Mountain Ash Golf Club Course Review

The holes up top are a mix of moorland and heathland

(Image credit: Mountain Ash Golf Club)

By Jeremy Ellwood published 11 January 22

Mountain Ash Golf Club Course Review

GF Round: £20-£25
Par 69, 5,553 yards
Slope 113
GM Verdict – A cracking little moorland/heathland course which climbs to higher ground for 12 highly entertaining holes with splendid views.
Favourite Hole – The 459-yard par-4 8th will test your game to the full, with its blind drive over a shallow crest followed by a long, tree-lined approach.

You won’t find Mountain Ash on any list of the very best golf courses in Wales, but it fits the bill to a tee when it comes to the ‘hidden gem’ category. It’s a short but very pretty course perched atop Cefnpennar mountain not far from Aberdare in the south Wales valleys that starts with a surprisingly difficult opening par 4. It’s not particularly long but has a decidedly small green that is just 21 yards deep and a mere 10 yards wide, plus OOB all down the right. You’ll then enjoy a number of chances to score over the lower holes, especially the very short par-4 4th that will prove hard to resist at just 254 yards.

You then start your ascent up the mountain on the 5th, another short par 4 but one that plays longer than its yardage on account of the steep climb. Once on top, you’ll enjoy a series of hugely enjoyable holes, some framed by heather, with the 459-yard 8th one of the sternest tests of all on account of both length and width. The drive is fired over a slight crest before a long approach to an ever-narrowing fairway. Par is a very good score indeed here! Up on top of Cefnpennar Mountain you’ll also get to savour some tremendous views up the Aberdare valley and even across to the Brecon Beacons.

As at the James Braid hilltop course at Neath Golf Club, a little further west in south Wales, the descent back down to clubhouse level comes pretty much all in one go, this time from the launchpad tee on 18, a precipitous par 5 where the state of your card to this point may well determine the extent to which you’re prepared to really open your shoulders. Be warned – the tee-shot is dauntingly blind and even if you do split the fairway there is OOB to ponder close to the shallow green.

Jeremy Ellwood

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly across the whole spectrum from courses and Rules to equipment and even instruction despite his own somewhat iffy swing (he knows how to do it, but just can't do it himself). He also edits The Golf Club Secretary Newsletter, has authored or co-authored three books and written for a number of national papers including The Telegraph and The Independent. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 89 of the Next 100. He has played well over 900 courses worldwide in 35 countries, but put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content. On his first trip to Abu Dhabi a decade ago he foolishly asked Paul Casey what sort of a record he had around the course there. "Well, I've won it twice if that's what you mean!" came the reply...