So, I’m locked and loaded for my first UK golf trip this June and I’m very excited.  I glommed on to my father’s group who alternates annual trips between somewhere in the States and the somewhere oversees.  Since they’ve been doing this a couple years already, I’ve entered the fray on the Wales excursion.  While not my first choice for my deflowering, I’m still aflutter with anticipation.  The itinerary was already in place, and here’s our rotation:

Conwy
Nefyn & District
Royal St. David’s
Machynys
Pennard
Pyle & Kenfig
Royal Porthcawl
Southerndown

We/they arrive into Manchester and then play Conwy straight away. Since I’m coming from San Francisco, my flight options may have me arrive a little later.  If I don’t make the group, what do you suggest as an alternative for my play until I connect that evening?  Is Delamere Forest or Sandiway a legitimate option on the way?

And, if I were to exert what limited influence I have on the itinerary at this point are there changes, omissions, etc. that make sense?  With the research I’ve done, and the books/websites I’ve read, I’m not familiar with Machynys, and I also notice we’ve left Aberdovey off the list (for whatever reason).  That seems like a no brainer… if only for the Bernard Darwin link.

Our fellow GCA-er Tom Dunne wrote a very nice article on golf in Wales for the July/August 2007 issue of Travel & Leisure Golf. You can find the article online at:

www.travelandleisure.com/tlgolf/articles/golf-killer-wales/

Wayne

Other courses you'd probably consider are Asburnham and Tenby in the South and Aberdovey in the North ?

I was a tad dissapponted with P&K - save for the B9 - am glad to see that you're playing it before Porthcawl. I recommend you stay on-site -at the latter - it has one of the best locations of a dormy house anywhere.

As Mark mentioned  -there's is a couple of "flat" holes at Royal St. Davids but I still enjoyed the experience. Not a bad stop-off on the way to Nefyn.

I found Nefyn and District extremely over rated.  Except for a few holes on the peninsula it was a bore.  Beautiful but way out of the way.  Tenby, Aberdovey, and St. David's are worth the trip.  As noted above St. David's is a bit flat on the front side but the holes are very good.  Twp others are a Fowler course on the north west corner called Bull Bay.  It is like nothing you have ever played and is great fun in and around rock outcroppings and gorse on very undulating land on the water.  Since you are at Conwy you might just slip up to North Conwy.  It has some holes that havae to be seen to be believed like back to back par short threes over wild terrain.

Tommy,
Do you mean North Wales Golf Club?
Bull Bay is one I wanted to get to but scheduling issues with Royal St. David's have created logistical problems.
Have you played Holyhead?

Yes you are right, it is North Wales.  I have not played Holyhead but have heard conflicting things about it.  Maybe mark Rowlinson can chime in if he is lurking.

Oh boy,
I'm all screwed up now.,because I've got to go to Bulls Bay.
Mark Rowlinson does speak(write) highly of it.
Bulls Bay over Pwllheli, Portmadog, Borth and Ynlas?

If you are flying into Manchester and headed for North Wales, why aren't you playing Hoylake and Wallasey first?  

It's a WALES trip
I thought about it-but it's only 6 days and I'm already stretched.
That's another trip!!!!

Exactly.  Trust me, I have about a dozen "dream" itineraries for future trips and more than one includes Hoylake and Wallasey.

Anybody care to chime in about Machynys?  

Wayne & Jeff

I spose my take is a bit different.  If coming from Manchester I would definitely hit Wallasey and/or Hoylake on the way to Bulls Bay (one I haven't seen, but would dearly like to).  You have listed several courses including N Wales, Conwy & Nefyn which are no where near the quality of the above two.  If you want to play an inland course instead then Delamere is hard to beat.

Pay no attention to the nay sayers, Harlech is a good course and will be an interesting contrast because I think it is one of the most difficult courses in the UK. 

Aberdovey is good, I think it is a bit over-rated on this site and not as good as Harlech, but there you go. I spose its worth seeing. The land is quite good, but I don't think the routing took advantage of the site at all - this should be a far better course imo.

It is a definite mistake to skip Tenby for any reason.  Its worth a schedule change to make sure you get a game there.

