Tregenna Castle Hotel Golf and Country Club

Played here a number of times. Always in excellent condition. It is a par 3 course so there are no long holes. It takes circa 2h for a 2 ball to get around - so just right for a quick holiday game. The front and back 9 are very different with the back 9 having some beautiful holes over looking St Ives and the surrounding coast - especially the 11th, a short but very steep hole overlooking the harbour - stunning. You shouldn't need your driver but there are a couple of holes that do require a low iron to get to the green. The course is quite tight in places which coupled with sea breezes can make it tricky (for me anyway) especially on the back 9 - which is fairly steep in places with a few good greens with lots of levels - greens are fairly small, so precision (luck) is required. I can thoroughly recommend this course if you are close by. There is a dedicated green team that mow, roll and dry the greens daily. This isn't a pitch and putt course. The front 9 can feel bland as noted in other reviews, but as soon as you get to the 10th, the whole course changes - try it.

I loved this course! My friends also liked the idea of playing the front 9, stopping at the hotel for lunch (which you have to pass to get to the 10th) then playing the back 9. The 10th tee has probably one of the most stunning views in the world. You are high up overlooking St Ives bay with a small green about 100 yards away but a long way down. You have to see it to believe it.

The hotel is great and not far from the center of St Ives. It looks as if the golf course, which circles the hotel with 9 holes on the hillside in front of it 9 behind it, started life as a nine hole course and the owners have bought several fields around the hotel to extend it to an 18 hole. Hence you have to enter and exit several fields with only 2 or three holes in each. The course is interesting with some nice holes to play, notably the 10th which is a steep downhill par 3. The greens were in poor condition patchy and dry with grass absent in patches. No watering system. However it was cheep, enjoyable and demanding. Well it beat my brother and me.