Royal Porthcawl Golf Club Review

Having played Coed-y-Mwstwr Golf Club as part of his golf tour of Bridgend, Golfshake Andy Picken next had the opportunity to experience the acclaimed Royal Porthcawl, which has hosted the Senior Open three times and will stage the AIG Women's Open in 2025.

Over breakfast, I watched a video created by the Legends Tour watching my heroes wax lyrical about the qualities offered by Royal Porthcawl. Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, and Thomas Bjorn are among the voices, as is Tom Watson, who talks of the club as a possible Open Championship venue, so highly does he rate the facility.

With hindsight, this wasn’t a good idea as I was very nervous as I reached the gates accessing the car park and clubhouse. 

We had a guided tour of the venerable clubhouse which blew my mind. The only other clubhouse that I have seen matching this type of museum standard memorabilia is Royal North Devon. The floorboards creak and gently moan as you wander around. They speak of heroes past and present. Pictures of golfers from every era adorned the walls taunting you to follow in their footsteps. This is a clubhouse to relish and enjoy.

Top tip: give yourself extra time to enjoy this experience. It is well worth the effort to savour a very special clubhouse.

What You Need to Know About Royal Porthcawl

The first nine holes were created in 1891. Porthcawl received the prefix 'Royal' in 1909 and became the second course in Wales and only one of 66 clubs in the world to have that mark of distinction. 

With my limited expectations from my current golf form, I rarely get nervous on the first tee but this one gave me the collywobbles.

The practice facilities are second to none, accessed via buggy. I should have arrived three hours before my tee time to get the best possible experience from the site. There are also several Dormy houses available for the overnight visitor.

On the first tee, the view is simply magnificent. The closing hole, the scene of so many important tournaments is to your right and crosses over the opening fairway for a short distance.   

Royal Porthcawl is a sensory golfing experience from start to finish. The sound of the crashing waves against the beach and rocks and boardwalk, the screech of the seagulls as they fought to hold position against the sea winds. These were described as breezes later in the bar, they were winds where I come from!

There was a wonderful smell coming from the clubhouse that mixed with a musty smell of sea and seaweed. Coming from the Midlands I am more tuned in than most to these aquatic odours. I could feel the wind coming off the sea and my final swing thought was that if my adopted hook shot occurred then at least the prevailing wind would carry it back towards the fairway. I didn’t need to worry as my nervously topped tee shot was unaffected by the "breeze" but it at least allowed me to release my nerves and simply laugh out loud.

The Golf Course

The entire left side of the opening hole is out of bounds provided by the sea and beach. The tee box is elevated allowing clear sight of the sand scrapes and bunkers that patrol the outer edges of the fairway left and right. I always thought that Harry Colt preferred that his opening holes provided an easy introduction into the game. 

The first thing that struck me about the quality of the layout is that the footpaths that access the fairways have their own irrigation systems and are in better condition than some greens I have played in my lifetime.

The course condition given our recent weather is simply of the highest possible order. It was superb in every respect. We walked the course with trolleys, and it felt like a deep luxurious carpet with every step.

The second hole again uses the sea as its natural boundary with OOB present throughout its entire length from tee to green. 

The boardwalk public footpath was busy due to the finer weather and there was a decent gallery of dog walkers and hikers as I stood to address my tee ball. My nerves had now disappeared, and I was simply soaking up this extraordinary experience and loving every second of it. 

Visually this course is stunningly beautiful. Expect to take some time to stop and take pictures. My phone is usually off when I golf but I kept it close by as new views and vistas came into range that I wanted to record for later review. 

The 3rd is a delightful par 4 of 274 yards from the championship tee box. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is a pushover. Again, the hole is framed along its entire length by the crashing sea and the green complex is tucked tightly next to that boundary. I played a poor tee shot to the left of the fairway restricting access to the green but then a career-best hybrid floated into the wind allowing my first birdie chance. The par I secured was simply golfing ecstasy and I floated to the next tee box.

We christened the house that can be seen from this hole as the Butterscotch House and later discovered its reputed history as one of the most haunted in the UK. Sker House is its true name. 

The 4th is a par 3 of 216 yards protected by a green complex of scrapes and bunkers that ring its entire playing surface. Again, the hole is framed by the beach and its ominous out-of-bounds markers.

