom wasn’t too bothered if the holiday mood colours the view. “When you’re down here, everyone’s on holiday. Everyone’s in holiday mood. So, I think you get a very rose-tinted version of Cornwall, but so what? It’s brilliant.”