Thanks to our member richcollins for this great write up-

Click to view attachment

A little info:


Only tee times for 2 hours per day (max 40 guests) and course only open for two months until October 2007.

There are many new holes built in the middle of a valley in Wales around a series of lakes.

Before the course was named the 2010 course it was going to be called the Wentwood Lakes course.

The course is 1000 yards longer from the blues (7493) than the Yellows (6570).

The golf course is the first golf course specifically designed just for the Ryder Cup.

The course will be hosting the Wales Open before it holds the Ryder Cup.

A revolutionary Park and Ride Scheme will be introduced to elevate traffic and congestions problems.

A new Multi-Million pound Media Centre will also be added to the site.

From Celtic Manor.com:




Five years in the making

On Friday, 28th September 2001, the Ryder Cup Committee made the historic announcement that the 38th Ryder Cup Matches would be held at The Celtic Manor Resort in the autumn of 2010. For the first time, the famous match play tournament will be held in Wales and the event is destined to become one of the most significant occasions in the country's illustrious sporting history.

A central component of Wales' successful bid was The Celtic Manor Resort's commitment to build a golf course to host the Ryder Cup.

A course to challenge the very best

An overwhelming desire amongst those behind the design of the Ryder Cup course was to develop 18 holes that would provide a supreme challenge to the world's best golfers in match play conditions. This wish manifests itself in the extensive use of water features that have been designed to present players with classic match dilemmas. Long-driving players are offered the opportunity to chance their arms over long carries of water but those that do so will be spurning the safety-first approach and will do so at their own risk.

The new course will be a par 71 and will measure 7,493 yads in length. It features nine brand new holes (1st – 5th and 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th) that have been developed along the floor of the Usk Valley, as well as nine holes from the former Wentwood Hills Championship Course that have been extensively remodelled (6th – 13th). The course features no fewer than six signature holes (the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 14th, 15th and 18th), each of which features a notable water hazard.

The course has been designed by European Golf Design (EGD) under the guidance of its head designer, Ross McMurray who enjoyed regular consultations with Robert Trent Jones Jr, the architect of the original Wentwood Hills course that hosted The Celtic Manor Wales Open on five occasions between 2000 and 2004.


Access all areas

A stroke play tournament will typically present a golf spectator with an enormous range of viewing options and opportunities. The format of the Ryder Cup, however, with just twenty four players performing over three days, tends to limit the scope for spectators, especially given the huge number of golf fans that wish to witness the matches taking place first hand.

To address this, the designers have sought to ensure that the course offers better viewing than at any previous Ryder Cup match.

Away from the course, the excellent transport links that the region already enjoys are being augmented by the construction of a new road that will connect The Celtic Manor Resort to the A449, meaning that the influx of spectators will not result in undue traffic congestion.

A massive undertaking

As the attention to detail that characterised the planning and design stage of this project might suggest, the development of the Ryder Cup course at The Celtic Manor Resort was also a considerable physical undertaking.

The construction phase of the project, which was led by Russell Phillips, Vice President of Facilities and Development at The Celtic Manor Resort, and Jim McKenzie, the Resort's Director of Golf, commenced in September 2004 and has been completed on schedule just two years later.

By the completion of the project, The Celtic Manor Resort will have invested over £16 million in designing, developing and constructing the new course, a new clubhouse and associated infrastructure schemes.

Ready for play

The new Ryder Cup Course is now open for limited play, ahead of the new official opening in October 2007. From July to October a special Ryder Cup Experience package is available offering golfer's the opportunity to be among the first to play this spectacular course that will host The 2010 Ryder Cup matches. Tee times will be restricted to twelve fourballs per day.





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Thanks to Rich for posting these. I took them while out playing, hence people in the pictures etc.

Just as an FYI the course was built from new hence it is still being finished completely but you can get a good idea for the links layout etc that will be there. Also the rough will be grown in a lot higher in the coming months.

Hope you all enjoy them

Rich

looks better than i imagined it would be

too bad the ryder cup will never go back to a true links layout

Sad that with all the choices this is what they decided on.

Whats wrong with it??

Nothing if you would rather play an average layout over some of the world class golf courses that the area has to offer. It just shows that money talk$.

To be honest with you and the comments regarding the course not being top notch, if you were able to play the course then you would say that it is far better.

Bear in mind that the course has been in construction and is still not 100% finished, with the rough being grown in gradually. There are many points about the course particularly the layout which if you were to play the course would say suited the Ryder cup. Holes such as 14 where there is water short and long of a drive mean that any slight miss will be punished making the holes extremely exciting for play during the foursomes/fourballs. The beauty of the course is that it can be laid out in a links style or even a more parkland style depending on conditions etc etc...areas around 16-18 do not need any stands on the holes as there are BUILT in standing areas that can hold upwards of 50,000 people. The course will be one of the fairest yet most challenging venues for the ryder cup and untill the event people will not see this.

Just becuase the course doesnt have the lovely green fairways, large greens and warmer air scenarios that are of america doesn't mean the course isn't good...and i think imo your view is very short sighted...to be able to play the course would be my recommendation to you.

Richard

Richard...

You are off track. I think the course is too American and it is the wrong decision to take this event to a parkland course like this one at the Celtic Manor.

So the Ocean Course or Whistling Straits would be a no go for the Ryder Cup in the States?

There are some FANTASTIC Parkland layouts in the U.K. that are the equal of any in the U.S. Just because the Ryder Cup is played over there doesn't mean it has to be played on a seaside links course.

There's a lot more to British golf than Canoustie, St. Andrews, and Turnberry. Either way, regardless of the track, the Europeans seem to have little trouble dominating the U.S.

Looks like course that would fit well here in Oregon.

Without offending anyone, I would've thought the Ryder Cup would go to a place maybe a little nicer. With that said, it's true that the course is new and still very young.

It looks like it'd be a fun track to play though.

Thanks for taking the time to take and post the photos. It would be great to find a way to watermark the pics in a more subtle way that doesn't diminish the photos so much.

There are fantastic parkland layouts in the UK that are close to those in the US. This is not one of them. There are courses in Wales that would be a fantastic fit...they are not taking advantage of the situation because of the dollars that are being spent.

Hoping to play here before the Ryder Cup. If i do, will get some new pictures to compare.

I tend to agree, the course looks nice but not amazing. Maybe it's because it's still young but that is a little disappointing.

Bryan