Ashburnham is another course that gets little attention on gca, but like Tenby, I think it is better than anything in the north.  The club is in the process of beefing the course up right now because it has lost some shine since pro tournies are no longer held there.

Play Pennard twice - it is comfortably the best course in Wales and you will not have more fun anywhere else.  What else would expect me to say?  But the thing is - I believe it!

I went down to play Machynys not long ago.  I wasn't convinced by appearances so walked the course for about an hour.  That was enough - I zipped back to Pennard and played.

Bottom line for me, if you aren't willing to add Wallasey/Hoylake then I would abandon some of the northern tracks in favour of seeing more of the southern ones. 

A few other sleepers that may be of interest in the south:

Clyne - a Colt course just down the road from Pennard.  I haven't played it, but it is meant to be raw Welsh golf.

Cardigan & St Davids have been mentioned and Tony's pix of Cardigan looked very appealing.

Ciao

I've played 7 of the courses mentioned in the thread. In the North:

Nefyn & District is in an absolutely stunning setting - as good as you will ever see. The Old course includes the 8 holes on the peninsula which are the very definition of quirky. These must not be missed. In truth, the golf is not top notch and there is a public path to the beach in constant use through the summer. A quick visit to the Ty Coch Inn on the beach below the 12th green is traditional.

















Royal St.Davids is another lovely setting. I would recommend if you have time a visit to Harlech castle overlooking the course. It is, on the whole, pretty flat and does not make use of the wonderful dunes on the site - only the last 4 or 5 holes penetrate the dunes (15 is one of the best holes you will ever play). It is a real test and, whilst not as charming as many courses, is a course I rate very highly.













I don't have photos of the other courses although I know many have been posted before.

Aberdovey is a nice course and it seems silly to play RSD and not Aberdovey - you practically have to go past it to get south. I would play this over Machynys. Aberdovey starts brilliantly with several holes through the dunes but doesn't quite finish the job for me. It moves onto flatter land and I don't think the flat holes are of the same quality as RSD. Well worth a visit though.

Borth & Ynyslas is not, in my opinion worth a detour. It is unbelievably featureless and bleak in places. Add to that the fact that you have no chance of pronouncing the name correctly (the y's sound like u's as in dug), it's definitely not worth a detour.

Tenby is a lovely little track and worth playing over Machynys anyday. It is a bit compact in places and quite a short course but it has charm in abundance. The 3rd and 4th holes are wonderful quirky links holes. The town of Tenby is also lovely - if you do stay there, the Bay of Bengal Indian restaurant practically on the cliff edge is a wonderful setting.

I won't add much to Sean's ode to Pennard save to say it is a fantastic course, although if poor conditioning is a no-no for you then you should steer clear.

Pyle & Kenfig is to use an English football expression 'a game of two halves'. The front nine is nothing special - fun in places, but not worth a detour. The back nine is completely different. The stretch from 11-16 goes through some pretty big dunes and is real top class golf. Given it's proximity to Porthcawl and Southerndown there is really no excuse for missing this.

If I wastravelling to Wales from Manchester and looking to pick up a game I'd try Kington.  You won't have played anything like it, it's wild, a relatively easy "play in", given you'll have been flying for a long time and, given its proximity to the border could almost be seen as the gateway to Wales.  Certainly the views you'll get of both Engalnd and Wakles (and its hills) are worthy of a trip and the golf is a delight.

Bill,
If I play Hoylake then I can't tell my wife "there's a whole area in England that I've never played"
Besides my guys will have heard of it and that takes all the fun out.
.....and I just had to add a day and change everything to include Bull Bay and Cardigan

Ed, thanks for the brilliant photos.  The Harlech shot with the top of the clubhouse (?) looks almost Carne-ish.

In the last Nefyn pic, the tee is a fake turf mat.  Are there other such holes there, or is that the only one?

Oh, and an update.  Abersoch sometimes gets mentioned here as one of those hidden almost-gems, 9 great Vardon seaside holes with 9 not-as-compelling holes subsequently tacked on.  Well, it appears that the club changed the routing, such that the original Vardon holes are now #s 4-12.  Just a heads up for anyone thinking he'll just play the front nine and then move on.

So Jeff, what is the itinerary now?