St Mellion’s killer holes

Cornwall is a popular spot with surfers and a number of PGA pros will be hoping to ride a golfing crest of a wave when they tackle the impressive St Mellion in this year’s Golfbreaks.com PGA Fourball Championship supported by BMW.

But it isn’t for nothing that the signature Jack Nicklaus course is rated one of the finest tests in the UK and has a number of risk/reward  holes that could hold the key to glory.

David Moon, the resort’s director of golf, identifies three of the holes set to come into their own during August’s 54-hole tournament.

The 11^th

Nicklaus mentions how this hole was not originally in his plans; he simply saw the opportunity for a great par three. Measuring 202-yards from the back tee, a precise long iron is required to carry the pond and find the green. The elevated tee plays tricks making the target look smaller, and a good choice of teeing grounds means the players will look forward to a different test each day. A good shot gives the player a great chance of a 2, anything else could result in several shots more.

The 12^th

Simply a great par par. Good shots will be rewarded, poor shots will be punished. Anything offline could end up in the water to the right running the length of the hole. Despite being 564-yards however, a good drive down the hill gives the chance to go at the green in two. Taking on the green from 250 plus yard is a brave move, as anything short will find the stream. A four here really is a good score.

The 18^th

A very strong finishing hole at 470-yards, the player needs a 260 yard carry to fly the bunker at the apex of the dogleg and leave a mid iron into the green. From here it all depends on the pin position – anything in the right portion is highly accessible and a decent shot sets up a chance of a three. Back left is quite the opposite! The pond eats into the green leaving a 15ft circular plateau to hit if firing at the pin. This great finishing hole could well see a very exciting finish.

Find out more about St Mellion here.