Why Wales Should Be Your Next Golf Destination

As my good friend often likes to say when something catches him off guard, "that wasn't on my bingo card" – and that perfectly sums up my previous golf travel plans regarding Wales. While I knew there was some golf there, with Royal Porthcawl being the only course I was really familiar with, it was simply a destination I'd never dug deeply into. This past week, I can confidently shout "BINGO!"

After the recent buzz from the Women's AIG Open, various podcast discussions, multiple IG posts from the godfather of golf travel, and a client approaching me about organizing a 20-person trip, I decided enough was enough – the universe was clearly telling me something. It was damn time to explore this country that seems to take a back seat to its bigger siblings: Ireland, Scotland, and England.

Like most American golfers, my knowledge of Wales was embarrassingly limited. I knew it shared a border with England, had castles everywhere, and featured a language with more consonants than vowels – words that looked like someone had spilled alphabet soup and decided to call it a day. What I didn't realize was that this country, roughly the size of New Jersey, punches well above its weight when it comes to links golf.

Wales has an irregular coastline stretching along Britain's western edge. The golf concentrates itself in two distinct regions: the industrial south around Cardiff and Swansea, and the mountainous north near Snowdonia. Between these two golfing poles lies a beautiful but largely golf-free middle section of valleys and peaks. This geographic reality means you're either playing north or south – there's no convenient middle ground.

The Planning

The best part of my job is discovering areas that virtually nobody has traveled to for golf. Rolling up my sleeves and mapping out the perfect trip is always something I love, but with most destinations, it's straightforward – you have your handful of top-rated courses that are must-plays, then build around those. Wales was different. Yes, you have Royal Porthcawl, which has hosted various major events including the 1995 Walker Cup where Tiger Woods represented the USA, but beyond that, the playing field was remarkably level.

For visiting golfers, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. You can tackle the north courses as part of a broader UK itinerary, sample the southern tracks in combination with a London trip, or commit to the full Welsh experience like we did. Wales may be small, but as I was about to discover, it's packed with more world-class golf than you'd ever expect - concentrated in two distinct regions separated by that golf-free middle section. In the South, the must-see destinations are Royal Porthcawl, Pennard, and Tenby, complemented by courses like Pyle & Kenfig, Southerndown, and Ashburnham. The North follows a similar pattern, with Aberdovey and St. Davids as the anchor spots, rounded out by Conwy and Nefyn.

From a accommodation standpoint, it was relatively straightforward. We stayed at The Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff, the capital city, which served as our base for the first few days before transferring to the Morgan Hotel in Swansea for the second part of our Southern adventure. The North becomes trickier with various lodging options, but since it was just my better half and me, we decided to anchor down at the Dormy Houses at Royal St. Davids for our northern base. Dormy Houses are common throughout Wales – small, apartment-style accommodations located on club properties that provide members and guests a place to stay. If you prefer staying in town for the northern portion, we found Porthmadog offers the perfect central location.

For flights, we decided to do round trip out of London Heathrow since almost every major city flies directly into LHR, making it the logical choice. We followed this with a 2.5-hour drive from London to Wales, with our first stop being Southerndown. However, Manchester is also a very viable option, especially if you're starting or ending your trip in North Wales – it's actually closer to the northern courses and can save significant drive time. Many of the clubs mentioned that golfers often fly into LHR and depart from Manchester, or vice versa, creating an efficient open-jaw itinerary that minimizes backtracking. Consider this routing if you want to maximize your time on the courses rather than in the car.

The Rota

Day 1: Southerndown Golf Club Southerndown is the perfect "off the plane" course to shake off jet lag and get your first taste of Welsh golf. Originally designed by Willie Fernie and later refined by legends like Harry Colt, this gem sits on limestone hills about 200 feet above the Bristol Channel. Over the centuries, wind has deposited so much sand from the beach below that it plays more like true linksland.

If you're lucky enough to catch Southerndown on a sunny day, the neighboring sheep will outnumber you by the hundreds – just be sure to yell "fore" if one of your errant swings heads their direction! The course has that classic "rough and ready" Welsh philosophy where natural terrain takes center stage over perfectly manicured conditions.

The opening hole is a demanding climb straight uphill from the clubhouse that Henry Cotton famously described as "bracken to the left, bracken to the right, and a fairway rising to the sky." The real revelation comes when you reach the 5th tee and can fully appreciate the splendid rolling golfland ahead. The 5th itself, dubbed "Carter's Folly," is a challenging hillside par-3 where any short shot ends up well below the green.

The closing stretch is spectacular, particularly the 18th – a downhill par-4 where the clubhouse and bay create a breathtaking walk home. Although the views are magnificent, there's no single standout hole – Southerndown is simply one of golf's great walks.

