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International Golf Travel Tips

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Major's Journal

With a marvelous, if somewhat obscure, collection of links and parkland golf courses that are enjoyable to vacationing golfers of almost any skill level, the Principality of Wales is well worth the trip.

Most of the better Welsh golf courses are clustered within an easy drive of one another in the midst of stunning scenery and numerous historic vacation sites. These attributes make Wales an excellent destination for those who want to play golf every day without a lot of driving or change of lodging, and for those golfers who are vacationing with partners who play golf seldom or not at all.

The two most renowned courses in Wales are Royal Porthcawl in the south and Royal St. David's in the north. Porthcawl, commonly rated amongst the top twenty golf courses in the British Isles, has hosted every major championship save the Open. Although every hole offers a view of the sea, the last four are the best known and so diabolically challenging as to rival the finish at Carnoustie. Nearby are the links of Pennard, Southerndown, Ashburnham, Pyle & Kenfig and Tenby - all more than worthy of a play during one of your golf holidays in Wales. Pennard features the vistas of Cruden Bay, the roaming animals of Brora and skittering links bounces all its own. Tenby, the oldest club in Wales, besides being a good test, is home to the Divots Society that plays golf on Sunday mornings in the winter. A former Captain explained the name this way: "Well, a divot is basically a clot and all those who play in some of the weather we endure deserve the title."

The recent construction of two new major hotels has markedly enhanced the lodging choices in south Wales. Although Celtic Manor is better known, we find the Vale of Glenmorgan to be of a comparable standard and in a more convenient location to the better courses. And the region has always offered a plethora of elegant country and manor house hotels for your golf vacation holiday. We are especially fond of Llangoed Hall, the brainchild of Sir Bernard Ashley, husband of the late Laura Ashley.

Royal St. David's, the links course that bears the name of Wales' patron saint, ironically is in the shadow of Harlech, the towering castle that England's Edward I built to subdue the Welsh. Unfortunately, there are no other courses nearby of equal stature, so its play best suits those who are as interested in Harlech, Caernarfon and the other great castles of north Wales as they in the wonderful stretch of dunes holes on St. David's homeward nine. The Golfing Tourist can potter about in the north most cheerfully, whereas the Serious Golfer, who comes down with a debilitating illness when he hears the word 'tour', will do much better in the south.

Major Basil Haversham, OBE
Your guide to the greatest golf holidays in Wales