Royal Porthcawl Golf Club: Course Review, Green Fees, Tee Times and Key Info

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club Key Information

This two-time Senior Open venue on the South Wales coast is, for many, the undisputed star of Welsh links golf. It's also a permanent fixture towards the upper echelons of the Golf Monthly Top 100 golf courses in the UK and Ireland rankings.

It presents a superb, and at times, dramatic test, setting its stall out from the start with a fine trio of holes flanking the boardwalk and beach on the left. Exceedingly closely in the case of the 2nd where the OOB fence sits worryingly close to the green.

You then turn back via a dauntingly long par 3 with a thought-provoking green and a fine par 5 where the final approach plays steeply up to a narrow target.

The golfing treats come thick and fast, from the tiny but well-defended par-3 7th – think Postage Stamp at Royal Troon for trickiness beyond yardage - to the exhilarating slingshot 9th.

With holes heading in multiple directions, there’s superb variety throughout. The back nine can be particularly challenging with a number of demanding par 4s. Among them are the back and forth duo at 15 and 16, both blessed with devious cross bunkers and uphill approaches.

Perhaps one of the very best things about Royal Porthcawl is that with no towering dunes in the way and a wonderful tract of land that slopes gently down towards the beach, there are great sea views to be savoured from almost every part of the course.

The 18th sweeps back down to the clubhouse. Its 50-yard-long green means that merely finding the putting surface will not always be enough.

Harry Colt, J.H. Taylor and Tom Simpson are among those to have helped shape the layout over the years. Martin Ebert has overseen further recent improvements to keep Porthcawl in the thoughts of those organising golf’s premier events.

Bernhard Langer won both Senior Opens here in 2014 and 2017, which perhaps tells you all you need to know about the strategic test. The fact that his winning scores were 14 shots apart – 18-under and then just 4-under – tells you just how stiff that test can be when conditions dictate.

What The Top 100 Panel Said

Paula Crabtree

You are rarely playing several holes with the same wind direction so you have to constantly assess the strength and impact it will have on most shots. The bunkers are excellently placed and will gather the ball from 30-40 yards away in true links style. I played it in a two-club wind and still thoroughly enjoyed my day – need I say more. I will be back.

Richard Healy

A well-framed course with views of Swansea, Gower and Somerset across the Severn Estuary. The initial three holes hug the beach and coastal path before you turn inland and climb to a higher elevation where more gorse comes into play. The par 3s feature various directions, elevation changes and lengths - one short, two medium and one long, each to tricky and challenging green complexes. The par 4s are all different in nature, with no two the same and a good mix of lengths and challenges.

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club location

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club Green Fees

How to book a tee-time at Royal Porthcawl

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club Scorecard

Best Courses Near Royal Porthcawl

PENNARD
Golf has been played here since 1896 with the course benefitting from a major James Braid makeover in 1908. The club understandably trades on its 'Links in the Sky' name as there are plenty of linksy humps and bumps here despite the course floating some 200ft above the Bristol Channel. Looking down on the estuary from the 6th and 7th, you will completely understand why.

CELTIC MANOR TWENTY TEN
The star attraction at Celtic Manor is, of course, the Twenty Ten course where Europe just got the better of the USA in the 2010 Ryder Cup. After a relatively quiet start, it comes alive in the middle section by the River Usk where water is a constant threat, nowhere more so than on the 14th which kinks between two lakes. Make four here and you’ve done very well.

Best Places To Stay Near Royal Porthcawl

Royal Porthcawl Dormy -  Book now at royalporthcawl.com
The club has its own accommodation on site and it's a great place to wake up in the morning with the 1st tee just yards away. There are six single and three twin rooms. Each room is furnished with an en-suite bathroom, TV and wireless internet as well as tea- and coffee-making facilities, which are replenished daily.

Rose And Crown, Nottage - Book now at Booking.com
The Rose And Crown is a classic inn situated in the charming village of Nottage in Porthcawl. It has free WiFi, free parking, a bar and a restaurant. The restaurant provides quality food in informal surroundings. A full English breakfast is served every morning. All bedrooms have their own bathroom, some with a bath.

Royal Porthcawl Gallery

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ROYAL PORTHCAWL HISTORICAL TOP 100 RANKING UK&I

• 2023/24 - 21
• 2021/22 - 22
• 2019/20 - 23
• 2017/18 - 23
• 2015/16 - 22
• 2013/14 - 28
• 2011/12 - 29
• 2009/10 - 31

Frequently Asked Questions