Heading West look out for vampires in the sand hazards

Not the reason why it featured in my “six of the best” courses in West Wales but nevertheless an interesting tidbit about Ashburnham Golf Club is that two of Scotland’s finest golfing sons have pretty fond memories of the Burry Port links, having both started their professional careers with victories there… and just seven years apart.

First of the pair to record a win at Ashburnham was Bernard Gallacher, with fellow former Ryder Cup skipper Sam Torrance soon to follow. Incidentally another Ryder Cup captain, Dai Rees, also won there as a professional.

Gallacher won the 1969 Schweppes PGA Championship, now sponsored by BMW, as a 20-year-old rookie; while Torrance picked up his first European Tour victory there in the 1976 Martini International.

Located five miles west of Llanelli, Ashburnham is regarded as one of the best links courses in Britain and is one of the many reasons why a golfing trip to West Wales is a must on any golf itinerary. Claiming to be the most prestigious course in Carmarthenshire, it probably ranks amongst the top 10 courses in Wales too.

One of the oldest golf courses in Wales, founded in 1894, it’s located close to Worm’s Head with terrific views over Carmarthen Bay. Originally starting life as a nine-hole course it was extended to 18 in 1902 and measures just over 7,000 yards from the back tees.

Also featuring in this look at “six of the best” West Wales courses are St Davids City, Glynhir, Garnant, Dawn Til Dusk and Machynys.

St Davids City Golf Club is set over nine holes, with 18 separate tees, and is situated on the site of the sacred resting place of Wales’ patron saint in Pembrokeshire. It’s also the smallest city by population in the United Kingdom.

The course includes some large double greens which make it a testing layout but not one to be confused with the more famous Royal St David’s in Harlech, Mid Wales. But if you’re heading to West Wales it’s a must on the itinerary on historic merit alone… although it’s a pretty special links course in its own right too with scenic views over Whitesands Bay and St David’s Head.

Founded in 1910 Glynhir was also originally a nine-hole track but moved to Llandybie, on the outskirts of Llandeilo, in 1967. Now an 18-hole parkland course it sits on the foothills of the Black mountains and offers a variety of holes that are hard enough to test the best golfers but also provide the beginner with a round that’s not too disheartening. With back-to-back par fives running from the fourth, the front nine can be quite tough, but in the holes that follow there are five par threes to look forward to.

Also in the shadow of the Black mountains, the phrase “hidden gem” is an apt description for Garnant Golf Club, near Ammanford. An undulating championship course at almost 7,000 yards from the back tees it offers superb views of the Brecon Beacons and some great par threes, with water in play on the 164-yard fifth and the 171-yard 17th. Constructed in 1995 on the site of a former open-cast mine its holes are named after local mineral workings such as Wernos, Gelli Ceidrim and Wheal Morgan.

Frequently referred to as Rosemarket, the Pembrokeshire village where it’s situated, Dawn Til Dusk Golf Club makes the “six of the best” on name alone… how could it not? A nine-hole par-73 course measuring 6,300 yards it offers all the attributes of a superb 18-hole layout... you just see each of the holes twice, rather like George Clooney did in the similarly-named Quentin Tarantino-penned vampire movie From Dusk Till Dawn.

Besides its length, the challenge is made even harder by the inclusion of several sand traps and strategically placed water hazards, each providing extra food for thought but sadly no glimpses of Salma Hayek’s eyecatching snake dance from Robert Rodriguez’ 1996 horror classic. So no vampires then, which I guess is a good thing.

Mentioned briefly in the South Wales part of this series Machynys Peninsula Golf & Country Club is located in Carmarthernshire, south of Llanelli, but not a million miles from Pennard Golf Club, one of our “six of the best” in the South.

But the Jack Nicklaus-designed links layout qualifies as one of West Wales’ finest – having already hosted many championship events, including four Royal & Ancient Championships – so it was worth doubling up on.

Proud to boast the first Nicklaus-layout in Wales, it overlooks Carmarthen Bay and the Gower peninsula and has already earned itself an enviable reputation of being one of the UK's best new layouts. Translated as Monk’s Island, it hosted the WPGA Wales Ladies Championship of Europe from 2005-08… won by England's Kirsty Taylor in 2005, Sweden's Linda Wessberg in 2006, Australia's Joanne Mills in 2007 and another Swede, Lotta Wahlin, in 2008.

Among the other top courses to the west are Tenby Golf Club, South Pembrokeshire, Milford Haven and Cardigan, which sits high on a hill overlooking the Teifi Estuary.

Only two miles outside the town itself, Cardigan is another of those hidden gems offering breathtaking scenery but some decidedly tricky challenges too. Fairways follow the humps and hollows of the natural landscape and are often delineated with gorse and a myriad wild plants and flowers. The club was also chosen by Wales Golf as its 2023 Golf Club of the Year.

Formed in 1888 Tenby is the oldest established course in Wales and regularly hosts prestigious events such as the Welsh Amateur Championship and is one of the country’s most famous courses. Boasting beautiful natural features and a superb sea view across Carmarthen Bay it can also lay claim to fast and true greens basking in gentle rolling countryside that has certainly stood the test of time as a golfing venue.

An internationally-renowned Pembrokeshire coastal town, Milford Haven used to be one of the UK's busiest fishing ports and the golf club was formed in 1913. Another nine-hole layout to begin with it now offers a true 18-hole test of guile and patience. Situated in lovely parkland it is a well-designed par 71 that measures 6,112 yards off the white tees and sits to the north of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has served as a port since the Middle Ages.

On the opposite side of the waterway from Milford Haven, South Pembrokeshire Golf Club is a maturing parkland course that is situated above the town of Pembroke Dock. Originally one of those inviting little nine-holers Wales was so famous for it has evolved into a more modern 18-hole test that has retained the charm and character that made it so popular in the first place. The homeward stretch is probably the course's best aspect, with the 14th and 15th holes very unforgiving for any misplaced shots.

So that’s it here for West Wales but you won’t be disappointed if you return there in the summer… it doesn’t get much better than golf in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire!