Golf in Wales: The chosen 18

Whenever you tee it up in Wales you have the distinct feeling that this is golf as it should be.

You will find breathtaking landscapes, and outstanding championship tracks as well as great-value hidden gems and a genuine, warm welcome at all the courses across this great country.

This is golf as it is meant to be played – unstuffy, unhurried and oozing character, quality and charm.

It is appropriate that 2017 is being celebrated as the Year of Legends in Wales. After all, the country is full of legendary layouts admired across the golfing world.

We’ve picked out our Dream 18 – from courses across Wales. Believe us when we say it took some choosing. Each hole must appear in its actual position. So our 1st hole had to be the 1st on its own course.

We’re sure you’ll want to play these holes in the coming months so we’ve complemented our Dream 18 with suggestions for other courses to sample when you are in the area.

Most of all, we hope this special feature will inspire both trips to Wales and debate on which holes you’d have chosen in equal measure.

Welcome to paradise. Wales style.

1st Aberdovey, 443 yards, Par 4

Architects: Herbert Fowler/James Braid/Harry Colt

Squeezed between the Irish Sea and Snowdonia alongside the railway that used to bring in holidaymakers from all over the country is romantic Aberdovey. Many links courses begin modestly as they make their way out to the best land but not Aberdovey. Standing on the 1st tee in the dunes and looking down the opening fairway is truly inspiring.

2nd Royal Porthcawl, 451 yards, Par 4

Architects: Charles Gibson/Harry Colt/Tom Simpson

The host of last year’s Amateur Championship and this year’s Senior Open Championship is the best course in the land. The 2nd, right, is a highlight, one of the great two-shotters in British golf. Drive down the right and you will be hitting towards the beach to a green that is tight to the left of the green. Played into the prevailing wind, four is a great score.

3rd Abersoch, 246 yards, Par 3

Architects: Harry Vardon/ Martin Hawtree

The original nine was the work of six-time Open champion Harry Vardon. The rest of the course was added by Martin Hawtree in the 1990’s. Between them they have created a course of great visual appeal and an intriguing mixture of links and parkland holes. From the tee at the 3rd, above, you can gaze across the water to Snowdonia.

4th Tenby, 436 yards, Par 4

Architect: James Braid

The spiritual home of Welsh golf, Tenby (right) is the Principality’s oldest course. It’s also as traditional a links as you could care to find. It begins with a terrifying blind tee shot over dunes but worry not because the fairway is actually a generous one. The 4th is an even more thrilling adventure – the green is out of view from the rolling fairway and found in a large bowl.

5th Southerndown, 179 yards, Par 3

Architects: Willie Fernie/Herbert Fowler/Willie Park/ Donald Steel

It’s a long climb up the 1st at Southerndown but well worth the exertion. Now you are on top of the moors with views all around. Close to Bridgend and with Porthcawl down the coast, this is classic golfing country. The 5th is a stellar short hole, played from one high point to another and demanding a true iron shot to find the green.

6th Bull Bay, 310 yards, Par 4

Architect: Herbert Fowler

Bull Bay has the honour of being Wales’ most northerly course. It’s also one of the best and most consistent. Much of the credit must go to Herbert Fowler, lured here by the former prime minister and Anglesey local David Lloyd.

He has left a beautifully understated, natural- looking but always intriguing course. Take the 6th, where an unwary tee shot will result in a blind approach with a short iron.

7th Prestatyn, 490 yards, Par 5

Architect: Fred Collins

Prestatyn, close to the seaside town of Rhyl on the north coast, occupies a piece of land separated from the sea only by the coastal railway line.

It’s a big at, 150-acre site and the man-sized course has a reputation for being a great place to visit in the winter months. At the par-5 7th, Dunes, the green is hidden from view so play towards, or just right of, the marker post for the best angle in.

8th Pwillheli, 350 yards, Par 4

Designers: Tom Morris/James Braid

Courses with split personalities are an engaging feature of Welsh golf and Pwllheli, on the Llyn Peninsula, is a prime example. It begins in relatively innocuous if pleasant parkland before exploding into links technicolour on the 8th.

This is a course with warmth, soul – and several great holes. There’s something for everyone here, especially on a summer’s evening.

9th Conwy, 538 yards, Par 5

Architects: Jack Morris/ Frank Pennink/Brian Huggett/Neil Coles

The third-oldest club in the country is also (perhaps) the place where the game was first played in Wales. Originally a 12-hole course dating back to 1875, these days Conwy (above) is a championship layout in the truest sense of the word with tremendous links holes like the long 9th, which is played towards the shore.

10th Clyne, 415 yards, Par 4

Designer: Harry Colt

The great Harry Colt laid down the course at Clyne, just outside Swansea. High up and looking across the water to the Gower Peninsula, it has a moorland feel in a similar style to Southerndown, complete with the sheep that graze on what is common land. The marker post on the 10th, below, is right of centre because the fairway slopes to the left. Club up on your approach to the raised green.

11th Pennard, 180 yards, Par 3

Architects: James Braid/Ken Cotton

Pennard is such a memorable course. It’s perhaps the first place you should play if you are making a trip to Wales and want to know what the golf is all about. We could have picked any number of holes from a layout known as the Links in the Sky but went for this cute, natural point-to-point short hole with the green a shelf cut into the hillside.

12th Nefyn, 180 yards, Par 3

Architects: JH Taylor/ James Braid

The most spectacular golfing setting in Wales – and perhaps anywhere in the British Isles bar Old Head, in Ireland. Nefyn, below, is laid out on the clifftops of the Llyn Peninsula and is guaranteed to take your breath away. This short hole is just one of several thrilling prospects that have to be seen to be believed.

13th Pyle & Kenfig, 373 yards, Par 4

Architects: Harry Colt/ Philip Mackenzie Ross

Pyle & Ken g, next door to Royal Porthcawl, really gets going on the back nine. You can take your pick from the 11th onwards but we’ve chosen this par 4 (right) which turns right sharply, so much so that the tee shot feels like you’re driving to the end of a cul de sac.

However, reach your ball and all will be revealed – the large, at green is now in clear view and within the reach of a decent short iron.

14th Ashburnham, 575 yards, Par 5

Architects: JH Taylor/ Fred Hawtree/Ken Cotton

Fast approaching its 125th anniversary, Ashburnham is perhaps the least heralded of Wales’ true links. It’s the stretch of holes in the middle of the round that makes The Ash so special, culminating in this split- fairway par 5, where the green is guarded by dunes and has only a narrow entrance.

Yes, you have to get past Cardiff, Swansea and finally Llanelli to reach Burry Port, but it’s well worth the trip.

15th Royal St David’s, 439 yards, Par 4

Architects: Harold Finch-Hatton/William Henry More

An inspiring place to play: in the shadow of Harlech Castle. Add in a backdrop of Snowdonia, with the bay of Tremadog in front, plus centuries of history and you’re getting the idea.

However, you ought to be concentrating fully on the matter at hand when you get to the 15th: a sliding left-to-right dogleg with the sunken green protected by a pair of dunes.

16th The Vale Resort

Architect: Peter Johnson

The parkland National will be 15 years old next year and make no mistake that this is a modern championship course. There is also an outstanding hotel on site as well as another full-size course, the Lakes, making this a great place to visit for a weekend away.

The 16th is an epic hole, a long par 4 made even more difficult given that it comes at a decisive stage of the round.

17th Porthmadog, 485 yards, par 5

Architect: James Braid

Quintessentially Welsh, from the cosy clubhouse to the multiple- personality course, Porthmadog is a highlight of any tour to the north coast.

The links back nine is exceptionally good and we’ve picked a hole that offers the chance of a late birdie. It’s a right-to-left dogleg and there’s a burn meandering short and right of the green should you leak your approach.

18th Celtic Manor, 613 yards, Par 5

Architects: European Tour Design et al

As the host venue for Wales’ Ryder Cup, the Twenty Ten was a course created with drama in mind. That is especially true of the closing stretch which culminates in a snaking, downhill par 5 over water to a raised green. The tees should always be set up to create a decision for the better player of whether to attack the green in two.