The Cookie Jar Golf Podcast · Cookie Jar Golf

358 - Richard Pennell on ‘Common Grounds’

·43 min·2 clips

Common Grounds grew from Cleve Hill, Minchinhampton, Painswick, Borth and Innisläs.

1. The Cookie Jar Golf Podcast episode with Richard Pennell focuses on West Byfleet, New Zealand, and the book Common Grounds. 2. Richard Pennell is a returning guest, golf writer, and West Byfleet membership secretary whose history research drives much of the conversation. 3. The episode asks what connects Surrey club history, common-land courses, and Pennell’s writing about golf architecture. 4. Pennell says Lock King hit 'one golf shot in his life,' the opening drive at New Zealand in 1895. 5. He recounts the story of New Zealand as a London club for White’s members who travelled by train and horse and cart. 6. He explains that local golfers were blocked from New Zealand and used Bleak Down, which later became West Byfleet Golf Club. 7. He details the progression from Butchart’s layout to John F. Abercrombie’s redesign in May 1922. 8. He adds that James Braid contributed the par-3 17th, John Morrison reopened the course after the war, and Mackenzie and Ebert produced a full master plan. 9. He links Muir Ferguson to both New Zealand and West Byfleet, noting that Ferguson was secretary at one club while managing director at the other. 10. He describes the area as unusually dense with golf history, with New Zealand, West Byfleet, and nearby courses connected by names and people. 11. Pennell says the title Common Grounds began as 'Common Ground Golf Courses' before becoming a wider book title. 12. He names Cleve Hill, Minchinhampton, Painswick, Borth, and Innisläs as the original anchor courses for that project. 13. He says Borth and Innisläs are under pressure and that a car park helped keep one of those clubs afloat. 14. He says the hard hole at Borth is 'the hardest hole in Wales by some degree,' describing a straight mid-length par four with tight slithers of fairway. 15. He argues that rustic, windblown courses matter because they preserve charm without becoming too polished. 16. He says a visit to Addington with Ryan Nodes and Arlo the dog pulled him back from the 'rustic phase' into architectural history. 17. The conversation is informal, inquisitive, and history-led, with both speakers trading stories and course references. 18. It moves quickly between club history, architecture, writing, and travel, while staying grounded in specific names and places. 19. Listeners who like golf architecture and club history will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting swing tips or tournament talk will probably skip it.

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