One Of A Kind: I Played The James Braid Course On The Cornish Coast That Marches To A Very Different Beat
Jeremy Ellwood reacquaints himself with the famously elevated links at Perranporth on the north Cornish coast after a 35-year gap
Various golf courses are renowned for certain things, with a small cluster even within the rarefied atmosphere of the Golf Monthly UK&I Top 100 famous for unusual holes or features that hark back to a different, and in many ways, perhaps simpler era of golf course design.
Within the Top 100, courses like Prestwick, North Berwick and Cruden Bay north of the border spring to mind here, while Royal West Norfolk at Brancaster would be an English example.
A 2027 centenarian
Outside of the Top 100, just a few miles from the popular Cornish resort of Newquay, the links at Perranporth, which celebrates its 100th birthday next year, fits that ‘more than a bit different' mould as well as anywhere.
Perranporth plays over rolling links terrain set high above the town and beach
The fact that you can also stay here in the club's own lodges and caravans, set right in the heart of the links, only adds to the appeal.
Relatively little has changed on the ground here since 1927, when James Braid laid out this stunning clifftop links high above the town and its glorious beaches.
If Pennard in Wales hadn't already commandeered the ‘links in the sky' epithet, Perranporth would surely have snapped it up, for that is exactly what it is – pure links terrain 200+ feet above sea level.
It is famed for the number of blind or semi-blind shots it serves up, although you'd be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about as you stand on the 1st tee by the terrace and gaze at an inviting downhill opener where you can open the shoulders and pretty much hit it anywhere.
Perhaps the course most like Perranporth is Pennard on the Gower peninsula
The approach is a different beast altogether, though, with the green cut into the slope. Long or left are equally unwise misses.
Home of the steep-fronted green
The blindness quickly becomes apparent on the 2nd, though, where those not blessed with length will need to remember their trigonometry to work out the line over a daunting slope.
Very little margin for error on the long par-3 4th at Perranporth
But in truth, this rollercoaster adventure through the dunes should really be as much known for its frequent false- or steep-fronted greens as its blind shots.
This often adds a different dimension to approach play. For example, on the clever par-5 11th the fairway is generous but the green is perched atop a steep bank and, in certain winds, bumbling one up it may be safer than trying to land it on top.
The tempting challenge of the 12th hole at Perranporth
The two short par 4s that follow epitomise Perranporth – highly reachable for some, maybe even many downwind, but stray out of position and bogey or worse is far more likely than the birdie you had in mind on the tee.
Essentials
Budnic Hill, Perranporth, Cornwall, TR6 0AB
Stats: par 72, 6,285 yards
Green fees: round: up to £95wd; up to £100we; day: £110
(Prices correct at time of publication in July 2026)