Day 2: Royal Porthcawl & Pyle & Kenfig (36-hole day) Normally, I wouldn't recommend cramming 36 holes into one day – I hate rushing from one place just to make the next tee time. But if there was ever a time for a 36-hole day, it would be Royal Porthcawl and Pyle & Kenfig.

Royal Porthcawl was the only Welsh course I knew beforehand, having hosted major championships including the 1995 Walker Cup where Tiger Woods represented the USA. This place didn't disappoint in the slightest. From the moment you arrive, everything signals you're somewhere special – the entrance, clubhouse, practice facilities, pro shop, and gracious staff all scream championship venue.

Totally exposed to the wind, this is seaside golf at its best. The Porthcawl fairways are not as humpy as on most links, but they twist and climb constantly. The opening holes run alongside the sea, followed by holes positioned on a plateau overlooking the entire property, finishing with a closing stretch where holes interweave between each other. The par-5s are particularly impressive – I'd put them up against any course in Great Britain and Ireland.

During that 1995 Walker Cup, Tiger Woods hit a legendary 360-yard drive on the 17th hole, then holed his wedge for a double eagle. However, Porthcawl got its revenge in his singles match – all square on the 18th tee against Gary Wolstenholme, Woods knocked his second shot out of bounds to lose the match.

If the course doesn't drop your jaw, the spike bar certainly will – it may be the best in all of golf. Black and white portraits of every former captain line the walls, green tufted leather chairs fill the space, winner boards occupy every gap, and old creaky floors bear spike marks dating back 100 years. A suggestion book almost as old as the club sits proudly on display, and a post-round pint while watching waves crash below is pure perfection.

After reluctantly rushing out, we headed to Pyle & Kenfig. P&K, as locals call it, is something of a split-personality course – Harry Colt's original design merged with the work of Mackenzie Ross after the course suffered the ravages of World War II. The front nine represents solid traditional links golf, but the back nine is where the magic truly begins.

The transformation starts at the 11th – a beautiful par-5 that doglegs through tall grass to an elevated green. The next few holes wind through towering dunes hard by the sea with an edge-of-the-world feel and the scale of Ballybunion. Each hole differs from the others, featuring blind tee shots, hidden greens, and some of the best views anywhere. The back nine at P&K may genuinely be the best nine holes in all of Wales and cannot be overlooked.

Day 3: Pennard Golf Club As I researched the trip and consulted friends and locals about the best courses, Pennard Golf Club consistently came up. Often dubbed "Links in the Sky," this place ranks alongside Prestwick, Cruden Bay, and North Berwick as pure golfing fun – you need to bring your creative mind to truly enjoy it.

James Braid designed this ingenious routing carved into rolling farmland on the Gower Peninsula, about 200 feet above Three Cliffs Bay. Standing on the elevated 1st tee, at your feet fairways tumble in every direction. The course offers every type of shot imaginable, leaving you wanting more. At Pennard you'll share your game with sheep, cattle, and even wild ponies – a local rule allows relief from "hoof marks and dung," and if your shot strikes the electric fence around greens, you replay without penalty.

The opening holes introduce you to the heaving terrain that defines the course. The long par-5 4th is a perfect example – after a blind tee shot, you must navigate out-of-bounds right while playing to the green. Just as I wondered if those cattle guards were necessary, a family of cows wandered across my line.

The 7th hole stands out as one of the most fantastic holes I've ever played. The tee shot asks you to aim between the ruins of a medieval church on the left and the remains of a 13th-century castle on the right. These ancient structures sit on a bluff overlooking a tidal inlet, creating one of the most striking and historically rich par-4s you'll find anywhere. The second shot plays to a clifftop green that slopes toward the sea – it's both beautiful and terrifying.

The finish is equally memorable, with back-to-back par-5s at the 16th and 17th featuring blind shots, sharp angles, and spectacular views. It's an inspired routing that forces you to think on every shot. With a little more attention and investment, this place could easily climb through the rankings and challenge Royal Porthcawl as the best in Wales.

Day 4: Tenby Golf Club Tenby Golf Club is the Old Head of Wales – the one course so far removed from everything else but absolutely worth the effort to reach. Tenby lays claim to being the birthplace of golf in Wales, and traversing this historic linksland dating back to 1888, you're transported back in time to how golf in its original form was meant to be.

Sandwiched between the railway line and coast, this is a wild, wacky, and wonderfully fun course with plentiful blind shots and rolling, rollicking land. Some seriously knowledgeable golfers consider this a legitimate challenger to Porthcawl, St David's, and Pennard – potentially even better than all of them. Few courses start more fiercely than Tenby does, demanding your full attention from the very first tee.

As I exited the pro shop, the professional asked if I planned to use my driver. When I said yes, he smiled and replied, "Enjoy the 14 blind tee shots out there – maybe consider that 3-iron instead." I lost count of the warning bells positioned throughout to notify following groups that the coast was clear.

