The Best Place to Play Golf in Wales

By: Golfshake Editor | Wed 01 Feb 2023

Wales is a hugely underrated part of the UK for golf, featuring many incredible links courses, tranquil resorts and scenic parklands to be discovered and explored.

Introducing you to the best of golf in Wales, the Golfshake Course Section is home to over 300,000 independent reviews submitted by everyday golfers based on their own expectations and experiences, which offers a unique and valuable insight.

We have decided to study that data, breaking down Wales into four regions, to try and identify just where is the finest place in this deeply proud country to play golf.

What The Data Says...

Golfshake Data

Explaining The Data

Avg Golfshake Rating - average of all the golf courses listed on Golfshake.
Avg GS Rating Top 20% - average for the top 20% of courses.
Avg GS Rating Top 10 - average for just the top 10 courses in the region.
Top 100 - How many courses appear in a published Top 100 listing from the last two years throughout GB&I.
Top 100% - Percentage of Top 100 courses to total courses.

Each part of Wales is consistently strong for golf, with little to separate each of the regions across the data categories, with the leading percentage of courses in West Wales, North Wales and South Wales being especially formidable. Mid Wales is perhaps the weakest of the bunch - but that's only relative considering the strength of its best layouts.

North Wales

The North includes; Anglesey, Clwyd and Gwynedd and features 40 golf courses on Golfshake of which two feature in a Top 100 listing of the UK & Ireland.

Top 5 Courses...

Aberdovey Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.91

Review Comment: "Course is fab. Proper links, wonderful sound of the sea just over the dunes. Perfect for the links purist with lots of undulations (2nd hole especially!). On back nine there are so many ditches to navigate - reminiscent of Saunton East/West in North Devon (certainly not intimating but demanding of your attention!). Fabulous course."

Royal St David's Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.87

Review Comment: "We were travelling to the North Wales area for a birthday and decided to book into Royal St David's. I had visited the area many times before and always wanted to play the course. It is long and tricky but very rewarding. In wind and heavy rain, I found it challenging but very rewarding. The course is in excellent condition and well worth the green fees paid."

Nefyn Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.63

Review Comment: "Played this course a couple of weeks ago and Nefyn is one of the best courses I've played. The fairways were in excellent condition and the greens were superb with a few slopes and difficult pins but fair. The wind blows hard on the first few holes which have amazing views high about the coastline. I would certainly recommend this course if you are visiting the Nefyn area. The clubhouse also did good food and drink."

Abergele Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.63

Review Comment: "Lovely condition, fairways, greens, tees, signage all spot on. Lovely catering, impressive club, well done."

Betws-y-Coed Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.55

Review Comment: "Beautiful 9 hole course, very level, situated between two rivers and surrounded by wonderful scenery. A carefully maintained course with well thought out holes and a genuinely friendly welcome for visitors."

South Wales

The South features 49 golf courses on Golfshake with the regions covering the areas of Gwent, Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan, and includes one listed in a published Top 100 ranking of the UK & Ireland.

Top 5 Courses...

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.95

Review Comment: "Conditioning was very good, green complexes are tough but good fun. It has to be on any links golf fan's bucket list...even if you don't get perfect conditions!"

Wenvoe Castle Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.76

Review Comment: "Greens were fast and smooth. Enjoyable layout with a variety of holes to challenge you. Service in the pro shop is first class."

The Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.75

Review Comment: "A wonderful location to go with the superb course. Couldn't recommend any better."

Llanishen Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.75

Review Comment: "Enjoyable course. Greens in excellent condition. Not the longest course but you need to be straight. Will certainly go back and hopefully score a little better next time."

Morlais Castle Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.65

Review Comment: "Very good golf course. Great green, nice clubhouse. Lovely people. Stunning views."

Mid Wales

Mid Wales includes Ceredigion and Powys and features 20 golf courses on Golfshake.

Top 5 Courses...

Cradoc Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.60

Review Comment: "Excellent and friendly club, course in great condition with tricky but true greens. Well worth a visit."

Welshpool Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.47

Review Comment: "From the moment you arrive at Welshpool until the time you drive away, I have little doubt that you will love your time here. The course has some wonderful holes, gorgeous views, and some of the quickest greens you're likely to play on. Bring your putting game or rack up a score. Be prepared to do some climbing though, as the course certainly isn't flat. It is worth the effort though."

St Idloes Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.46

Review Comment: "We played here last Thursday and received a great warm welcome. The course is interesting and provides a challenge for all golfers. A lot of work has been done since I was last here and it is now more open and friendly. We look forward to coming back in the future."

Newport Links Golf Club & Resort

Golfshake Rating: 4.36

Review Comment: "A beautiful course. Very friendly staff. Great scenic views of the sea and lovely countryside. Challenging but very enjoyable (even though I played badly)."

Cardigan Golf Club

Golfshake Rating: 4.36

Review Comment: "I have a holiday membership here and absolutely love this course. It slopes, undulates and the wind affects your drives. It is a thinking course with the most spectacular views over the sea. Highly recommended."

West Wales

West Wales includes Carmarthenshire and West Glamorgan with 24 golf courses within this area on Golfshake and one featured in a published Top 100 listing of the UK & Ireland.

Top 5 Courses...