Ask the guys in your foursome what they think of Wales, and they'll probably say, "Ah, magnificent creatures." For golfers who love the links game, Wales — the principality, not the mammals — suffers in the long shadow cast by the great courses of Scotland and Ireland.
But until the 2010 Ryder Cup hits these shores, you can enjoy quality courses without investing hundreds of dollars and five hours in the process. And that leaves plenty of time for another great Welsh tradition: the 19th hole.
Aberdovey Golf Club
6,454 yards, par 71; Greens fee: $60-$120
011-44-1674-767493, aberdoveygolf.co.uk
Architects: Revisions by H.S. Colt, James Braid and Herbert Fowler
Famed golf writer Bernard Darwin
ranked Aberdovey first in Wales. "Not
that I make it for any claim that it is the
best, not even on the strength of its
alphabetical pre-eminence," he wrote,
"but because it is the course that my
soul loves best of all the courses in the
world."
Your buddies won't weep on the 18th green, but there will certainly be smiles all around. Situated on the west coast of Mid-Wales, Aberdovey is draped across a narrow strip of shaggy dunes.
The par 3s are the class of the course, especially the 149-yard 12th, with its captivating views of Cardigan Bay. The most distinctive hole is the leftward-curving par-4 16th, which runs frighteningly close to a railway line. Yank your drive a little and it's "All aboard!" instead of "Fore!"
Ambience
Challenge
Value for money
Royal Porthcawl Golf Club
6,829 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $160-$199
011-44-1656-782251, royalporthcawl.com
Architects: Charles Gibson/Ramsey Hunter
Sitting on the Bristol Channel between Cardiff and Swansea, Porthcawl has more
than a few echoes of Pebble Beach: endless water views dotted with surfers, penal
pot bunkers, and a layout that forces you to battle the wind in every direction. Scoring
here is more about brains than brawn — just try to avoid being mugged by the 466-yard 15th, which demands a long drive and a pinpoint approach to a small green perched atop a ridge. Be sure
to savor a pint of bitter (a sweet ale) at the clubhouse
afterward.
Ambience
Challenge
Value for money
Royal St. David's Golf Club
6,571 yards, par 71; Greens fee: $56-$110
011-44-1766-780361, royalstdavids.co.uk
Architects: Harold Finch-Hatton, F.W. Hawtree
"I love links golf and it doesn't get much purer than
at Royal St. David's," said former British Open
champion Bob Charles. Known to locals as Harlech
for the 700-year-old castle that towers over the
layout, Royal St. David's opens with a flattish front
nine that is like the cast of a soap opera: handsome
but largely forgettable.
The back nine offers one superb test after another (without a single par 5) and boasts one of the world's great natural par 4s — the bunkerless 435-yard 15th, which demands a drive over rumpled dunes and an approach to a green shelved between two sandhills.
Ambience
Challenge
Value for money
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