On the Cornish coast overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Newquay Golf Club enjoys an incredible location that brings an equal share of benefits and challenges. Following a series of improvements to the course that has led to Newquay regaining host status of the Cornish PGA festival, Head Greenkeeper Dan Kendle realised that the maintenance burden of the bunkers was the final challenge to address before the course could reach its full potential.
Course Name: Newquay Golf Club
Course Type: Harry Colt re-designed links overlooking Fistral beach.
Project Overview: Many of the greenside bunkers at Newquay have been naturally revetted but were in need of renovation every 3 or 4 years. The maintenance team also struggled to keep sand in the bunkers and spent a disproportionate amount of time weeding around the edges of the hazards.
Having made wholesale improvements to the course Dan felt that a long term solution was required that would improve playability, reduce maintenance costs and free up time to focus on other areas of the course.
“The new bunkers look stunning and they really add to the quality of the course. But from a greenkeeper’s perspective it’s the small things that make a difference, like being able to get a tighter cut on top of the bunkers and to shift our focus on to greens tees and fairways where bunkers previously took up so much of our time.”
Dan Kendle, Head Greenkeeper, Newquay Golf Club
Design & Benefits:
Phase 1 has replaced all of the Par 3 greenside bunkers along with the greenside bunkers on the Par 4 first. Dan wanted golfers to head down the first, find big revetted bunkers and know that they were about to take on a serious course. He felt that they set the tone for the course and along with the Par 3 bunkers, give golfers a greatly improved experience.
With the reduced maintenance burden of the bunkers, Dan plans to concentrate efforts on further improvements to tees and greens, before Phase 2 and 3 of the bunker replacement project take place in 2025.
Key Achievements
