Down South it's not hard to find some great golfing options

Being a lad from South Wales I’m well aware of the wonderful courses on my doorstep but my great regret is that I haven’t played many of them, although I have walked beside the fairways of a great many more.

The Ryder Cup being held at the Celtic Manor Resort in 2010 put the spotlight on the area but there are so many wonderful courses to choose from it makes a summer on the fairways of South Wales worth planning, with close to 20 layouts to choose from around Cardiff alone.

On this list of “six of the best” it wouldn’t be right to miss out my favourite walking haunt along the coastline beside the Royal Porthcawl, regarded as one of the best links courses in the world. But other top courses situated in great areas for walking are Gower, Pennard and Southerndown, while the scenery around Bryn Meadows in Caerphilly isn’t too shabby either.

However the course I’m most familiar with is Cottrell Park, which offers two championship-length 18-hole courses that are a challenge for experienced players and hackers like myself. Both the Mackintosh and Button Gwinnett are located in picturesque parkland settings, each offering different challenges suitable for all standards of golfer.

The Mackintosh is a woodland-layout adorned by majestic 300-year-old trees alongside 6,361 yards, off the white tees, of rolling parkland. A reasonably forgiving course it also has enough challenges to test far better golfers than myself.

With views sweeping northwards as far as the Brecon Beacons and southwards to the Bristol Channel, the Button is often described as an American-style layout with 13 lakes spread over its 18 holes but can’t say I’ve found my way into many of them over the years.

The Gower is another relatively new addition to the South Wales scene having only opened for play in 1995, since when it has amassed considerable respect. Considered one of the finest parkland courses in the area it offers stunning views but you'll need your wits about you to master its 18 holes, especially the woodland sequence from eight to 11 around the corner.

Pennard is one of the oldest links courses in Wales having been founded in 1896 and designed by James Braid, responsible for some of the most famous golf courses in the world. A classic seaside links it enjoys a dramatic clifftop setting that affords fantastic views across Swansea. One of the more prominent venues in South Wales, it has played host to a number of top amateur tournaments.

Hugging the coast between Rest Bay and Sker, the Royal Porthcawl lacks the infrastructure required to host an Open Championship but the course itself would test any golfer on the planet. The closest it has come to staging a world-renowned event was when it hosted the Walker Cup in 1995 when the American team, which had Tiger Woods as its main weapon, was blown away by the weather. Great Britain and Ireland won 14-10.

The wind presents a constant threat at the Royal, which has no high dunes or trees to protect it from the elements. With the closing hole playing towards the sea and into the wind, there’s perhaps no course in British golf that can produce a more dramatic finish.

I remember being scolded by Neil Coles’ caddy during the Piccadilly Medal tournament at Southerndown in 1970 but have been back around there many times since with my hiking boots on. An undulating links course littered with bracken and gorse it was founded in 1905 and designed by Willie Fernie, with later modifications from Herbert Fowler, Willie Park, Harry Colt and Donald Steel.

Last in the “six of the best” list is Bryn Meadows, which was founded in 1973 and offers a par-72 championship layout of 6,156 yards with two signature holes: the fourth at 213 yards over water and the 11th, a fantastic par-five measuring 561 yards, with a third shot also over a soggy hazard with out of bounds to the right.

More than enough there to test any golf explorers to the region but some other top layouts include Cardiff Golf Club, the Glamorganshire, Machynys Peninsula, the Marriott St Pierre, Wenvoe Castle and Pyle & Kenfig.

I grew up around the Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club, regularly stomping beside the fairways to Sker beach, but never had the privilege of having a proper round there. Sitting in the shadow of the more famous Royal Porthcawl, the holes I’ve dabbled at were some of the most challenging I’ve experienced and are probably as stiff a test as any the Royal can offer, if not stiffer.

Wenvoe Castle Golf Club is another lovely course and yet another superb Braid-designed parkland layout. The club was founded in 1936 around the castle, the home of Hugh Jenner the club's first president. The course opens with a par-five off an elevated tee to an undulating fairway, leaving two shots to make the guarded green. Get on in three though and you've done particularly well. The front nine is quite hilly while the inward stretch is flatter and finishes with a wonderful dogleg par four.

Glamorganshire Golf Club is another course I’ve regularly walked beside but wasn’t aware until I began this article that it’s the birthplace of one of golf's most popular scoring methods… the Stableford System. Frank Stableford was a member of the club in 1898 and his idea for scoring was used for the club's autumn meeting that year. And, as the saying goes, the rest is history. The fourth oldest club in Wales, the Glamorganshire is a regular on the county, regional and national circuits.

Opening to a blaze of publicity in 2005, Machynys Clwb Golf is a Jack Nicklaus-designed 7,121-yard modern links course that has already hosted many championship events, including four Royal & Ancient Championships.

The Marriott St Pierre is probably one of the most popular courses in Wales and has hosted many top tournaments since it was founded in 1962. Some of those events include the Dunlop Masters, the Curtis Cup and the Solheim Cup in 1996, when the American team thumped the Europeans 17-11.

Set in 400 acres of parkland, with a 14th-century manor house as its backdrop, the club also has fantastic hotel facilities that include stylish bedrooms that guarantee a comfortable golfing vacation.

Bearing the name of the Welsh capital, Cardiff Golf Club is another course well worth a visit. A parkland layout founded in 1921, it is situated three miles north of the city centre and offers an interesting set of holes, many of having a stream running through them.

And finally to the Celtic Manor, without doubt the jewel in the crown of South Wales golf, which hosted the 38th Ryder Cup in October 2010. Held in Wales for the only time, golf’s most prestigious team event was played on the newly-developed Twenty Ten course which was specifically designed for it.

With the defending champions from the United States captained by Corey Pavin and Colin Montgomerie at the helm of the European team, play had to be suspended twice with the outcome coming down to the anchor match between Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan.

Plagued by typical Welsh weather, the tournament went the way of Europe who secured victory with a score of 14.5 to 13.5… McDowell securing a 3&1 win to regain the cup for Europe.

A great advertisement for golf in Wales, except of course for the weather, which it has to be said is a major menace in these parts. So pack your waterproofs when you plan your visit to South Wales… the golf’s great in the sunshine but the rain adds another dimension that’ll really test your golfing mettle!