The real highlight is the 9th hole, where the tee sits directly on the beach with views you'll treasure forever. The course has everything: shared fairways, hidden greens, tee shots over beaches, and active train tracks that bisect the property. The par-3 12th overlooks the beach with steep drops – its Welsh name translates to something like "There goes your score."

After the round, we explored the town of Tenby, which I'd rank against any golfing town worldwide. With its multi-colored buildings, restaurants, pubs, and beaches, it has everything. If you're questioning whether Tenby is worth the effort, the answer should always be yes.

Day 5: Aberdovey Golf Club This is where we began migrating north for the second half of our trip. The three-hour drive from Tenby to Aberdovey covered only 99 miles, but the journey was anything but tedious. Crossing what seemed like 20 different towns provided a wonderful way to experience the country and its culture.

One thing that particularly impressed me was a stretch lined with ancient stone walls that seemed to separate property lines, some extending for hundreds of yards. Upon arriving in Aberdovey, I learned that some are over 800 years old – they marked property boundaries during medieval times.

Aberdovey Golf Club falls into that category of courses worth building a trip around. This is stereotypical links golf at its finest – played on a sliver of land with dunes and sea on one side, railway on the other. The holes in the dunes feature all kinds of bumps and contours in the fairways, and everything plays firm and fast.

The course follows a figure-eight routing that's technically out-and-back, where the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd holes run parallel to the 18th, 17th, and 16th respectively. The greens have real contour to them, and the surrounds encourage the ground game for both approaches and recovery shots. You'll encounter several blind and semi-blind shots that keep you thinking. Unusually, the front nine plays to par 34 while the back is par 37.

The famous 3rd hole is a blind par-3 tucked between dunes, while the 12th features a green built into and on top of the dunes after the original hole was lost to erosion. It's a welcoming, friendly course that perfectly captures the essence of traditional Welsh links golf.

This was the holiday home course of legendary golf writer Bernard Darwin, where he learned to play. The railway connection is integral to its charm – the station is literally next door to the clubhouse. One of the coolest aspects is that local train service, which has a stop right at the club, perfect for adding Royal St. Davids the next day. What takes 90 minutes by car around the Afon Mawddach estuary can be accomplished in just 30 minutes by train.

Day 6: Royal St. Davids Our final stop was Royal St. Davids, which became my personal favorite of the trip. Something about this place just screams quality – serious quality. Surely no Royal course has a more regal setting, with 700-year-old Harlech Castle perched on a cliff above the course, its towers and battlements still intact, staring down at you throughout your round. Almost every shot offers a view of the castle, perfectly framing the course.

This course is legitimately challenging despite its unusual par of 69 – there were only four par-4s under 400 yards, with just one on the back nine. The layout features some oddities, including consecutive par-5s at the 7th and 8th, and it finishes with a par-3 18th. The conditions were firm and fast, which helped with distance but created its own problems: how to stop the ball on the excellent set of greens and what line to take to avoid the numerous blown-out bunkers that litter the landscape.

The course is kept in pristine condition – the tee boxes were immaculate and the fairways and greens presented near-perfect surfaces. While you never really see the sea and mostly play along flat ground until the final few holes, there's no shortage of great holes. The set of par-3s particularly stood out, being varied in both length and direction, including one that stretches over 200 yards. The 7th is a great short par-5 with a three-tiered green that runs off on three sides – exactly the kind of strategic challenge that makes links golf so compelling.

Royal St. Davids earned a spot in my top five most enjoyable courses for tee shots anywhere. Unlike traditional links courses that place bunkers on the outside of fairways, Royal St. Davids strategically positions bunkers where you must direct your ball – the more risk you take on, the more you're rewarded. The bunkering feels natural and rugged rather than the traditional stacked style.

This is a true test of links golf that challenges every aspect of your game. I genuinely can't understand why this course isn't discussed more among the greats of Great Britain and Ireland. It arguably deserves to be ranked as the second-best course in Wales, and potentially much higher within all of Great Britain and Ireland.

While our time was limited, we hope to return someday to experience Ashburnham, Conwy, and Nefyn. But like every golf trip, you have to draw the line somewhere. After a quick meal and goodbye to Wales, we embarked on the five-hour drive back to London to end our trip.

Being a big fan of London, we stayed in Richmond for our final night – providing the perfect conclusion to our journey. One of my favorite towns anywhere, located right on the River Thames, Richmond allowed us one final meal and pint while reflecting on a truly remarkable trip.

Final Thoughts

I'm not sure when I'll return, but I hope it won't be another 15 years! Wales turned out to be exactly what I didn't know I was looking for – exceptional golf in a place that still feels undiscovered. The courses speak for themselves, the towns are charming, and the people couldn't have been more welcoming.

For someone who has seen the obvious destinations, Wales offers something genuinely different. It's that rare find that makes you want to keep it to yourself, but also too good not to share.

Thank you to the people of Wales – you truly made us feel like one of your own!

Travel Well,

Mike