ARGUS golf writer Michael Pearlman reflects on a fun day at the Celtic Manor to mark the countdown to the Ryder Cup.

American Ryder Cup skipper Corey Pavin was given the most traditional of welcomes at Monday’s Celtic Manor countdown exhibition game, a song straight from the Valleys from none other than Welsh opera star Bryn Terfel.

On a hugely enjoyable and sunny morning, the scene was set brilliantly for the Ryder Cup in October 2010 as the captains battled it out in a greensomes event, with the help of their celebrity partners, Terfel with Pavin and broadcaster Chris Evans with Monty.

The Celtic Manor chiefs were rightly keen to show off the condition of the Twenty Ten course, the first ever to be designed specifically for the Ryder Cup.

Celtic Manor resort owner Sir Terry Matthews can’t control the weather, though it seemed like he had as the intriguing contest was amazingly played out on sun kissed greens and fairways, which clearly put Terfel in the mood for a song.

Whether or not his rendition of ‘We’ll keep a welcome in the hillside’ was designed to settle his own nerves on a crowded first tee box skipper Pavin was clearly impressed.

And he had every right to be, the Celtic Manor presenting their most compelling evidence yet that the newly built course is ready for the rigours of the Ryder Cup.

Quite simply, in parts the course is stunning. In being transported to the Twenty Ten clubhouse, it was great to hear from two Scottish visitors who had never been before that they believe the resort is one of the most picturesque in Britain. The views from the 16th hole especially are simply amazing.

With the newly built bridge over the River Usk now complete (the last logistical hurdle in the Celtic Manor’s control), scrutiny of the course is the one remaining hurdle for the Celtic Manor to clear. The resort chiefs, with little say over the transport problems around Newport, remains a cause for concern, in my mind at least.

However, there is no danger of negative feedback of the course itself.

The drainage system, something of an obsession for resort owner Matthews, was clearly worth the big bucks spent on it. Despite a miserable and rain-filled summer the course played “identically to how it did at the Wales Open,” according to Pavin.

The Wales Open in 2010 will provide the true litmus test of course, but it’s fantastic that any lingering doubts over the suitability of the Celtic Manor to stage the third biggest sporting event on the planet have been snuffed out once and for all.

Pavin will be back for the Wales Open in June, while European captain Colin Montgomerie is expecting his big guns to be in attendance too. It should be the best Wales Open.

Strolling around the course as the four players fought out a spirited draw over holes 1-5, 14 and 16-18 in Monday’s exhibition, it was interesting for us spectators.

I was lucky enough to play the course in 2008 and it is looking ten times better now (in fact, perhaps I can use that as an excuse for playing so badly!) The Twenty Ten course is now perfect for matchplay. A driver’s paradise with rewarding short iron approaches for the big hitters, it gives maximum reward to those who are straight off the tee and brutal punishment to those of us who stray off line, the thick rough an absolute nightmare.

Captain Montgomerie may yet have one or two tweaks of his own to make (he is likely to decide on tee positions for the Ryder Cup) but with less than a year to go, it would appear to be all systems go at the Celtic Manor.

“I have a sneaking suspicion this might just be the best Ryder Cup yet, everything seems to be set up perfectly,” another spectator, former Ryder Cup captain Brian Huggett commented (as a veteran of seven Ryder Cups, I am inclined to take his word for it).

A welcome in the hillside seems guaranteed, the top names in golf converging on a truly glorious setting.

What a shame we have to wait another 353 days!