Swansea: a golf tour review

With three of the country’s top courses located in and around the city, Swansea is perhaps one of the most underrated golf destinations in the UK & Ireland. Add to this a buzzing nightlife and great city centre accommodation and you’ve got a complete golf destination.

Read on to find out about the good and the BAD parts of a golf tour to Swansea.

We left Windsor early doors to ensure we had enough time to get to our first stop, Royal Porthcawl - former home of the Senior Open Championship and Amateur Championship. Porthcawl is situated between Cardiff and Swansea, just off the M4, which makes it the perfect stop either at the start or end of your bespoke golf tour.

We arrived after a solid 2 ½ hour journey to a modest, but beautiful clubhouse. Regularly ranked as the best golf course in Wales and within the world’s top 100, Porthcawl is a classic links that dates back to 1891, which was later given Royal status in 1909 by King Edward VII.

Like any first-class golf club, there were plenty of practice facilities which included a grass range, chipping greens, and a large putting green, and these were all very much needed to contend with the challenge ahead.

It is not a typical links course, as there are few dunes, so you get great views of the sea from every hole. Plus, the 18 holes point in all directions, so you are going to face all sorts of wind problems to solve.

The first four holes are the perfect opener, with classic links elements hugging the coastline (overlooking the Bristol Channel) and plenty of daunting features, starting with a tight par-4 that looks down the coastline.

The fifth hole then starts working towards higher ground, where visitors are met with panoramic sea views, some more heathland-type characteristics, and devilish fairway pot bunkers which are unavoidable if you’re offline from the tees.

The last four holes are a tough closing stretch but are amongst some of the best holes in the UK. Three long par-4s in the 15th, 16th, and 18th, and a decent birdie chance on the par-5 17th are the perfect way to close off your round.

After a sensational round of golf (which my scorecard didn’t reflect), we headed into Swansea to check into our hotel, The Dragon Hotel. The Dragon Hotel is a great four-star facility with modern guestrooms and furnishings, and an indoor pool. It’s perfectly located in the city centre within a 15-minute walk of the train station, marina, and local nightlife – which is very dangerous if you’re hoping to get an early night prior to a round on the links.

After a spot of dinner, we headed out on the cobbles to sample the local nightlife. All the nightlife is centralised around Wind Street, which is full of a range of pubs, bars, and nightclubs, and is constantly buzzing thanks to the Swansea University students.

We had an afternoon tee time on the second day, which left us plenty of time to make use of the hotel’s facilities (Swimming pool and gym)… and cure our sore heads.

Next up, we had the eagerly anticipated Pennard Golf Club, aptly named ‘The Links in the Sky’ due to it sitting 200ft above sea level. While it may not have the same prestige as Royal Porthcawl, Pennard is full of unique quirks and characteristics, with rippled fairways, large dunes, and plenty of blind shots.

Expect stunning views from the 1st to the 18th, including visuals of the 12th Pennard Castle which is a real perk of the course. This is probably most true on hole 7. Fittingly named ‘Castle’, this is one of the most memorable holes on the course, with an incredibly undulating fairway running between old church ruins and Pennard Castle.

It isn’t a long hole, but the approach shot is semi-blind into a punch bowl-like, multi-tiered green that runs toward the coastline. Once on the green, you’ll be met with one of the best views on the course, overlooking Three Cliffs Bay.

Holes 16 and 17 are two of the best you’ll find in Wales. 16 is a par 5 which initially plays downhill into a wide sloping fairway and whether you lay up or go for it in two, you’ll be playing up towards a tight slanted green hugging the cliffs edge.

Hole 17 is superb another par 5 that plays away from the coastline. Although not overly long in length (at less than 500 yards), it plays back up hill and is surrounded by gorse. The second shot is blind and players dangerously into a tight fairway/green… no room for error!

Our third and final round of the trip was at Ashburnham Golf Club, which is located around 35 minutes northwest of Swansea in Bury Port. Here lies a beautiful, traditional links course that was founded in 1895 and is often ranked within the top 10 courses in Wales.

Ashburnham was a real treat and far exceeded our expectations, the epitome of a hidden gem. Outside of the first couple and last couple of holes, it is links golf through and through with strong prevailing winds, natural dunes that shape the holes, and blind shots.

The signature holes are undoubtedly the 6th and the 14th. Hole 6 is a mid-length par-3 (albeit long from the tips) – the green is set within a dune which slopes from left to right, with deep bunkers short of the green either side… perfection.

The 14th is an exceptional hole, set in the most natural piece of land on the course. A testing par-5, it presents a split fairway with a narrow entrance to the green, which is surrounded by large dunes. While it is reachable in two, the safest play is to leave yourself a wedge into the pin with a good angle. Scorecards can be won and lost on this hole, as I, unfortunately, found out the hard way.

We finished the day off with a well-earned drink in the clubhouse where we reminisced about what an exceptional few days we’d just had, hoping to visit again soon.

A fantastic golf tour destination that rivals some of the more prolific regions in the UK & Ireland, Swansea really packed a punch. The three courses we played were all excellent, and even more importantly, they all had their own unique traits which added variation to our golf trip.

Porthcawl provided us with history and a challenging championship course. Pennard offered beautiful, panoramic views whilst being a fairer test of golf, and Ashburnham was a more open, inland links style.

Swansea really delivered off the course, too. The Dragon Hotel was well located with great guest rooms and facilities, and the city centre was as we expected – very lively with plenty of restaurants, pubs, and clubs... what more do you need?!