Discover golf in North Wales
The fourth and final leg of Jeremy Ellwood's road trip saw him taking in some of the most remarkable scenery and golf courses of all
If you still have any golfing energy left, try and find time for a couple more games before heading home on the A55, the impressive trunk road that can whisk you back to the main UK motorway network in next to no time via a series of bridges, tunnels and occasional cliff-hugging stretches.
Maesdu and North Wales Golf Clubs lie just the other side of the Conwy estuary, with the latter's ruggedly natural links barely two holes wide between railway and estuary for a spell around the turn. A few miles further east, the beautiful parkland layout at Abergele just off the A55 offers a very pleasant alternative to the region's acclaimed coastal golf.
As almost everywhere in Wales, there are castles and steam railways round every corner. The imposing strongholds at Conwy and Caernarfon are among the most impressive in the land, while the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways combine to transport holidaymakers some 40 miles through the beautiful North Wales countryside. For the ultimate holiday railway experience though, let the train take the strain to the very summit of North Wales via the Snowdon Mountain Railway which has been ferrying the less energetically minded 3,560ft up since the late 19th century.
One thing's for sure - wherever you decide to tee it up here, you'll be savouring more of Wales' renowned ‘golf as it should be'. All the courses on this extended road trip have been hugely enjoyable and often spectacular; the people have, without fail, been friendly and welcoming; the fairways have invariably been uncrowded; the costs have been modest relative to comparable courses elsewhere; and the backdrops have been stunning, whether gazing up towards mountains, across rolling green countryside, or out to sea.
This particular journey may now be complete but although I have successfully golfed my way up from the Valleys to North Wales, I have inevitably only really scratched the surface of what golf in Wales has to offer. I have no doubt I'll be back soon to explore further, and I heartily recommend that you consider doing likewise.
Where to stay, play and visit in North Wales:
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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. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.
Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf
Jeremy is currently playing...
Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft
3 wood: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft
Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft
Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Putter: Kramski HPP 325
Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)
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