Page 109 - Golf World (February 2020)

Travel

requiring crisp iron-play, the features become more
subdued, the outlook a little less romantic. Opinion
seems split over Trevose which has been owned by
the Gammon Family for three generations now.
Some believe it to be a little bland in places, others
believe that the challenge is wonderfully subtle and
that Colt showed the architect’s most
underappreciated characteristic – restraint. “Golf
needs more Trevoses,” says Canadian course
architect and a big fan of the course, Jeff Mingay.
Over the last four years, architect and master
renovator Tom Mackenzie (of Mackenzie &
Ebert), has exercised subtlety, restraint, flair and
good common sense in making improvements to
Trevose that are sure to see its ranking improve in
the coming years (it’s currently 83rd). Mackenzie
has restored all the bunkers to the original rugged
style (many had revetted faces), built new greens at
the 4th, 11th, and 13th, and added fairway bunkers
at numerous holes to increase strategy and interest.
“We felt the bunkers’ natural style would be more
in keeping with Trevose’s wild and rugged setting,”
says Mackenzie. “It is not a crisp, clean, polished
environment. Our aim throughout has been to
make the course more fun and playable for the
average player, but toughen it up as a driving test
for better players.”
Another dramatic change, Mackenzie adds, has
been the removal of rose scrub across the course
which has opened up sand, creating dune slacks
and new dunes. “This improves the ecology of the
site,” he explains. “The combination of all these
measures has transformed the look of the course.”
An always welcoming and enjoyable seaside course
is now that much better as a result of Mackenzie’s
input, and we can’t recommend it highly enough.
It’s also worth pointing out, the nine-hole Peter
Alliss-designed Headland Course is an enjoyable
stroll with some great views and the Short Course
is ideal for kids and beginners. Very comfortable
accommodation is available in the form of cottages,
apartments, self-catering lodges, and ensuite
bedrooms and, as a country club, tennis and
swimming are also available to non-members.
You’ll pay £77 in the summer, £40 in the winter
and find full details at www.trevose-gc.co.uk
Although Newquay GC didn’t quite make it
into our Top 100 England, given its location and
quality, you really should consider a detour.
Thirteen miles south of Trevose and eight miles
north of Perranporth, it would be a terrible shame
to miss out on this excellent Harry Colt design
about which the words ‘highly underrated’ and
‘flies under the radar’ are frequently heard.
The club was established in 1890, but Colt
didn’t arrive until 1908 after new land had been
leased from the Treffry Estate. Thanks to Colt, the
original 4,325-yard course blossomed into a
6,000-yarder (6,141 yards today) that plays to a
stingy par of 69. The highly-acclaimed Headland

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