‘The course is one of nine holes, only one of which can be reached from the tee. It has been greatly improved….Visitors (introduced) are allowed to play over the green free for two days, thereafter at a charge of five shillings per week. There is an excellent clubhouse, where luncheon can be obtained.’
Before you rush out to obtain your two days’ free golf you should note that the above is an extract from a golfing journal of 1893. Rhyl Golf Club had been in existence for three years then, a founder member of the Welsh Golfing Union, and, therefore, one of the oldest clubs in Wales.
Shortly after the turn of the century the course had been expanded to a full 18 holes and the course was rated highly. But in 1921 publication of plans to build a road from Rhyl to Gronant began a long period of uncertainty for the club. First they lost holes at the west end and by 1930 the course had been separated from its clubhouse by half a mile. Further land was obtained nearer to Prestatyn, James Braid advising on the design and construction of the replacement course.
Then came the Second World War and with it further loss of land. First the sea eroded parts of the coastline and in the process destroyed Salem Bungalow* through the grounds of which golfers had passed to get from one part of the course to the next. The sea had moved inland some 550 yards between 1911 and the end of the war so a new sea defence system with promenade was built ensuring survival of the golf course but eating into it a little more, As if that were not enough, blown sand obliterated several holes at the Prestatyn end. When thought was given to restoring the golf course in peacetime there was no longer sufficient ground to accommodate a full 18 holes.
Nor are these the only tribulations this proud club has had to overcome. In the 1960s there was the threat of a huge amusement park to be built on the land, and in the club’s centenary year, of all years, a combination of exceptional winds and high tides caused the course to be flooded with sea water and shortly after that a fire destroyed part of the clubhouse. It is against this background that we should be very thankful that we are able to play at all on this historic turf.
Today the course is of nine holes, on good links grass, playing to an 18-hole length of 6165 yards and a par of 70.
* I was told by my playing partner many years ago that the owner of this bungalow had designed a turntable for electric trams. How educational a round of golf can be!