Royal St David’s: Beauty and romance on the Welsh coast
Why we would rather be playing this beautiful and romantic links on the northwest coast of Wales
Royal St David’s is one of few golf courses in the world that inspires return visits. Perhaps it is because the first recorded activity to take place on the morfa beneath Harlech Castle involved a boomerang.
The glorious setting for Royal St David’s Golf Club at Harlech is nothing short of beautiful and romantic. It offers golf in a breathtaking environment.
Behind the championship links golf course, to the northwest, is the sweeping bay of Tremadog and to the north are views across Snowdon and the lesser peaks of Snowdonia.
To continue providing the very best surfaces, the club have recently invested a considerable sum of money to install a brand-new state of the art irrigation system. The club have already seen a huge benefit of the irrigation system with incredible grass coverage, and they look forward to an exciting season where presentation of the golf course will be back at it’s very best.
History
According to legend, Harold Finch-Hatton, recently returned from Australia, was indulging in his favourite new pastime when he was spotted from the town that lies almost vertically above by William Henry More, a member of the local squirearchy.
An intrigued More demanded an explanation that was duly provided. But a few days later the old man was truly flummoxed by the sight of Finch-Hatton indulging in an even more curious pursuit involving a stick and a ball.
Finch-Hatton told him how apposite the land was to a golf course and More, his mind open to the commercial potential such a feature would offer to the economically depressed town, was soon convinced. Shortly afterwards, in 1894, the two men staked out what would become the championship layout famous worldwide today.
A romantic story, and perhaps one gently embellished over the years. But then St David’s is a dreamy kind of place, divorced from the rest of Wales by the Snowdonian mountains and overlooked by the 13th century castle that dominates the small town of Harlech.
What makes Royal St David’s special?
‘The world’s toughest Par 69 layout’ is how Royal St David’s is often described.
Golfers from around the world come to Wales to test themselves on this challenging links course, and at first glance, you can understand why.
Along with the glorious scenery, there are some incredible holes – though you won’t find a par 5 on the back nine.
And it is tough. Unremittingly so, especially on the back nine that is without the solace of a single par five. The 3,129 yards it comprises may not sound fearsome, but allied to a par of just 33 it certainly is.
Despite this, it is a beautiful place to be, with the proud castle overlooking the whole course and Snowdonia rising steeply behind it.
Where does it rank?
Where is it?
Royal St David’s is situated on the northwest coast of Wales, nestled in Bae Ceredigion behind Harlech Beach.
Get in touch with Royal St David’s
For more information about the club and course, visit their website or call them on 01766 780361.
You can play Royal St David’s on the NCG Top 100s Tour this year!
- Register now to play in our 2024 Royal St David’s event on May 30th here.
Now have your say
Have you had the pleasure of playing Royal St David’s before? Let us know with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
