South Wales Golf Guide

Home to the Welsh capital, breathtaking mountain ranges, lush valleys, a rugged coastline and ancient castles, it is little wonder South Wales is such an appealing holiday destination. The concentration of high-quality golf courses sees many golfers flock to the region year after tear. We have selected five of South Wales’s most impressive layouts for this tour, starting at the No.1 course in the country.

Royal Porthcawl, one of Britain and Ireland’s leading links, can wow those who enjoy aesthetic courses with its sea views but also appeal to the strong player who demands strategic excellence. It is world-class links fare right from the very start with three holes along the shore of the highest order. When the sun is shining, with views of the breaking Atlantic rollers from each and every one of its 18 holes, there are few places a golfer would rather be than Royal Porthcawl. On other occasions, when the wind whips down the Bristol Channel, it becomes a course of rare difficulty as those same vantage points are exposed indeed. It was here in 1995 that Gary Wolstenholme consigned a youthful Tiger Woods to a singles defeat in the Walker Cup. The canny veteran proved once and for all that Porthcawl is a course to be tackled with brain more than brawn. Alongside Padraig Harrington, among others, he and the rest of the GB&I team recorded a famous victory over the Americans.

Although Porthcawl is the headline act in Wales, its neighbour Pyle & Kenfig is an outstanding course in its own right and is the perfect supplement for a mini golf break to Mid Glamorgan. Originally designed in the early 1920s by Harry Colt, the more inland front nine that stands today is his work. But with nine holes commandeered by the military in the Second World War, Philip Mackenzie Ross was called in to replace them with new holes shortly afterwards. And what a job he made. Having made the decision to cross the road (it was then a path) and construct them in the duneland, they are now undoubtedly the highlight of a round here. With its sand dunes hugging the South Wales coast, Pyle & Kenfig is a magnificent part of any Welsh golf odyssey. The Welsh Mountains, Bristol Channel and Gower Peninsula can all be seen from this undulating course, which co-hosted the Amateur Championship alongside Porthcawl in 2016.

Southerndown is unique, as nature crafted an unusual limestone-heath base on which this downland course sits. The massive limestone outcrop, which rises over 70 metres from the sea and gives such superb views, accounts for the course’s superb drainage. The overlying soil supports acid-loving heathland vegetation such as heather, bracken and gorse and the westerly winds have deposited centuries of sand to give the first eight holes a springy, links-style character. This limestone-heathland-links presented the original course architects with a unique canvas on which to work. Willie Fernie, Herbert Fowler, Willie Park, Harry Colt and Donald Steel – great names in golf course design – have all played their part over the years in shaping Southerndown as we know it today.

Despite flanking the seaside town of Penarth, The Glamorganshire does not play like a links. The layout is crafted into the undulating parkland on the eastern edge of the Consmeston Lakes Country Park, allowing you to enjoy the ocean view without the usual difficulties. But this is not to say that the course is a pushover. Narrow wood-lined fairways and well-protected greens mean that accuracy is crucial, especially if you wish to avoid playing out of one of the course’s 80 bunkers. At 6,184 yards, the par 70 design may not be the longest, but it more than delivers on variety. Three par-five holes that exceed the 500-yard mark will thrill long-hitters, while an array of par-threes that scarcely crack 100 yards reward guile and precision.

One of only four Harry Colt courses in South Wales, Radyr is described as one of the great designer’s “little jewels”. Overlooking Cardiff and the Bristol Channel, the parkland layout gently undulates and is well known for having excellent greens. Located in a tranquil setting on the outskirts of Cardiff yet just four minutes from J32 of the M4, it is nestled in acres of rural heathland. Its gentle undulations are a delight to the eye, but which offer the sternest challenge given its 6,000 yards play to a tight par of 69.

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