The 5th is 611 yards from the tips and is nestled into the course boundary wall. A dogleg right to left to an elevated green protected by its OOB boundary left and sand right. I walked from this green with another par and a natural high of pure pleasure.

The 6th is a short par 4 with many hazards and features in play to catch the errant shot maker. I followed the suggestions in the course guide, favoring the right-hand side of the fairway that offered a much better angle with which to attack the green. The impeccably presented undulations and run-off zones add to the hazards of an overly ambitious shot into the green.

The 7th is a delight with a narrow green surrounded by hummocks, hillocks and bunkers. Hit the green in one and it is delightful. Fail and expect a minimum of a six as the bunkers are penal.

I loved the 8th hole. 474 yards from the tips. This is three-dimensional golfing chess played against a grand master. A true par 4 despite its length due to the fairway bunkers that cut across the approaches to the green. It follows the boundary of the practice range ensuring another hole with out of bounds along its entire length. 

The 9th is a classic short par 4 requiring an accurate tee shot to allow for a short second shot into a steeply sloping green that is protected by another ring of bunkers.

The 10th is stunning. Please take the time to enjoy that view across the Bristol Channel. A narrow strip of fairway requires an accurate drive down the left side. The green is then defended by its gradients and swales plus three bunkers that have a much larger footprint than is visible. Place a ball too close to these beasties and it will gather and be swallowed up. A simply wonderful golf hole.

The 11th turns the screw a little more with a fabulous short hole that features a plateau green ringed by a series of necklace bunkers that cry out at you from the tee box. 184 yards of terrifying golfing pleasure. Another superb golf hole that made my bogey a hard-earned achievement.

The 12th is a 582-yard par 5 with a tee shot requiring a substantial initial carry to even reach the first cut of fairway. On the tee, the scrapes and presentation are stunning bringing up thoughts of golf in days gone by. I reached the putting surface in regulation and nudged the hole with my birdie attempt leaving me squealing with the simple pleasure of being alive playing golf at this amazing venue.

The 13th is another beauty. Swales of deep grass offer punishment left and right for the wayward tee shot. The kidney bean shaped green is then protected by bunkers and its shaping.

The 14th offers more views of Sker House behind the green. Visually this is a delightful golf hole. It looks so natural and yet its presentation and conditioning is simply perfection.

The 15th is the start of a challenging series of closing holes. Another long tee ball is needed to ensure reaching the fairway and then a series of bunkers offer additional defenses for the course.

You then face the 16th, which is another cracking golf hole with bunkers and sand scrapes placed exactly where you don’t want them. The series of cross bunkers look bigger from the tee than they are but again they have an extended footprint that gathers up any balls played towards them.

Nearing the finale, the 17th offers a blind tee shot over a marker post with a narrow fairway. The shots into the green are much easier to assess as all the hazards are in plain sight.

Finally, the 18th cuts across the first fairway for a short distance. Downhill heading towards the sea, there is a narrow green running front to back with some magnificent rolls and shaping. I walked off this hole with a par on the card and a ridiculous smile on my face as I felt I had experienced golfing nirvana. 

My playing partner had played here before and simply said that from the first hole, I looked like I was a dog with two tails. This was an exceptional golfing experience that will live long in the memory.

Final Thoughts

Access to this course is restricted for visitors to specific days and the green fee is around £225. 

That is a lot of money to play golf but spending six hours at such an exceptional venue with such an exquisite product is a rare thing. I have waxed lyrical about this experience as I want to be an evangelist for this venue. I will return and take some of my golfing buddies because I want them to experience the sheer joy that it offered me on this April day of days.

Post-round, we spent time soaking up the atmosphere in the clubhouse and then drove back to Pyle & Kenfig to prepare for a new culinary experience for me.

I have never experienced top Japanese cuisine before but was asked to visit Bridgend and a venue called Gin & Sake. I was delighted to discover an excellent range of dishes and cocktails that I was able to devour and enjoy. A wonderful way to finish a memorable day. 

Note to self, a mix of gin and sake can be detrimental to the quality of the golf the next day at Pyle & Kenfig.

If you want to follow Andy's complete journey around in the courses near Bridgend, please click here!