Langland Bay Golf Club Course Review

Langland Bay Golf Club Course Review
GF Round: £60 Mon-Thu; £70 Fri&Sun
Par 70, 6,026 yards
Slope 132
GM Verdict A remarkably varied mixture of parkland and clifftop holes with something new at every turn and plenty to enjoy all the way
Favourite Hole The scary, do-or-die, short 16th, played over no-man’s-land to a quite superbly sited green

Tucked into a compact but very pretty, elevated and undulating spot between two lovely beaches, Langland Bay is a friendly club with a very scenic course that Golf Monthly columnist Sarah Stirk has described as the Pebble Beach of Wales. There are thrilling drives and tricky approaches, outstanding views, and all that any golfer could wish for to keep fully engaged all the way. The parkland/clifftop hybrid was effectively redesigned by the great James Braid in the mid-1930s. While relatively short, it is nonetheless undoubtedly sweet.

The course opens with an attractive one-shotter, played over a ditch to a well-protected green. This is followed by a shortish par 5 that sweeps gently round to the right and involves an encounter with a sycamore that guards the middle of the fairway.

The next eight holes are all par 4s, but of remarkably varied nature with the 3rd and 4th potentially reachable by the long hitters. The 6th is very justifiably SI1 and a whopping 456 yards up a very tricky hillside. It is known as Stroud’s Revenge, and one can only assume he had been severely wronged! The 7th is a similar distance but plays along level ground that then drops away to the right, and it is here that you are rewarded with a fabulous panorama out over the beautiful curved bay.

The bunkerless par-4 8th runs along the cliff-top and delivers further glorious views over Caswell Bay and beyond. Braid’s Choice is a fabulous hole that passes a ruined, ivy-clad stone building just short of the green.

The front nine finishes with a drive-and-pitch par 4 with equally lovely views from its well-protected cliffside green. A long par 4 takes you back inland a little and this is followed by the easiest hole on the card at the 11th, Windy Copse. The next three are all interesting but away from the cliffs, and you head back to the vistas via the second of the two par 5s at 15, Devon View.

The short 16th is a real stunner over a complete no-go area to a green 150-feet above the beach. It is very visual, instantly memorable, and appropriately named Death or Glory!

There is a heroic drive at the 17th down to a fairway that looks to be a mile below you, and the round finishes with the brilliantly-named A Drop O’Beer, a two-shotter with the green tucked perilously behind a pretty pond.

Just a short drive east from the Top 100 course at Pennard, Langland Bay is blessed with a very pretty course that also benefits from its marked changes in style as you work your way round. It is ideal for holiday golf, but is also much more than that with plenty to test the low-handicap golfer and just as much to cater for players of all ability. With stunning views along the coast and out to sea, it fits the hidden gem category perfectly.