Best golf destinations in Wales

Home to some of our most popular resorts, Wales is a much-loved destination amongst our customers. There’s a great mix of links layouts, as well as hotels and courses close to some of the most action-packed towns and cities in the UK.

Our properties here are generally located across four areas, so join us as we dig a little deeper into the best golf destinations in Wales!

• Swansea
• Newport
• North Wales
• Cardiff

If you’re in search of some of the UK’s most testing layouts, then the area around Swansea should be right up your street. The gem on the coastline here is undoubtedly Royal Porthcawl, a stunning course which can turn into a real brute if caught on the wrong day! The layout offers views across the water towards Exmoor and Somerset, and will keep you on your toes throughout, with some of the best bunkering in the country.

Given the quality of the land across this rugged coastline, it’s no surprise that Royal Porthcawl is joined by other first-class layouts. Indeed, it generally competes against near-neighbour Pennard for the top spot in Welsh Golf Course rankings. Pennard itself is a splendid club that has been around for more than a century. It tends to be slightly more playable than Porthcawl, but like all layouts in the area (which also includes the superb Ashburnham and Machynys Peninsula), the elements can dictate the day’s play.

Fear not though. Regardless of score, you’ll be sure to find somewhere suitable to celebrate and reflect on your rounds in Swansea. Wales’ second-largest city has plenty to offer, although the majority of our customers make a beeline for the bustling bars and restaurants; both in the centre of the city and close to the River Tawe Basin.

Just over the border into South Wales, you’ll immediately hit the region of Newport. The area is dominated by two fantastic golf resorts here, with everything you need for a great break right there on-site.

Slightly closer to England, Marriott St. Pierre Golf & Country Club is home to two courses, with their brilliant Old Course a former host to the Solheim Cup (1996)! There are 132 rooms, making it suitable for groups of all sizes, with loads to do on-site too, including a fabulous spa, tennis courts, and a plethora of other outdoor pursuits. The resort is located just 12 miles from Bristol too, meaning it really is no time at all to the first tee once you’ve crossed the bridge into Wales!

Closer to Newport itself is one of our biggest and best resorts – the immense Celtic Manor. The three courses here; Twenty Ten, Montgomerie, and Roman Road, are all excellently tailored for a golf trip – with an experienced golf course services team ensuring everything runs smoothly!

There’s a choice of accommodation, from the Hunter Lodges which border the Twenty Ten Course, to the five-star Resort Hotel, as well as the standalone Coldra Court Hotel by Celtic Manor (which is just five minutes from the main resort). Given our longstanding relationship with the resort, there’s almost nothing that our sales experts won’t know about the destination – and so if you’re considering it for your next break or group trip, why not give them a call?

At the other end of Wales, you’ll find a landscape no less beautiful, with some fabulous golf courses to boot! You may recognise Nefyn & District from its iconic routing which juts out into the sea! However, you might not realise that there are actually two layouts here, making it the perfect spot from which you can base your golf trip.

Elsewhere in the area, Royal St David’s is blessed with the quality and care that comes with its regal stature and has been a fixture of the sport since 1894. Not long by modern standards, the Par 69 layout relies on the elements to shape its defence, creating a course that plays vastly different from one day to the next.

Our other courses in the area include the likes of Aberdovey and Porthmadog, both of which are amongst the strongest in Wales, and offer glorious views of the water. This means that whatever courses you add to a North Wales itinerary, you’re guaranteed some of the most stunning backdrops in the British Isles.

Last but certainly not least is the Welsh capital. The majority of our golfers opt to stay on-site at one of our outstanding resorts in the area and travel into the city for a night or two during their stay. However, there really is no need to step foot off the property once you arrive at either The Vale or Bryn Meadows Golf, Hotel and Spa.

The Vale Resort is a more traditional golf breaks offering, with two courses on-site, and a whole host of other activities to get stuck into. It frequently plays host to some of the world’s best athletes when competing in Cardiff – as evidenced by the plethora of sporting fields on the road into the main hotel! We love the difference between the two courses here, with the Wales National being a more classic championship layout, compared to the slightly quirky and undulating terrain of the Lake Course.

Bryn Meadows has just one course on-site, however, this makes it ideal as a base if you are planning on travelling around the region, perhaps taking in the likes of Southerndown – another great local course. Plus, with the hotel just 20-minutes into the centre of Cardiff, there’s always something to get up to once the golf has finished for the day!